An amazing rally late in regulation put the Clarkson University Women’s Hockey team in position for an improbable victory in its first ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The University of Minnesota, however, pulled out the quarterfinal round triumph with the deciding goal in overtime to gain a 3-2 win on Saturday evening before a crowd of 785 fans at Ridder Arena.
Trailing 2-0 with a half a period to play in regulation, the Golden Knights fought back to force overtime. With just over 10 minutes remaining in the third period, senior Britney Selina (Thornhill, ONT) and Melissa Waldie (Newmarket, ONT) broke in on a 2-on-1. Selina picked up a pass along the right boards from senior defenseman Carlee Eusepi (Oakville, ONT) and skated to the top of the circle where Clarkson’s captain fed a beautiful cross-ice pass on to the stick of Waldie. The junior left wing tapped in the puck at the doorstep for her 18th goal of the season and the Green and Gold’s first score again the Gophers this season, snapping a stretch of 170:09 of scoreless hockey over three games against Minnesota.
With time winding down in regulation and the Knights getting ready to pull junior goaltender Lauren Dahm (Baldwinsville, NY) for the extra attacker, sophomore Juana Baribeau (Amos, QUE) forced the extra session. Baribeau took a pass from sophomore defenseman Danielle Boudreau (Whitby, ONT) in the Clarkson end, skated just over the redline and fired a blast from center ice that cleanly beat Minnesota’s all-star freshman goaltender Noora Raty, a Patty Kazmaier Top-3 Finalist and the starting goaltender for Bronze-winning Team Finland in the recently completed Winter Olympics, high on the glove side at 18:16 to tie the game at 2-2.
Minnesota (26-8-5) gained the win on its home ice when captain Emily West picked up a loose puck in the Clarkson end, eluded a defender and slid in her team-high 22nd goal of the year, the game-winner at 3:09 of overtime.
The Knights, on the wrong end of a two bad breaks, fell behind 2-0 after 40 minutes.
In an evenly played first period, Minnesota, which held a slim 14-12 edge in shots in the stanza, took advantage of a fortunate bounce to grab a 1-0 lead after the opening 20 minutes. Midway through its second power play of the period, the Gophers’ Brittany Francis attempted to slide a the puck across the crease, but her pass from along the goal line deflected off a sliding Clarkson defender and just past Dahm for the game’s first score at 14:19.
In an eventful closing minutes of the second period, the Knights finally looked to have put their first goal on the scoreboard. Late in a power-play, during a scramble in front of the Gophers’ net, Clarkson knocked in a loose puck at 15:29 for what appeared to be its first goal against Minnesota this year. However, after video review, the puck was deemed to have been kicked in, negating the score.
Just over two minutes later the Gophers took a 2-0 lead when West finished off a flurry around the Knights’ net by knocking in a rebound from the right circle at 17:36.
Clarkson out shot Minnesota 39-35, including a 14-9 advantage in the third period. Dahm finished with 32 saves. The Knights went 0-of-5 on the power play, while the Gophers were 1-of-4 with the man-advantage.
Clarkson, which closed the season with two overtime losses, can reflect back on its best season ever. The Knights posted a 23-12-5 overall record, skated to their best finish ever in ECAC Hockey with a 13-5-3 league mark, advanced to their first league tournament championship game, and made the seven-year program’s first appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
Second-year Co-Head Coach Matt Desrosiers commented on the Knights' successfull season after the game. "Making this appearance in the NCAA Tournament is definitely a hugh step for our program. We have come a long way in a pretty short time. Obviously, whenever you get the chance to play for championships and come so close, it's going to help build for future years - especially with our younger players that now have that expereince."
