A strong third-period rally enabled the Clarkson University Women’s Hockey team to extend its current unbeaten streak to seven games (4-0-3) with a 2-2 tie against 10th-ranked Dartmouth College at Cheel Arena in its ECAC Hockey opener on Friday night.
The Golden Knights, who own a 4-1-4 overall record and the nation’s longest current unbeaten streak, will host Harvard on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. in Potsdam.
Trailing 2-0 through 40 minutes against Dartmouth (0-1-1), Clarkson put pressure on the Big Green right from the start of the third and set the tone for the period early. Just 76 seconds into the stanza, freshman Christine Lambert (Thetford Mines, QUE) found the puck in front during a scramble and poked in her third goal of the season to put the Knights on the scoreboard. Seniors Kali Gillanders (Kyle, SASK) and Gabrielle Kosziwka (Limehouse, ONT) assisted.
With regulation time winding down, Clarkson pulled sophomore goaltender Erica Howe (Ottawa, ONT) for the extra, and the moved paid off with the tying goal. With 62 seconds remaining in the third, junior Danielle Skirrow (Trenton, ONT) took a pass out of the corner by sophomore Jamie Lee Rattray (Kanata, ONT) and slipped in her fourth goal of the season to make it a 2-2 game. Sophomore Carly Mercer (Exeter, ONT) also assisted.
Clarkson held a 33-29 advantage in shots, including a 10-6 margin in the third period, and despite two power-play opportunities in the five-minute overtime, the Knights outshot the Big Green 2-1 in the extra session.
Howe posted 27 saves, while Dartmouth’s Lindsay Holdcroft made 31 stops.
The Knights failed to score on two power-play opportunities, but excelled shorthanded, killing off six Dartmouth man-advantage opportunities, including two power plays in overtime.
After a scoreless first period, Dartmouth went on top 2-0 in the second. The Big Green’s Jenna Hobeika redirected a shot from the point by Margaux Sharp at 10:39 for the game’s first goal. With .6 of a second remaining in the stanza, Sasha Nanji connected off assists from Reagan Fischer and Camille Dumais to give Dartmouth the two-goal lead through 40 minutes.
