Clarkson Women Force Game 3 in a Nail Biter!

Katie Morrison got the game winner with 38 seconds left in overtime to give Clarkson a 2-1 win at Harvard. Clarkson had another outstanding all-around effort from the women to even up the best-of-three series. After a ho-hum period from both sides in the first, both squads came out flying in the second, with Clarkson playing with the confidence they seemed to be lacking the previous night. Clarkson slowly began taking control of the game, skating the puck into the zone, cycling behind the net, and they were rewarded with a goal by Micheleen Devine to go up 1-0. In the third, emboldened by the one goal lead, Clarkson continued to pressure, creating several breakaway and odd-man opportunities, but were unable to cash in.

With just under three minutes left in the third, it looked like disaster had struck, when the Jenny's (Brine, Raimondi and Sifers) converged on Hurley in a scrum in front of the net. Brine snuck the puck over Hurley who was down, and the game was heading for overtime. After 19 minutes of back and forth overtime play, Clarkson created an odd-man rush and the numbers game paid off as Marie-Jo Gaudet and Amanda Dittmer managed to get Boe out of position, and Katie Morrison stuffed the game winner from the right side of the goal to send the series to a decisive game three tomorrow at Bright Hockey Center in Cambridge at 4:00pm. Kira Hurley made 33 saves for the victory, Clarkson's first ever playoff win.

Some astute observations:

Marie-Jo Gaudet has been playing out of her mind. She has single-handedly become a menace on the ice, outracing Crimson defenders for pucks and creating scoring opportunities. Kira Hurley has been solid in net. Both goals scored on her this weekend have been tough luck, the first on Friday rolled in off her save, and the one this evening came off a mess in front of the net. Christine Balikowski has been exceptional on defense, she seems to be involved in a lot of big plays at crucial times. There's no points for Emma Madigan on the sheet, but she continues to sneak in and create rushes which force Harvard back on their heels. If Clarkson can continue to have confidence in their passing and carrying the puck into the offensive zone, and they can keep piles of people away from Kira Hurley, in particular the Jenny's who continue to create havoc in the Knights zone, they can win this series.