Cambridge, NY - Four minutes, 22 seconds in to a second overtime period, the Clarkson University Women's Hockey team saw its season end as the fifth-seeded Golden Knights dropped a heartbreaker to fourth-seeded Harvard University, 2-1, in the final game of the best-of-three ECACHL quarterfinals series before 624 fans at Bright Hockey Center.
The Golden Knights finished the season with a 22-14-1 overall mark with their second overtime loss in four games, all against Harvard, dating back to the final game of the regular season. Harvard pushed its record to 16-12-4 and will move on to the semifinal round at St. Lawrence next weekend.
Jennifer Sifers scored both the game-tying and game-winning goals for the Crimson. The game-winner came after two scoreless frames, including the first overtime period, as Sifers produced her tenth goal of the season at 4:22 in the second overtime. Lisa Solley assisted on the goal for Harvard.
Clarkson got on the scoreboard first as freshman Marie-Jo Gaudet (Sherbrooke, QUE) scored her ninth goal of the season midway through the first period on the third shot of the game. Gaudet's goal, which was assisted by junior Christine Bailkowski (Aurora, ONT), came at the 9:09 mark.
After a fairly even first period, Harvard dominated the play with a 12-5 shot advantage in the second period, culminating in the game-tying goal. Sifers tied the score at 18:36 in the second period as Solley and Carrie Schroyer each earned assists on the goal.
The Crimson continued to carry play with a 26-9 shot advantage through the third period and the first overtime, before things evened up in the first four minutes of the second overtime with both teams trying to finish the score. Harvard's final shot was the difference in the period as the Crimson out shot Clarkson 6-5 in the second overtime and 53-26 overall.
Junior goaltender Kira Hurley (Pickering, ONT) set a new career-high for saves in a game with 51, surpassing the 50 shots she stopped against Findlay on January 3, 2004. Harvard's Ali Boe made 25 stops for Clarkson.
