Team Notes: Clarkson Battles Hockey East Foes on the Road

Six games into the 2010-11 campaign and the hard work finally paid off for the Clarkson University Women’s Hockey team, which picked up its first win of the season with a come-from-behind victory over its archrival in the final minutes of regulation this past Saturday afternoon. 

The Golden Knights, who are riding a modest two-game unbeaten streak (1-0-1), will look to carry their momentum into this weekend when they take to the road to battle two tough Hockey East foes. On Friday, the Green and Gold skate against traditional power the University of New Hampshire in Durham, NH at 7:00 p.m. The Knights will then face off at fifth-ranked Boston University on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. 

Guided by third-year co-head coaches Matt and Shannon Desrosiers and assistant coach Matt Kelly, Clarkson owns a 1-4-1 overall record. The Knights return 14 letterwinners from last year’s squad which posted a 23-12-4 overall record and a second-place 14-5-3 ECAC Hockey mark. Senior defensemanCourtney Olson (Brunswick, GA) leads the Green and Gold as team captain, while seniors Melissa Waldie (Newmarket, ONT) and Caitlin Oleksa (Battle Creek, MI) and juniors Kali Gillanders (Kyle, SASK) and Katelyn Ptolemy (Dinsmore, SASK) will serve as alternate captains.

This past weekend, the Knights skated to a tie and a win against rival St. Lawrence in a pair of non-conference games in the North Country. At Cheel Arena on Friday, Clarkson snapped a four-game season-opening losing streak by rallying for a 1-1 tie against the Saints. Sophomore Danielle Skirrow (Trenton, ONT) broke a lengthy scoring drought for the Green and Gold when she scored early in the second period with Clarkson’s first goal in a span of 103 minutes to tie the game. Senior Lauren Dahm (Baldwinsville, NY) was impressive in the crease with a 27-save effort, including three stops in the five-minute overtime session.

Its first triumph ever at Appleton Arena in Canton could not have come at a better time for Clarkson as the Golden Knights picked up their initial win of the season with a come-from-behind 3-2 victory over St. Lawrence on Saturday.

Clarkson, which totaled just two goals through the first five games, overcame a 1-0 deficit by scoring three goals in the final 3:09 of regulation to snap a 10-game winless drought (0-9-1) on the Saints’ home ice. Trailing 1-0 with just over three minutes remaining in the third, the Knights struck twice in a 52-second span to take their first lead of the season. Skirrow with her second goal of the weekend and third career tally started the Green and Gold rally. Waldie followed with her first goal of the season and her 53rd career goal, an unassisted marker at 17:23, to put the Knights on top 2-1 for Clarkson’s first lead of the season. Junior Juana Baribeau (Amos, QUE) clinched the win with an empty-net, power-play goal with 33 seconds left. Waldie recorded her 99th career point with an assist on the goal. Dahm finished with 22 saves in her 46th career win.

Bidding to make its sixth consecutive showing in the NCAA Tournament this season, UNH owns a 3-2 record after opening the season with five straight road games. The Wildcats swept a pair of ECAC foes this past weekend, winning 4-3 at Rensselaer and 4-1 at Union.

After opening the season with a one-goal loss at Top-10 ranked North Dakota, BU has won four straight. The Terriers swept Wayne State (7-2, 4-1) at Walter Brown Arena this past weekend. BU hosts St. Lawrence on Friday before facing the Knights.