The Engineers, once tied for first place in the ECAC, remain in the three-way tie for fourth place in the league following this past weekend’s 1-1 performance. Friday night, the women’s hockey team took home its first victory against the Clarkson University Golden Knights since January 20, 2007 by a score of 2-1, while Saturday afternoon’s contest against the No. 4 in-the-nation St. Lawrence University Saints resulted in a 5-3 loss.
Junior Allison Wright and freshman forward Alisa Harrison each tallied a goal and an assist in Friday’s win over the Golden Knights. The evening also marked another Greek Night at the Houston Field House, as the various fraternities and sororities around campus gathered together to cheer on their team and hold a can drive to benefit local charities. “Friday’s win against Clarkson was a big one,” said Head Coach John Burke. “We’ve played some great games against them, and have had a few heartbreaking overtime losses in the past few meetings. I’d like to thank the greeks for coming out; their support really helped us to come out of the game with a win.”
Following a scoreless first period, the Engineers came out firing and added two quick goals to start off the second frame. With less than a minute elapsed on the clock, Wright corralled a pass from freshman defenseman Sierra Vadner and wristed it over the shoulder of Clarkson sophomore goaltender Laura Dahm for her fifth goal of the season.
Nearly eight minutes later, Harrison netted the Engineers’ second goal and eventual game-winner as she took a pass from Wright and skated through the circle before ripping a shot at Dahm. The goalie could not control the puck, and Harrison slid the biscuit under Dahm for her eighth goal of the season. Junior Whitney Naslund also assisted on the play.
Midway through the third period,
Clarkson added its lone goal of the game, a redirected shot by sophomore Melissa Waldie past RPI sophomore goalkeep Sonja van der Bliek. With 1:24 remaining in the game, the Golden Knights pulled Dahm in favor of an extra skater; however, the Engineers’ solid defense blocked four shots and van der Bliek made one save to preserve the victory.
Van der Bliek stopped 28 of 29 shots on the night, including 10 in the first period and 11 in the second, while her counterpart Dahm stopped 24.
“As a team we played extremely well,” said Burke. “Clarkson is a big, fast team that likes to use their strength to create turnovers. We used our speed when the opportunity presented itself, and was able to take advantage of their faults.”
Despite a strong first-period showing by the Engineers, they could not hold on as they succumbed to nationally ranked St. Lawrence, who responded with a three-goal second period after remaining tied after one.
The Saints began scoring early on in the game, tallying their first goal two minutes into the first period with a goal by sophomore Vanessa Emond. RPI responded within a minute, as sophomore Kendra Dunlop netted the Engineers’ first goal of the game at 3:14, with assists by senior defenseman Laura Gersten.
Both teams stayed tied at one until midway through the second frame, when St. Lawrence pulled ahead with a two-goal lead, with goals by sophomore Karell Emard and senior captain Marianna Locke.
Senior Allison Domenico made a pass to classmate Carson Duggan, whose shot went wide of the net. Emard, who was stationed at the post, was able to collect the puck and bury it past van der Bliek on the power play. Minutes later, Locke added one of her own as she roofed the puck over van der Bliek’s reach for the 3-1 lead.
RPI came back to cut the deficit by one, as senior co-captain Nicole McDonald took an off-balance shot from the top of the slot, right over junior goaltender Brittony Chartier. The former University of Minnesota standout had been previously blocking a barrage of shots from RPI, and was stuck on her stomach and unable to recover in time for McDonald’s shot.
St. Lawrence regained the two-goal lead as van der Bliek mishandled a shot by junior Tara Akstull, which then trickled under her pads and past the goal line to pull the Saints ahead 4-2.
With two minutes remaining in the second period, senior Jamie-Lynn Stewart netted her first of the year to bring the Engineers back into the game. Chartier blocked the initial RPI shot but McDonald grabbed the rebound and cycled the puck back to Dunlop behind the net. Setting up the play, Dunlop sent the puck to Stewart, who streaked across the slot and was able to bury it for the tally.
Six minutes into the third period, St. Lawrence scored the final goal of the high-scoring game, as junior Britni Smith sent a shot through traffic and past van der Bliek for the Saints’ fifth goal of the game.
The Engineers remain at home this weekend as they face off against No. 9 Dartmouth University and Harvard University on Friday and Saturday, respectively. “This weekend we’d really like to redeem ourselves against Dartmouth,” said Burke. “Our goal is to get ahead early, and to get a better start than our last meeting with them.”
