Troy, NY - Two quick goals in the first six minutes stood up for the Clarkson University Women's Hockey team as the Golden Knights picked up a 2-1 victory over Rensselaer, earning an ECAC Hockey playoff spot in the process.

The Golden Knights moved to 12-15-6 overall and 9-8-4 in league play, while Rensselaer fell to 10-15-7 and 8-11-2. Clarkson looks to move up in the playoff seedings when it faces Union College Saturday afternoon.

All of Friday night's scoring took place in the opening period, as Clarkson took little time jumping ahead of the Engineers. Junior Juana Baribeau (Amos, QUE) scored her seventh goal of the season at the 4:36 mark, with assists going to freshmen Vanessa Plante (Riviere-du-Loup, QUE) and Carly Mercer (Exeter, ONT). Gaining an extra attacker after a penalty on the Engineers, Clarkson scored less than a minute later when freshman Jamie-Lee Rattray (Kanata, ONT) tallied her sixth goal of the year at 5:33. The power-play marker had assists going to senior Melissa Waldie (Newmarket, ONT) and sophomore Hailey Wood (Lethbridge, ALB).

Rensselaer picked up a power-play goal of its own at the 12:44 mark, and the score stood at 2-1 for the remainder of the contest. Clarkson did its best to limit the Engineers' chances in the third period, holding RPI to just four shots while taking 15 of its own and controlling the pace of play.

Freshman Erica Howe (Ottawa, ONT) made 18 saves to gain her eighth win of the season, while Rensselaer's Sonja Van der bliek stopped 25 shots. Clarkson owned a 27-19 lead in shots and went 1-for-6 on the power play, while RPI went 1-for-4 with an extra skater.