Potsdam, NY – A nine-game winless streak against Princeton University was finally stopped on Saturday by the Clarkson University Women’s Hockey team, and a two-game winning “streak” was continued on Sunday as the Golden Knights captured their ECAC Hockey Quarterfinals series against the Tigers with a 2-1 victory in front of 323 fans Sunday afternoon at Cheel Arena.
The ninth-ranked Golden Knights, who improved to 24-8-5 overall on the season, will move on to the ECAC Hockey Semifinals next weekend at Harvard University. Clarkson will take on top-ranked, and number-one seeded Harvard in the semifinals, while second-seeded St. Lawrence will play third seed Dartmouth. Princeton finished the season at 14-12-6.
Clarkson took little time to put pressure on the Tigers in the first period and held an overwhelming 9-0 lead in shots early on, with two of those attempts crossing the goal line. Marie-Jo Gaudet (Sherbrooke, QUE) took a pass from Genevieve Lavoie (Delson, QUE) near the left circle and skated across the slot, confusing Princeton netminder Kristen Young with a backhand shot where a forehand seemed more likely. Carlee Eusepi (Oakville, ONT) also assisted on the goal, which came at 5:54 of the first.
Gaudet picked up her second goal of the game, and a Clarkson single-season record 24th tally of the season, two minutes later. Senior Jessica Cloutier (Parker, CO) took two shots in close that were both denied by Young, but Gaudet was there to pick up the loose puck, sliding the shot over the end line for a 2-0 Clarkson lead.
The Knights enjoyed a solid advantage through the first period, out shooting Princeton 13-4, but the Tigers responded with spirited play in the second frame. That push from Princeton culminated in a goal from Sonja Novak midway through the period. After the puck bounced around, it finally was deflected over the shoulder of Clarkson goalkeeper Eve Grandmont-Berube (Drummondville, QUE). The goal was initially waved off, but after a lengthy review, the score was finally put on the scoreboard, with assists going to Annie Greenwood and Katherine Dineen. Princeton finished the period with an 11-8 edge in shots.
The third period saw another long stretch of domination by the Tigers, as Princeton held a 13-2 advantage in shots, but Grandmont-Berube proved to be up to the task, denying all 13 chances, and foiled some other solid scoring opportunities. The Tigers pulled their goalie for almost two full minutes at the end of the third in an attempt to net the equalizer, but Princeton's extra attacker wasn't enough to gain another goal.
Princeton finished with a 28-23 lead in shots, but the Tigers committed five penalties to Clarkson's one. The Knights netted one goal on the power play. Grandmont-Berube finished with 27 saves while Young made 21 stops for Princeton.
