Jamie Lee Rattray Has an October to Remember for Clarkson

In winning four straight contests in October to begin their tenth season of NCAA Division I women’s hockey, the Clarkson Golden Knights have benefited greatly from Jamie Lee Rattray.

Headlining one of the top recruiting classes in the NCAA, Rattray’s presence has been a key factor in the early success of their vaunted freshmen. Their highly successful month of October has been another showcase of Rattray’s outstanding skills.

The season opening series versus the nationally ranked St. Lawrence Skating Saints saw Clarkson enjoy an unprecedented sweep of the defending ECAC postseason champions. Six seconds into the first power play of the October 6 contest, Rattray assisted on the first NCAA goal scored by top recruit Erin Ambrose. Although St. Lawrence outshot Clarkson in the second and third periods of the loss, it was another Clarkson veteran, Danielle Skirrow who logged the game winning tally.

An October 12 win versus the Vermont Catamounts found Rattray’s three point night the key reason the seventh ranked (in the national polls) Green and Gold prevailed by a 4-1 score.

Rattray’s helper in the win was a thing of beauty. Passing from the corner, Brittany Styner successfully converted the pass into a power play goal. Highly touted freshman Erin Ambrose assisted on the play as well. Rattray would score a power play marker at the 8:47 mark of the first, and then log a shorthanded marker at the 9:21 mark.

A second consecutive win versus Vermont (a 5-1 victory on October 13) saw Rattray assist on the first career goal of Shannon MacAulay. A 5'11" power forward, MacAulay and Ambrose helped Canada win the gold medal at the 2012 IIHF Under-18 Women’s Worlds. In assisting on both of their first NCAA goals, Rattray has made a great impact in their young NCAA careers.

In a match of nationally ranked opponents, Rattray maintained her remarkable streak against the Mercyhurst Lakers. A road contest on October 19 found Rattray involved in all 3 Clarkson goals. She would score two goals and assist on the final goal of the contest as fifth ranked Clarkson bested the seventh ranked Lakers.

While the October 20 match against Mercyhurst resulted in the first loss of the season for Clarkson (a 4-3 final score), Rattray logged two goals to extend her scoring streak. Down by a 2-0 mark after the first, Rattray scored in the second to reduce the Lakers lead. Although the Lakers made it 3-1, Rattray (with assists from Carly Mercer and Ambrose) logged a power play marker to keep the Green and Gold in the match.

Despite the Lakers prevailing by a 4-3 score, Rattray has proven to be the most outstanding player in ECAC women’s hockey.

An October 26 victory over Union resulted in a 6-0 blanking, in which Erica Howe made 16 saves for the third shutout of October 2012, and the 14th of her career. The win also found Rattray and Styner assisting on Mercer’s goal in the third period. The following day, Rattray extended her point scoring streak to 8 straight games.

In a 6-2 win over the Rensselaer Engineers, Rattray would assist on a power play goal by remarkable rookie Ambrose. Although the last two games of October did not see Rattray score, her presence on the ice was invaluable.

Her on-ice presence and strong leadership makes those around her better. Without her, Clarkson would not enjoy a sparkling 7-1 record, highlighted by a 2-0 conference mark.