Her name may resemble the Andy Griffith Show, but Randi Griffin’s performance against No. 6 Clarkson (20-9-5, 14-5-3 ECAC) was no laughing matter. The Harvard senior neutralized the Golden Knights’ three goals with a hat trick of her own in a 3-3 tie at Cheel Arena, turning a showdown between ECAC powers into a one-woman show.

For all Griffin’s brilliance, it was Clarkson that stole the show early on, storming out to a two-goal lead in the first half of the game. The No. 5 Crimson (18-6-5, 13-6-3) held off the Golden Knights for the first 10 minutes, but Clarkson kept the pressure on while its first power-play unit lay dormant in the arsenal.

“We knew [their] strength was their first power-play unit,” Griffin said. “They’ve got some kids who can really shoot the puck. We knew it was coming.”

The Golden Knights were finally able to unleash that weapon when Harvard junior Liza Ryabkina got sent to the penalty box for slashing at 12:33. Sixteen seconds later, Clarkson junior Melissa Waldie found the back of the net off a rebound of sophomore Juana Baribeau’s slapshot. It was Waldie’s ninth power-play goal of the season.

The Golden Knights struck again a little over five minutes into the second period, when sophomore Gabrielle Kosziwska tapped in a rebound to put Clarkson up by two.

And then it was time for the Randi Griffin show.

“It’s been something that’s coming all season,” junior forward Kate Buesser said. “She’s had so many chances.”

A stroke of luck didn’t hurt either, as the senior’s intended pass on the power play bounced into the cage for her first tally of the afternoon.

“The first goal was a little fluky,” Griffin admitted.

Fluke or not, the goal was a momentum changer, as it moved the Crimson from an imposing two-goal deficit to a more routine one-goal margin—which Harvard had already overcome the night before.

“When you’re down two goals, two goals seems like a lot,” Griffin said. “One goal doesn’t seem so far off.”

The unheralded senior continued to take the Golden Knights by surprise, with her second goal coming on a line change.

“We like to keep one player on the ice to keep the pressure on,” Buesser said.

While many of the skaters were zooming to and from the bench, Griffin was speeding toward the goal, where she was hit with a pass from co-captain Cori Bassett.

And, just as before, the senior converted.