Potsdam, NY - Several near upsets have marked the early years of the Clarkson University Women’s Hockey program, but the Golden Knights finally came through with a win over a ranked opponent when they defeated 8th-ranked Providence 4-2 on Sunday afternoon in front of 331 fans at Cheel Arena.
The Golden Knights ended the weekend with a sweep and improved to 7-2-1 on the season with a fourth consecutive win, extending their unbeaten streak to six games. Meanwhile, the Friars dropped to 3-3-1 on the season with weekend losses to both the Knights and St. Lawrence.
After a scoreless and evenly played first period, the Golden Knights got on the scoreboard at the 4:25 mark on a pretty goal from freshman Micheleen Devine (Medicine Hat, ALB). Devine received a pass from sophomore Katie Morrison (Ridgefield, CT) at the blue line and skated past a defender, stick handling in close for a back-handed goal, her fifth of the season. The Knights added a power-play goal at 11:04 when freshman Marie-Jo Gaudet (Sherbrooke, QUE) skated in with a backhanded shot of her own for her fourth goal of the season and a 2-0 Clarkson lead.
Providence came back quickly to cut the lead to 2-1 at 13:46 when the Friars caught the Knights on a line change and skated in on a 2-1. Senior Ashley Payton was responsible for the goal when she wristed a shot over the left shoulder of Clarkson goaltender Kira Hurley (Pickering, ONT) into the top of the net to pull Providence within one. The goal, Payton’s third of the season, was assisted by Sonny Watrous and goalie Jana Bugden.
Clarkson appeared to have control of the game in the third period when sophomore center Brooke Beazer (Kingston, ONT) collected a pass from Katie Morrison. Morrison gained possession of the puck from in the corner and fed a pass to Beazer right in front to return the Knights to a two-goal advantage with 17:45 remaining. Freshman defenseman Kimberly McKenney (Smith Falls, ONT) also earned an assist on Beazer’s third tally of the campaign.
Clarkson looked ready to tack on another goal as the Friars were hit with a penalty, but Providence quickly changed the momentum of the game with a shorthanded goal just 1:40 later at the 3:55 mark. Senior Karen Thatcher threw the puck on net from the slot and trimmed the Clarkson lead to one again, 3-2, with her fifth goal of the year. Junior Kristin Gigliotti picked up the assist.
The Friars emptied the goal with less than two minutes remaining and Clarkson’s Emma Madigan (Mississauga, ONT) netted an insurance goal, her first of the season, at 19:03 to close out the scoring.
The game’s offensive chances were virtually even throughout the first two period with Clarkson owning a slim 13-12 edge in shots on goal, but the Golden Knights out shot the Friars 13-6 in the final frame, finishing the contest ahead in shots 26-18.
Hurley made 16 saves in the game while Jana Bugden stopped 22 shots, including 11 in the third period. Neither team converted on the power play as Clarkson was 0-for-2 and the Friars went 0-for-3, though Providence did convert one shorthanded goal.
