Potsdam, NY – For the second straight night, sophomore goaltender Lauren Dahm (Baldwinsville, NY) performed admirably in goal, but a late rally by third-ranked Dartmouth College prevented the Clarkson University Women’s Hockey team from gaining a four-point weekend as the two teams skated to a 2-2 tie in ECAC Hockey action Saturday afternoon in front of 233 fans at Cheel Arena.
The Golden Knights saw their record move to 4-5-3 overall and 2-1-1 in the ECAC. The Big Green salvaged a point on the weekend and are now 5-1-1 overall and 4-1-1 in conference play. Clarkson returns to action next weekend when the team travels to face Quinnipiac and former head coach Rick Seeley on Friday night.
The Knights got on the scoreboard first late in the opening stanza, when junior Britney Selina (Thornhill, ONT) attempted a wrap-around shot from behind the net. Selina’s shot didn’t get past Dartmouth goaltender Carli Clemis, but the rebound found the stick of senior Courtney O’Connor (Chicago, IL), who sent a pass across the crease to sophomore Melissa Waldie (Newmarket, ONT) for the opening goal of the game, her second in as many nights, at 13:08.
Clarkson scored another goal in the first period late in the frame. With just 1:31 remaining, freshman Brittany Mulligan (London, ONT) picked up her first collegiate goal when she deflected the puck past Clemis to give the Knights a 2-0 lead. Assists went to Waldie and senior captain Kimberly McKenney (Smiths Falls, ONT).
The Knights owned an overwhelming 27-8 advantage in shots through the first two periods, including a 15-5 edge in the second period, but it was the Big Green who would score the only goal of the second. With only 12 seconds remaining on the power play, junior Sarah Parsons came in along the right circle, performed a toe drag, and used a pretty backhand to end Clarkson goaltender Lauren Dahm’s extensive shutout streak. Sarah Newnam and Carli Clemis each were awarded assists.
The third period saw the Big Green pick up their play, as Dartmouth out shot Clarkson 11-5, and the effort was rewarded with a last-minute goal to send the game to overtime. A turnover on an attempted clear gave Dartmouth an advantage near the blue line and the Big Green took advantage as Shannon Bowman tied the game up with a wrist shot from the slot. The goal, which had assists going to Jenna Cunningham and Maggie Kennedy, came with only 54.5 seconds left in the contest.
In overtime, it was all Dartmouth from a standpoint of the scoreboard as the Big Green owned a 6-0 lead in shots and ended the game on the power play. However, Clarkson killed the chance to finish with a three-point weekend at home.
Dahm, who made 23 saves, saw a streak of 177 minutes, 21 seconds without allowing a goal come to an end in the second period, a run that began against Niagara two weeks ago and included shutout victories over Brown and fourth-ranked Harvard. Clemis had 30 saves for Dartmouth.
