Ithaca, NY - A three-goal second period turned out to be the difference Saturday afternoon, as the Clarkson University Women's Hockey team was shut out at top-ranked Cornell University, 3-0, at Lynah Rink.

The Golden Knights fell to 6-10-3 overall and 3-3-1 in ECAC Hockey, while Cornell moved to 13-1 on the season and remained unbeaten in league play at a perfect 8-0. Clarkson is now off until January when the team hosts Princeton and Quinnipiac during the opening weekend of 2011.

Though Cornell owns the top scoring defense in the country, allowing less than a single goal per game, the Knights were far from blown away by the Big Red, trailing only 30-22 in shots during the contest. In fact, Cornell's goals were most opportunisitc. The Big Red converted for their first goal in the second period at the 3:08 mark, scoring in transition just 11 seconds after the conclusion of a Clarkson power play when Catherine White tallied her seventh goal of the year. The game stayed 1-0 until very late in the middle stanza when White scored again, this time 16 seconds into a power-play chance for the Big Red. Finally, Cornell struck for its third and final goal with only three seconds left in the second period, which certainly must have altered the Knights' collective mindset going into the locker room for the second intermission.

Freshman goaltender Erica Howe (Ottawa, ONT) performed well in her first appearance against Cornell, stopping 27 shots. Amanda Mazzotta made 22 saves, her fourth shutout of the season, for the Big Red. Clarkson was scoreless in five chances on the power play, while Cornell converted one of its four chances with an extra skater.