The first ever meeting between Clarkson and Ohio State turned into an instant classic as the Golden Knights defeated the Buckeyes 1-0 in overtime of the semifinals of the NCAA Frozen Four on Friday evening at Ridder Arena.
Clarkson, with a record of 35-4-1, will face off against ECAC Hockey rival Colgate in Sunday's National Championship Game at 3:00 EDT.
The Knights and Raiders played in the ECAC Hockey Tournament Championship Game on March 4 at Cheel Arena with the Green and Gold skating to a 3-0 victory.
Top-3 Patty Kazmaier Finalist, junior left wing Loren Gabel (Kitchener, ONT) ended the fifth-longest game in Clarkson history at 16:12 of overtime sending the defending National Champions back to the NCAA title game for the second consecutive year and for the third time in the program's 15-year history.
Gabel finished off assists from linemates, freshman right wing Elizabeth Giguere (Quebec City, QUE) and sophomore center Michaela Pejzlova (Pardubice, Czech Republic), connecting on a one-timer from the right circle for her 36th goal of the season, ending the hard-fought battle after 76:12 of intense action.
Senior Shea Tiley (Owen Sound, ONT) was outstanding, posting 41 saves, just one stop shy of her career high.
In a scoreless first period, the Knights outshot the Buckeyes 11-8 and had excellent scoring opportunities by junior Kelly Mariani (Mississauga, ONT) and Giguere (Quebec City) turned aside by OSU's goaltender Kassidy Sauve.
Clarkson came out with flurry to start the second, but the Buckeyes withstood the early pressure and held an 11-8 shot advantage in the middle frame. Ohio State had an apparent goal waved off with 7:27 remaining in the period, but a Buckeye penalty negated the play. Pejzlova had a chance for the game's first goal with a shot in front with just over two minutes remaining in the stanza, but once again the Knights were denied.
Not for lack of opportunities, but the game remained scoreless through the third frame. Tiley was at her best, equally her career-high for saves in a period as the Buckeyes outshot the Green and Gold 18-7 in the stanza.
Clarkson went 0-of-4 on the power, including one man-advantage early in the extra session. The Buckeyes (24-11-4) went 0-of-2 on the power play.
