Senior Erica Howe (Ottawa, ONT) posted 26 saves and junior Christine Lambert (Thetford Mines, QUE) provided the goal as the Clarkson University Women's Hockey team, ranked third in the national polls, skated to a 1-1 tie against ninth-ranked Mercyhurst University at Cheel Arena on Saturday afternoon.

The Golden Knights, who own a 5-1-1 overall record, open ECAC Hockey action this coming weekend when they travel to Central NY to play defending conference champion Cornell at Lynah Rink in Ithaca on Friday.

"I thought we definitely brought a better effort than we did last night," stated co-head coach Matt Desrosiers. "We had our opportunities, but Mercyhurst matched our intensity and also brought a good effort. There is a lot that we can take from this weekend that will help us become a better team moving forward. I believe this weekend will help prepare us for our league games coming up."

After suffering their first loss of the season on Friday with a 2-0 defeat to Mercyhurst (3-3-1), the Knights came out strong to start Saturday's game and took a 1-0 lead at 8:41 of the first. Lambert finished off a passing combination from sophomore Olivia Howe (Moose Jaw, SASK) and senior Shelby Nisbet (Wiseton, SASK) at the back door for her first goal of the season.

Midway through the second period Mercyhurst evened the score when Emily Janiga took a pass alone in the slot from Christine Bestland and fired in her first goal of the season at 11:35. Shelby Bram also assisted.

In a scoreless third period, the Lakers outshot the Knights 6-to-5, but Clarkson had the better of the opportunities with a pair of power plays. The Knights final man-advantage opportunity extended into the five-minute overtime, but the Green and Gold were unable to convert despite putting five shots on goal.

For the game, Clarkson held a 31-27 shot advantage. The Knights went 0-of-7 on the power play, while the Lakers were 0-of-6 on the man-advantage.

Amanda Makela made 30 saves for Mercyhurst