Box Score

HAMILTON – Colgate's Shelby Perry tallied her first collegiate power-play goal and Ashlynne Rando turned away 36 shots, but the Raiders dropped a 3-1 decision to eighth-ranked Clarkson here Friday night.
 
Colgate played skate-to-skate with the defending NCAA champs and drew level early in the second period. Perry was there in front to tap home a rebound of Breanne Wilson-Bennett's backhander to make it 1-1 at 4:36 of the period.
 
Nicole Gass picked up the initial assist for her team-leading eighth of the season.
 
Clarkson had taken a 1-0 lead on Shannon MacAulay's goal late in the first period.
 
The Golden Knights scored the eventual game-winner at 9:21 of the second period. Savannah Harmon skated down the right boards and occupied a pair of Raiders before finding a wide-open Olivia Howe, who slotted it between Rando's pads for the 2-1 margin.
 

Clarkson added an empty-net goal inside the final 90 seconds of a penalty-filled third period. The Knights during the final stanza were saddled with seven penalties for 22 minutes, while Colgate picked up five for 18. Christine Lambert scored the empty-netter for Clarkson.
 
Colgate is now 4-16-0 overall and 1-7-0 in ECAC Hockey. Clarkson improved to 13-6-1 and 7-2-1.
 
The Raiders host St. Lawrence on Saturday at 4 p.m.
 
Bottom Line
• Clarkson 3, Colgate 1

Won-Lost Records
• Colgate is now 4-16-0 overall and 1-7-0 in ECAC Hockey.
• Clarkson moves to 13-6-1 overall and 7-2-1 in ECAC Hockey.
 
Facts & Figures
• Shots favored the visitors by a wide margin, 39-12. The period totals were 16-4, 9-5 and 14-3, all in favor of Clarkson.
• Colgate's Ashlynne Rando saved 36 shots and allowed just two goals. Her save percentage improved to .903 and her goals-against average dropped to 2.67.
• Colgate finished 1-of-5 on the power play to Clarkson's 1-of-4.

Perry's Power Play
• Colgate's Shelby Perry connected for her first collegiate power-play goal.
• The first-year winger from Elginburg, Ontario, poked home a second-period rebound that tied the score 1-1.
• It was Perry's second goal of the season (first in ECAC Hockey) and ninth point.
• Nicole Gass notched her team-leading eighth assist and Breanne Wilson-Bennett picked up her sixth.
 

Turning Point
• Colgate had fashioned a 1-1 tie on Perry's power-play goal at 4:36 of the second.
• But Clarkson didn't take long to answer.
• Less than five minutes later, Savannah Harmon found a wide-open Olivia Howe in front of the Colgate net and Howe slotted it home for Clarkson's second lead of the night.
• The Golden Knights added an empty-netter late in the third to stave off Colgate's upset bid.

More Key Info
• Shannon MacAulay scored Clarkson's first-period goal, her team-leading 15th of the season. Cayley Mercer and Erin Ambrose had the assists.
• The empty-net goal was scored by Christine Lambert from her own blue line.
• Shea Tiley picked up the win in goal for the Golden Knights, improving to 13-6-1.
• Friday's game was Colgate's fourth in the last eight days. The Raiders were coming off a 2-0 shutout win over Syracuse on Tuesday after dropping a pair of one-goal games last weekend at Vermont.
• Clarkson was Colgate's most-recent ECAC Hockey opponent before the holiday break. The Raiders lost 5-1 in Potsdam back on Dec. 6, and then the Raiders were off until the Vermont series.
 
From the Source
• Colgate head coach Greg Fargo: (On the game) "We picked up right where we left off Tuesday. It's been nice to be in game mode over break. We had three games over five days and then to come back and play tonight; we were looking to get off to a good start.
"We maybe started a little slower than we wanted to, but our game improved as the game went on. It's just a matter for us of maybe coming out a little harder off the get-go.
"We did a good job defensively tonight. We had to bend and not break a little bit against a big strong team in Clarkson. I give our team a lot of credit – we hung in there and our goalie gave us a chance to win. We just needed to find one late in the game, but it didn't come tonight.

(On Rando's play in goal) "Ashlynne's been really good. Since the break, she's played in every game. And that confidence of playing in every game has been building and building for her. She's been nothing but excellent since the return.
"She comes up with big saves when we need them and makes the routine ones look easy. She's confident right now and we've got to keep that going.
"As well as Ashlynne's playing, I give our group a lot of credit for how they're doing defensively to keep pucks outside. We are giving up more shots, but a lot of them are to the outside. We're not giving up as many Grade A chances as we did in the first half of the year, so that's good."
(On Perry's power-play goal) "It was a good play by Shelby getting to the front of the net. We talked about that before the game that Clarkson's pretty passive on the kill, so we knew we had to get some pucks to the net and get some bodies there. That's what happened.
"(Nicole) Gass made a good poised play to get across the blue line and we end up getting a puck through. Shelby was right there on the doorstep, beats her check to the net and she was able to cash in when we needed one.
"It was a big goal for us. It gave our team a big boost after going down 1-0. After that, we had some good momentum but just couldn't find one when we needed it."
(On preparing for St. Lawrence) "For the group, it's just rest tonight; we've played a lot of games here (lately). There are two important points on the line against a good St. Lawrence team. They are a fast-skating club, so we've got to be prepared for that.
"For us, we did some good things offensively and in our own end. We put an emphasis on how we exit the zone and break out; maybe we could have done a better job of that tonight, and in doing so, managing the puck through the neutral zone. We'll look at that tonight, we'll try to improve for tomorrow and we'll get another shot at another good league opponent Saturday at 4.
"So we're looking forward to it."

Gate Grab Bag
• Attendance at Starr Rink was 353.

Up Next
• Colgate is back on home ice Saturday afternoon against St. Lawrence.
• The Saints tied 3-3 Friday night at Cornell and are now 9-8-3 overall and 5-3-2 in ECAC Hockey.
• The puck drops inside Starr Rink at 4 p.m.

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