Potsdam, NY - Junior Marie-Jo Gaudet (Sherbrooke, QUE) recorded her second career hat trick and added an assist to help the Clarkson University Women’s Hockey team complete a weekend sweep in ECAC Hockey play at Cheel Arena by defeating Cornell 4-1 on Saturday afternoon.
The Golden Knights, who skated past Colgate 3-1 on Friday, took over sole possession of fourth place in the 12-team league, owning a 7-4-1 ECAC Hockey slate. The Green and Gold have 15 points, and are just two points behind third-place Dartmouth with a game in hand on the Big Green. Posting a 6-1-1 mark since November 30, Clarkson holds a 16-5-3 overall record.
Clarkson never trailed against Cornell, taking the initial lead midway through the first period. During a scrum in front, Gaudet won a battle for a loose puck and knocked in her first goal of the game at 10:36. Senior defenseman Amanda Dittmer (Chatham, ONT) and sophomore Genevieve Lavoie (Delson, QUE) earned assists.
After a strong first period, but nothing to show for it on the scoreboard, Cornell (8-9-1, 5-6-1) struck early in the middle frame to tie the score. Standout freshman, Rebecca Johnston, the leading rookie scorer in the nation, tallied unassisted on the power-play 19 seconds into the period for her 9th goal of the season.
Another persistent effort at the side of the Cornell net finally paid off for Gaudet when she jammed in a loose puck underneath the Big Red goaltender at 4:28 for the game-winner. Lavoie, with her second assist of the game, and senior assistant captain Brooke Beazer (Kingston, ONT) set up the goal.
Clarkson took a two-goal advantage with 7:24 left in the second. Lavoie picked up a rebound in the slot and lifted in her 8th goal of the season with Gaudet and Beazer assisting to help give the Knights a 3-1 lead through two periods
Gaudet completed her three-goal effort with her team-high 16th goal of the season, sealing the win with an empty-net tally with 29.8 seconds remaining.
Cornell held a 27-22 advantage on shots, but freshman Eve Grandmont Berube (Drummondville, QUE) was strong in the Clarkson goal with a 26-save effort, including 11 stops in the opening 20 minutes, to post her 10th win of the season.
The Knights went 0-of-5 on the power play, while the Big Red went 1-of-5 with the man advantage.
The Knights travel to NY’s Capital District region next weekend to take on league foes Union and Rensselaer.
