A pair of losses this weekend slowed the women's hockey team's charge toward its first postseason berth in five seasons. But the hunt is not over yet. The Bears (7-11-7, 4-10-4 ECAC) fell to Clarkson (18-7-5, 12-4-2) and St. Lawrence (17-8-4, 11-5-2) but are still in position to make the playoffs with just four conference games left to play this season. The losses extend Bruno's losing streak to four, but a resilient performance against the Golden Knights provided a silver lining to an otherwise difficult stretch of games.
Clarkson 4, Brown 3
The Golden Knights came out on the offensive in the first period, forcing Bruno goalkeeper Katie Jamieson '13 to stop 13 shots. Despite power plays for both teams, neither could break the deadlock in the opening frame.
"We came out strong, and we surprised Clarkson," said Sarah Robson '15. "They were not ready to compete with us. They thought they could walk all over us."
The game sprang to life in the second period, as each team found the back of the net multiple times to set up for a dramatic finish. Clarkson's pressure paid off five and a half minutes into the frame, when Clarkson forward Carly Mercer fired a shot past Jamieson to give the home team the lead. The Golden Knights added another goal just over a minute later to double their advantage, 2-0.
Bruno answered quickly, getting on the board by way of defender Jennifer Nedow '14, who finished off a slick piece of build-up play from Jacquie Pierri '12 and Alena Polenska '13 to cut the lead in half, 2-1. Clarkson seemed determined to maintain its two-goal cushion and capitalized on a power play at the 12-minute mark to push the lead to 3-1.
But with five minutes remaining in the second period, Samantha Woodward '14 netted her first of the season during a Bears power play to cut the deficit to 3-2.
"We're a team that doesn't give up," Robson said. "That's what we're known for, and that's what our coach constantly emphasizes in the dressing room."
The dramatics came with less than four minutes left in the third period, when Robson scored her seventh goal of the season to even the score at 3-3. Neither side could find the game winner by the final horn, and the game headed to overtime.
The Golden Knights ultimately proved too much to handle. Hailey Wood put home the game-winner just four minutes into overtime to hand Bruno the 4-3 loss and snatch two valuable points.
"I think (that game) shows a constant belief in ourselves, that we can come back through adversity," said co-captain Katelyn Landry '12. "Clarkson is a top team, but we can compete with anyone."
St. Lawrence 3, Brown 1
Thirty-four saves from Aubree Moore '14 were not enough to slow down a tenacious Saints offense Saturday. St. Lawrence managed a goal at the start of each period to hand Bruno its fourth loss in a row.
"We came out flat and that stuck with us the whole game," Landry said. "We needed to do everything faster."
"It seemed as if we were a little tired in that game, and St. Lawrence really came out strong," Robson said. "They shut our system down."
The Bears' lone goal came midway through the third period. Robson scored her team-leading eighth goal of the season after corralling a rebound in front of the net and slipping her second-chance effort past the Saints goalkeeper. But Bruno struggled to generate any more offense and skated off the ice with a 3-1 defeat.
The Bears will host two crucial games next weekend, welcoming ECAC foes No. 3 Cornell (21-3, 16-2) and Colgate (10-18-1, 5-12-1) to Meehan Auditorium. Robson said Bruno must come away with points against the Raiders, with whom the team is tied in the standings, to keep its postseason dream alive.
"The game against Colgate this weekend is really important, because they're the team we're competing with for a playoff spot at this point," Robson said. "Rest is key right now, but so is showing up and having a good week at practice and translating that into the game."
