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Yale (8–19–1, 7–14–1 ECAC) faced off with No. 17 Clarkson (19–9–6, 14–4–4) for the second time of the season last Friday, earning a 3–2 overtime win despite being outshot 37–20. 

Justin Pearson ’22 got the Bulldogs out to an early lead in the first period. Pearson picked up the puck in an empty neutral zone and was unchallenged on his way to beating Clarkson goalie Ethan Haider glove side with a tight-angled shot from the left circle. 

Clarkson forward Mathieu Gosselin tied it at one midway through the second before Quinton Ong ’23 got his first goal of the season 24 seconds into the third period, also on a transition play in the neutral zone. Ong drove down the right side, found himself in a two-on-one situation in front of the net, and opted to shoot to get what looked to be the game winner for Yale.

Clarkson battled back late in the third period, however, tying the game at two with 32 seconds left with a six-on-four power play advantage. 

Yale came out on top in overtime with a scintillating break-away goal from Cole Donhauser ’23. Donhauser carried the puck past the entire Clarkson team before sending the Golden Knights’ goaltender the wrong way, and stuffed the forehand home to earn the OT win with 1:03 remaining. 

“A lane opened up for me when I was skating up the ice and fortunately found myself alone with the goalie where I made one of my go-to moves,” Donhauser said. “It was a great win for us.”

Goaltender Luke Pearson ’25 had a personal-best 35 saves on the night.

This result is an improvement to the last time the Bulldogs faced the Golden Nights at home. Yale had a two goal advantage but Clarkson clawed its way back to a 3–2 victory at Ingalls Rink on Feb. 5. 

This time, Yale earned a quality win against the nationally-ranked team. Going into the ECAC playoffs, the Bulldogs will be in an underdog position, but have proven they are up for the challenge. 

“Moving into this weekend, we couldn’t be more excited for the opportunity to show how far we have come as a team,” forward Justin Pearson said. “It’s about the group of guys we have in the locker room and focusing on playing a complete game.” 

Yale then fell 3–1 to St. Lawrence (9–16–7, 7–10–5) on Saturday, with the Bulldogs’ only goal coming from forward Henry Wagner ’24. Wagner tied the game at one with 5:33 left in the first period on a shot through traffic from the left dot to the top right corner. 

The Saints scored two goals in the second period and held the Bulldogs scoreless for the rest of the game. Luke Pearson had another 30 saves on the day. 

“We’ve been playing good hockey lately. I feel like our team’s confidence is growing and that can go a long way in the playoffs,” forward Kyle Johnson ’22 said. “It helped to pick up a win against a good Clarkson team, but mostly we feel as if we’re getting hot at the right time. I can tell there’s a lot of excitement within our group.” 

Yale travels to Colgate this Friday for the first round of the ECAC playoffs. The Bulldogs met the Raiders twice this season, losing the first 3–0 on Nov. 19 and winning the second after a shootout on Jan. 16. Colgate narrowly missed out on a first-round bye earning the No. 5 seed in the tournament, where Yale is seeded 12. 

The Bulldogs will take the ice in a best of three series at Starr Arena in Hamilton, New York, on Friday, March 4, and Saturday, March 5, both at 7 p.m. The third game will be played at 5 p.m. on Sunday if needed.