Behind goals from a pair of freshmen and two tallies from seniors, the head coaching debut of the husband-and-wife team of Shannon and Matt Desrosiers was a success as the Clarkson University Women’s Hockey team defeated the Ottawa Senators Women’s Hockey Intermediate AA Club 4-2 in an exhibition contest at Cheel Arena Saturday night.
Rookies Gabrielle Kosziwka (Limehouse, ONT) and Brittany Mulligan (London, ONT) scored their first goals in a Golden Knight uniform, and veterans Marie-Jo Gaudet (Sherbrooke, QUE) and Kimberly McKenney (Smiths Falls, ONT) started off their final season with the Green and Gold with two more scores in the Clarkson win.
Despite being a man-down for seven times in the game, Clarkson out shot Ottawa 34-15. The Knights held Ottawa to just one goal in seven power-play opportunities. The Knights went 0-3 with the extra skater.
Sophomores Lauren Dahm (Baldwinsville, NY) and Eve Grandmont-Berube (Drummondville, QUE) backboned Clarkson to the win with eight and five saves, respectively.
The teams traded goals in the first period for a 1-1 tie that stood up until a four-goal outburst in the final stanza.
Ottawa went on top first with a 5-on-3 power-play goal at 8:27 as Jamie-Lee Rattray connected off assists from Bryanna Farris and Stefanie McKeough. The Knights came right back 2:17 later on Kosziwka’s goal. The younger sister of Clarkson men’s hockey player, sophomore Michael Kosziwka, the rookie knocked in a rebound from the top of the slot off of shot by Gaudet at 10:44. Freshman defenseman Katelyn Ptolemy (Dinsmore, SASK) also set up the goal.
After a scoreless second period, the Knights took a 2-1 lead with an unassisted shorthanded tally by Gaudet at 2:20 of the third. Ottawa tied it at 2-all with Talia Me’nard’s goal at 10:27.
Mulligan came through with the game-winner at 15:32 when she picked up a loose puck at center ice and skated down the right wing where she fired a shot from the bottom of the circle through the five-hole of the Ottawa goaltender.
With two second left, Clarkson’s captain, McKenney iced the game with an empty-net tally.
The Knights officially opened the season next Friday with a weekend series at 10th-ranked Boston College.
