Potsdam, NY – Whistles were frequent Friday night, but the Clarkson University Women’s Hockey team was able to take advantage of its extra-skater opportunities against Colgate, downing the Raiders 4-1 in front of 144 fans in an ECAC Hockey contest at Cheel Arena.

The Golden Knights improved to 15-7-5 overall and 9-4-2 in ECAC Hockey, while Colgate dropped to 8-17-1 and 3-11-1. Clarkson will host Cornell University on Saturday, while the Raiders will travel to St. Lawrence.

Though Clarkson had a healthy shot advantage in the first period, it took some time for the Knights to get on the scoreboard. Midway through a power-play chance, Clarkson was struggling to keep the puck in the zone along the boards. Sophomore Jamie Lee Rattray (Kanata, ONT) gained possession near the blue line and put in a fine individual effort to get through. She kicked the puck out of the way of the defender and skated through traffic in front, putting a shot on net near Colgate goaltender Kimberly Sass’ stickside. Sass stopped the initial shot, but the rebound went right back to the stick of Rattray, who flipped the puck in on a backhand at 16:28.

Clarkson took a 2-0 lead into the first intermission thanks to another solid effort from Juana Baribeau (Amos, QUE). In transition, Baribeau picked up the puck near the top of the circle and followed Rattray’s lead by using a couple of solid stick moves before going to her backhand, picking up her 10th goal of the season at the 19:04 mark. Sophomore Vanessa Gagnon (St. Constant, QUE) earned her seventh assists of the season on the score.

Clarkson continued its offensive splurge by scoring its third goal in less than eight minutes. Again on the power play, the Knights were able to gain a 3-0 lead. Hailey Wood (Lethbridge, ALB) took a shot from the point and after the puck changed course a few times, Rattray was able to deflect the shot past Sass at the 3:56 mark in the second period. Baribeau also gained an assist on the goal.

The remainder of the second period was quiet as the two teams combined for just nine shots, but the Raiders were able to take advantage of a Clarkson penalty in the early going of the third frame. After working the puck around to the top of the near-side circle, a shot was redirected by Rachel Walsh who stood just outside the crease. The goal at 6:27 of the third period brought the Raiders within two, but Colgate could not use the momentum as the team was whistled for two penalties shortly after the score. With Clarkson up a skater following three quick infractions by both teams, Baribeau sniped a shot from the top of the circle to return Clarkson’s three-goal advantage at 11:04. Katelyn Ptolemy (Dinsmore, SASK) gained an assist on the power-play goal.

The two teams combined for 30 penalty minutes, but Clarkson had more power-play chances, going 3-for-8, while the Raiders were 1-for-6. Sophomore Erika Howe (Kanata, ONT) made 14 saves in the Clarkson goal, while Sass made 29 stops.