Golden Knights Earn Tie with Huskies

Photo by Lauren Magin

Final	1	2	3	OT	Final
Connecticut (0-2-2)	1	2	0	0	3
Clarkson (1-1-2)	1	1	1	0	3

Scoring Summary
1st - 01:04	Evelyn, Sami (Connecticut)
1st - 16:10	Lambert, Christine (Clarkson)
2nd - 03:21	PP - Snodgrass, Emily (Connecticut)
2nd - 05:55	PP - Skirrow, Danielle (Clarkson)
2nd - 16:32	Slattery, Jocelyn (Connecticut)
3rd - 12:51	PP - Skirrow, Danielle (Clarkson)

Connecticut	Clarkson
G: 3 Players (#15, #27, #62 - 1) A: 5 Players (#5, #7, #21, #28, #62 - 1) Sh: Snodgrass, Emily - 4 Sv: Garcia, Alexandra - 38	G: Danielle Skirrow - 2 A: Jamie lee Rattray - 3 Sh: Jamie lee Rattray - 7 Sv: Erica Howe - 21

TEAM STATISTICS	Connecticut	Clarkson
Power Plays	1 for 3	2 for 3
Shorthanded Goals	0	0
Penalties (min)	3 (6)	3 (6)
Shots on Goal	24	41
Face Offs Won	23	39

full stats

POTSDAM, NY – On two occasions Danielle Skirrow (Trenton, ONT) found herself in the right place at the right time, scoring a pair of game-tying power play goals to help the Clarkson University Women’s Hockey team gain a 3-3 non-league tie against the Connecticut Huskies in front of 242 fans Sunday afternoon at Cheel Arena.

The Golden Knights moved to 1-1-2 through four games this season and will play a home-and-away series with Syracuse University next weekend, starting the two-game set in Central New York before returning to Cheel Arena on Saturday. UConn remained winless at 0-2-2 in 2011.

Fans were just settling into their seats when UConn got on the scoreboard. Freshman Sarah MacDonnell took a shot from the top of the far circle and whistled a shot over the stick-side shoulder of Clarkson goaltender Erika Howe(Ottawa, ONT). Howe was either screened or thought the shot was going wide, as she simply rotated her body as the puck went into the top corner of the net.

Though the Huskies had just one shot for a significant time frame in the first period, the Golden Knights couldn’t convert any of their chances until late in the period. Clarkson was able tie things up at the 16:10 mark when freshmanChristine Lambert (Thetford Mines, QUE) deflected a shot from the top of the slot, with assists going to sophomoresJamie Lee Rattray (Kanata, ONT) and Brittany Styner (Calgary, ALB).

With no penalties in the first period, the game moved along smoothly, but consecutive whistles against Clarkson changed the state of play early in the second period. Less than two minutes into the frame, freshman Taylor Gedig(Kelowna, BC) and senior Kali Gillanders (Kyle, SASK) were called for body-checking and interference, respectively, giving UConn a two-minute 5-on-3 chance. The Huskies nearly came away empty-handed, but late in the power play chance, Emily Snodgrass deflected in a shot from the slot by Kelly Horan, giving UConn a 2-1 lead. The advantage was short-lived, however, as UConn, too, saw their streak without a penalty ended. Sophomore Carly Mercer (Exeter, ONT) was denied by Huskies’ goaltender Alexandra Garcia in front of the crease, but the bounding puck was redirected by Danielle Skirrow at the 5:55 mark for a power-play marker.

The Knights and Huskies remained tied for the next 10 minutes, but a pretty set up allowed UConn to take the lead at 16:32 in the second period. Snodgrass sent a pass up to Alexandra Vakos, who skated in slowly along the boards. With another UConn skater drawing a pair of Clarkson defenders into the slot, Vakos patiently waited and pushed a pass across the circle and through the slot to Jocelyn Slattery, who quickly wristed a shot past the stick and blocker of Howe, giving the Huskies a 3-2 advantage as the game neared its second intermission.

UConn was trying to hold on to its slim advantage when the Huskies were called for another infraction, giving the Knights a chance on the power play. The Knights held the puck in the UConn zone for much of the two-minute stretch and finally cashed in as the power play waned. Mercer dug the puck out of the corner and sent it back out front to Danielle Skirrow, who redirected the pass through the traffic in front, skimming the post and over the goal line with only two seconds remaining in the power play. Rattray picked up her third assist of the game on the goal, and her fifth of the weekend.

During the final moments of regulation, neither team had many legitimate chances, except for a two-on-one for the Huskies that never truly materialized into a scoring opportunity as an attempted shot was whiffed upon with the puck getting clipped harmlessly away.

Clarkson had decent chances to pick up the game-winner late, including a tough to handle shot from Kali Gillanders in the final minute, but the two squads finished in a tie.

Clarkson out shot UConn 41-24 in the game, with a 21-8 edge over the final period and overtime. The Golden Knights scored twice in three power-play chances, while the Huskies converted once in their three opportunities. Erika Howe finished the contest with 21 saves and Alexandra Garcia concluded the game with 38 stops.