POTSDAM, N.Y. — In a nearly identical game to their earlier, non-conference matchup at Cheel Arena, St. Lawrence and Clarkson battled to a 3-3 tie Thursday night, this time with valuable ECAC points on the line.
Each team now sits at 8-0-1 in the ECAC, tied atop the standings with 17 points with a rematch on Saturday set to decide who takes the top spot in the ECAC.
The Saints carried the lead into the third period, and looked positioned to extend it with a power play that carried over from the second period, but Genevieve Bannon connected with Clarkson captain Cayley Mercer on a pass through the slot that Mercer tapped past Grace Harrison for a shorthanded goal just 1:50 into the third.
Kennedy Marchment netted her second of the game 34 seconds later, tipping a Brooke Webster shot, to put the Saints up once again.
However, just as in October, the Golden Knights tied the game with less than 30 seconds to play.
It was Corie Jacobson who scored unassisted with 27 seconds left to even the game the first time around, but rookie Ella Shelton earned the honor on Friday, beating Harrison high glove with a shot from the left faceoff circle with 30 seconds remaining in the contest.
Each team had strong chances in overtime, but the game ended in a draw.
The first period was scoreless, but it didn’t take either team much time to score in the second period.
Clarkson struck first, 2:43 into the middle frame when Harrison didn’t get enough of her glove on a Savannah Harmon shot, and it tricked over the goal line to put the Golden Knights up 1-0.
The Saints answered quickly, however, evening the game at a goal apiece just 22 seconds later. Marchment took a feed from Webster after the Saints forced a turnover on the halfwall, and she beat Shea Tiley glove side from in tight.
Justine Reyes put the Saints on top 5:02 later with her eighth goal of the season, beating Tiley from the slot with a quick wrist shot.
After the contest, Clarkson reflected on the improvements the team has made since the last 3-3 tie against their Route 11 rival.
“I thought we had a much better game today that we did earlier in the season,” said Golden Knights coach Matt Desrosiers. “I thought we were probably lucky to get away with a tie earlier in the season, but tonight I though we gave a better effort.”
“It’s always a battle against St. Lawrence, we’ve been rivals for a long time, and I think that we feel more seasoned as a team, and we’ve come together a lot since that first game,” said Mercer.
The Saints side was slightly more subdued, but no less positive about the result or the state of the team.
“We were lucky to get out of that first period 0-0,” said Saints bench boss Chris Wells about the opening frame where the Saints were outshot 7-3 and generally outplayed. “Both teams laid it out on the line, a lot of red faces in the handshake line, and great to see a good crowd out here, and they were certainly entertained.”
“I think the girls were a little bit more down after this one (compared to the previous 3-3 tie),” Marchment added. “It obviously would have been nice to win tonight, but we got the tie and we’re still undefeated, and we want to get the win at Appleton.”
