The high-powered offense of the Clarkson University Women’s Hockey team was held in check this weekend as the University of Minnesota shut out the Golden Knights for the second consecutive game, earning a 2-0 non-league victory before 1,080 fans at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis on Saturday afternoon.

On Friday, the second-ranked Gophers blanked the Green and Gold 4-0.

Entering the weekend, ranked third in the nation, Clarkson stands at 12-4-1 overall. The Golden Knights, who closed out a six-game road trip, return to Cheel Arena this week as they resume ECAC Hockey action. In the final games of the 2009 portion of the schedule, Clarkson hosts Princeton on Friday at 3:30 pm, and Quinnipiac on Saturday at 2:00 pm. The Knights are in second place in the conference with a 6-1 league mark.

Boasting the eighth-best scoring offense in the country, averaging 3.13 goals per game, entering the Minnesota series, Clarkson suffered back-to-back shutouts for the first time since early January 2007.

Minnesota (13-2-1), which ran its win streak to four straight games, tallied twice in the first period on Saturday for all the scoring in the contest. Emily West connected for both goals, scoring at 6:18, and again at 16:45 with a shorthanded marker.

The Knights struggled on the power play all weekend, going 0-of-14 with the man-advantage, including 0-of-8 on Saturday.

The Gophers out shot Clarkson 36-21, and held an 11-2 margin in the third. Junior Lauren Dahm (Baldwinsville, NY) kept the Knights close with a 34-save effort, and helped to kill off all five Minnesota power plays.

Noora Räty backboned Minnesota to its fifth shutout of the season, posting 21 saves.