A power-play goal with just 25 seconds remaining helped the fifth-ranked Clarkson University Women’s Hockey team defeat Yale 3-2 in Cheel Arena on Saturday afternoon.
Clarkson finishes the regular season with a 26-3-5 overall record with a 14-3-5 ECAC Hockey mark. Yale closes out its season with a 10-17-2 overall record with a 9-11-2 conference mark. Clarkson is now unbeaten in 15 straight games (12-0-3) and finishes in second place in the ECAC Hockey standings.
On Senior Day at Cheel Arena, it was fitting that two of Clarkson’s fourth-year players combined for the Golden Knights’ opening goal. Senior assistant captain Erin Ambrose sent a pass to senior captain Shannon MacAulay and MacAulay was able to deflect the puck into the goal. Sophomore Lauren Lefler also had an assist on the goal.
Clarkson added a second goal 4:39 into the second period. During a Yale power play, Ambrose intercepted a Bulldog’s pass and fed junior Genevieve Bannon who went in on a breakaway and scored to double Clarkson’s lead.
Yale though, needing at least a tie to give itself a chance to make the postseason tournament, began to fight back at the 17:17 mark. The Bulldogs got on the scoreboard on a short-handed goal of their own when Janelle Ferrara assisted Eden Murray.
Yale completed the comeback just 2:23 into the final period. During an extra-man opportunity, Jamie Haddad slipped a pass to Krista Yip-Chuck who scored, with Mallory Souliotis also picking up an assist.
As time wound down, Clarkson pushed forward for a game-winning goal. The opportunity came when a late Yale penalty gave Clarkson a power play. The Knights took advantage at 19:35 when freshman Rhyen McGill deflected in a shot from senior assistant captain Renata Fast into the back of the net. Bannon also had an assist on the goal.
Clarkson finished with a 45-20 advantage in shots. Clarkson was two of six on power plays while Yale scored on one of its three extra-man opportunities. Sophomore goaltender Shea Tiley made 18 saves for Clarkson while Hanna Mandl had 42 stops for Yale.
Clarkson will host Cornell in a best-of-three ECAC Hockey Quarterfinals series next weekend. The two teams will play in Cheel Arena at 3:30 pm on Friday, 3:00 pm on Saturday, and 2:00 pm on Sunday if necessary.
