Fruitvale’s Ella Matteucci and the Clarkson Golden Knights are headed to its first Frozen Four final after ousting Boston College 3-1 on Saturday at the NCAA West tournament.
Vanessa Gagnon scored twice to put the Golden Knights ahead 1-0 in the first period and 3-0 early in the third, and Erica Howe stopped 23 shots for Clarkson.
Jamie Lee Rattray assisted on all three Clarkson goals, including a Brittany Styner score in the second period..
Matteucci anchors the best defence in the NCAA division 1 women’s hockey, allowing an average of just 1.05 goals against this season.
The Knights led the ECAC division with a 16-2-4 record and were 29-5-5 overall.
This year surpasses last year’s total, 28, for most wins ever in a season.
The Golden Knights, ranked number-2 in the nation, will play Mercyhurst in the national semifinals on Friday in Hamden, Conn. In the other semifinal, the number-one ranked Minnesota Gophers will play the Wisconsin Badgers