Clarkson won its sixth straight game Saturday afternoon with a 3-2 win over Quinnipiac.
Brittany Styner led the way for the Golden Knights with a goal and an assist.
The Golden Knights entered the contest third in the ECAC, just one point back of Harvard. The Bobcats, despite dropping four straight, still held on to an outside shot of moving up in the standings from sixth place.
With the loss, Quinnipiac is locked into sixth and will travel to the third seed in the first round of the ECAC playoffs in two weeks.
Thanks to a Harvard win, Clarkson still remains one point back of the Crimson for second.
Harvard, Clarkson, Dartmouth and St. Lawrence are still in limbo with two games remaining in the regular season.
“Every year, it’s like this down the stretch,” Clarkson co-head coach Matt Desrosiers said. “Any weekend you can drop from third place to eighth place it seems like. It’s fun sometimes, but at the same time, it can be a little tough on the heart.”
Clarkson got on the board first 9:45 into the first period on Juana Baribeau’s 16th goal of the season. Styner picked up the puck at the right circle and worked her way into the high slot. She dropped the puck off to Baribeau, who ripped a shot off the right post and past Chelsea Laden for the 1-0 lead.
The Golden Knights took the 2-0 with 4:20 left in the first period on Styner’s sixth of the season. Hailey Wood took the puck at the left point and with traffic in front of the net, let loose a slap shot that Styner tipped in front of the net. The puck dropped about four feet to the ice and into the back of the net.
Clarkson extended their lead to 3-0 just 1:48 into the second period on an incredible individual effort from Jamie Lee Rattray, who stole the puck in her own end and put some space between her and the Bobcat defenders. As she moved into the slot, QU’s Amanda Colin hooked Rattray. The delayed penalty was called as Rattray slipped the puck through Laden’s five hole.
“[Rattray] has been a work horse for us,” Desrosiers said. “She gained a lot of confidence working with the U-22 Canadian team. We thought she brought that right into the season this year and she’s been rolling ever since.”
The Bobcats got on the board 7:03 into the second period on a power-play goal from Erica Uden Johansson. After a cross-checking call put Jennifer Shields in the box, Quinnipiac went on their fourth power play of the afternoon. Regan Boulton connected with the Nicole Kosta at the left circle. Kosta went cross ice to set up Uden Johansson at the right circle, who blasted the one-timer glove side to beat Howe.
“We didn’t give up a power-play goal tonight, so we were very happy with our penalty kill,” Quinnipiac coach Rick Seeley said. “Our power play has been looking better and better every week, so we are very excited going forward about our penalty kill and power play.”
Quinnipiac inched closer in the final three minutes on Kate Wheeler’s sixth goal of the season. Shortly after the Golden Knights killed off a penalty, Kelly Babstock gained control of the puck behind the Clarkson net and threw the puck out front. Wheeler, fresh off the bench, skated into the puck at the left point and drove it five hole past Howe.
Down one goal, Seeley pulled Laden for the extra attacker with 40 seconds to play. Quinnipiac couldn’t convert on a number of goalmouth chances, but with three seconds left on the clock, a scrum in front of the net sprung a celebration from the QU fans.
Three Bobcat skaters pulled up at the top of the crease and poked away at the puck with Howe sprawled out on the ice. As the puck crossed the line near the right post, the officials on the ice blew the whistle.
The red light jumped to life, but the call was no goal. After further review, the call on the ice stood as the officials blew the whistle before the puck crossed the line.
Next week, Clarkson will travel to Cornell and Colgate for their final two games, while Quinnipiac will host Union and Rennselaer.
