Rensselaer's women's hockey snagged their second win of the season with a 3-1 victory over long-time rivals #9-Clarkson University, securing their first home victory against the Golden Knights since 2015.

Rensselaer comes out hungry

The Engineers came out strong right off the puck drop, but a penalty against Rensselaer's Lin Mattsson cut their momentum short. Quickly the Golden Knights flipped the script and scored the game’s first goal just twenty seconds into the power play. Down a point, the Engineers had a choice to back off or maintain their course.

A competitive Rensselaer did not let up the pressure, keeping the game in their grasp. Aggressive defensive play allowed the Engineers to not only endure the Golden Knights but threaten them. With a little over six minutes left in the first period, Rensselaer's efforts paid off as Michaela Littlewood led an offensive zone entry. She scored off a rebound, sending the puck into the net and putting the Engineers on the board. Keeping the momentum six minutes into the second period Engineer Naomi Forand fired a shot and Mia Montanari got the rebound for the Engineers once again, scoring Rensselaer’s second goal of the game.

A second period dominated by special teams

The Engineers’ penalty kill proved to be vital in maintaining their lead into the second period, with Rensselaer taking the first of three penalties that period just thirty-three seconds after scoring. The Engineers found themselves killing the first penalty primarily in their defensive end, with both Rensselaer defense and goaltender Reese Keating feeling the pressure and delving into a much more physical play style. The Engineers found themselves fighting off constant shots from Clarkson with both their bodies and great saves from Keating in the net.

With Forand picking up back-to-back minor penalties at fourteen and eighteen minutes into the period, Rensselaer found themselves trapped playing defense. They were only able to register two additional shots on goal after their goal early in the start of the period.

Clarkson shooting frenzy

The Golden Knights constantly tested Rensselaer throughout the game, firing 82 shots with half being on goal, doubling Rensselaer's shooting numbers and then some. While the Engineers managed to maintain their 2-1 lead throughout the third and expand on it eighteen minutes in with an empty net goal from Georgia Bailey the Engineers offense left much to be desired.

Rensselaer racked up three power plays in the third period, with a minute of their power play time being a three-on-five matchup in their favor. Still, the Engineers were only able to register two power play shots on goal. While their goals did not come from luck but rather good follow through, this victory would not have been possible or at least not as large without Keating in the net. Keating saved 40 of the 41 shots on goal putting up a near perfect performance especially when faced with such a high magnitude of shots.

Following Saturday’s 4-0 loss to Saint Lawrence, the Engineers now hold a 2-14-0 record, with a 1-6-0 record in the Liberty League. Their next home game will be against Syracuse University this Friday, November 13 in their Blackout the House game. The box score for this game can be found here.