The high-powered offense of the Clarkson University Women’s Hockey team was shut down in New Haven, CT on Saturday afternoon as Yale stunned the Golden Knights 5-1, handing the Green and Gold their first ECAC Hockey loss of the season.
The No. 3 ranked Knights, who were coming off a 9-1 victory at Brown on Friday, go to 10-2 overall and 3-1 in conference play. The two-time defending National Champions will have to regroup in a hurry as they play their first Top-10 ranked team of the season, hosting No. 7 Minnesota-Duluth in a two-game series at Cheel Arena this coming weekend.
Clarkson, which entered the game averaging a NCAA Division I best 4.73 goals per game, was held to its lowest goal total of the season and saw its six-game winning streak snapped. The five goals allowed by the Knights were the most given up since a 5-1 loss at Boston College in the 2015 NCAA Tournament.
Clarkson outshot Yale 40-20, including a 32-11 margin over the final 40 minutes, but could only get a late power-play goal past Bulldog netminder Tera Hofmann.
The Bulldogs (2-6, 2-6) jumped out to a 3-0 first-period lead. Emma Vlasic started things off for the home team, firing in a wrist shot from between the circles at 10:02. Yale then struck late in the period for a pair of goals 64 seconds apart.
Lucy Burton connected on a one-timer at 18:01, followed by a rebound goal at the doorstep by Charlotte Welch at 19:05.
Yale added another goal late in the second period when Rebecca Vanstone got behind the Clarkson defense and scored on a breakaway at 14:13 for a 4-0 Bulldog lead.
The Bulldogs made it 5-0 at 6:25 of the third period on Vlasic’s second goal of the day.
Clarkson finally got on the scoreboard, connecting on the lone power play of the game as sophomore Kristy Pidgeon (Ingleside, ONT) lifted in a rebound at 8:02. Seniors Josiane Pozzebon (Bourget, ONT) and Captain Cassidy Vinkle (Belleville, ONT) assisted.
Freshman Marie-Pier Coulombe (Carignan, QUE) started in the Clarkson crease and made six saves on nine shots before leaving with 55 seconds remaining in the first period.
Sophomore Kia Castonguay (Ipswich, MA) came on in relief and posted nine saves on 11 shots.
