Jan. 23, 2010

Courtesy of Clarkson

New Haven, CT - An overtime goal from senior Dominique Thibault (L'Orignal, ONT) just seventeen seconds into extra time helped the Clarkson University Women's Hockey team pick up its 10th victory in conference games as the Golden Knights beat Yale 3-2 in ECAC Hockey action Friday night.

The Golden Knights, ranked third in the country, moved to 16-5-3 overall and 10-1-1 in league play, while Yale dropped to 6-11-3 and 4-8-1. Clarkson looks to sweep the weekend tomorrow when the team faces Brown University.

After a dominant first period, in which the Knights out shot Yale 16-4, the two teams remained scoreless. It wasn't until early in the second frame when Yale got on top thanks to a goal from Alyssa Clarke at 2:04. The Knights trailed by a goal until late in the period when freshman defenseman Hailey Wood (Lethbridge, ALB) scored her first collegiate goal. Junior Courtney Olson (Brunswick, GA) and Thibault each assisted.

Midway through the final stanza, it appeared as if Yale might pull off the upset when Tara Tomimoto scored an unassisted power-play goal with 10:22 remaining. Clarkson began a late push in the waning moments of the third period and that offensive thrust produced the tying score as senior defenseman Carlee Eusepi (Oakville, ONT) tallied her fourth goal of the year with just over two minutes remaining.

Clarkson had three shots in just 17 seconds in overtime, but the third one found its way over the end line as Thibault scored for the 15th time overall and third game-winner of the year. Sophomore Juana Baribeau (Amos, QUE) picked up her 12th assist of the season on the game-winning score.

Junior goaltender Lauren Dahm (Baldwinsville, NY) made 28 saves for the Knights, while Jackee Snikeris made 40 stops for Yale. Clarkson ended the contest with a 43-30 edge in shots.