Clarkson Rally Falls Short

Photo by Josh Fogarty

Boxscore

POTSDAM, NY -- A pair of goals less than a minute apart midway through the third period gave the Clarkson University Hockey team a chance for a late rally against 8th-ranked Princeton University, but the Tigers held off the Golden Knights' comeback, and added an empty-net goal in the final seconds to gain a 4-2 victory before 2,453 fans in ECAC Hockey action at Cheel Arena on Saturday afternoon.

Princeton, which won its sixth straight game, improves its record to 7-1 overall and holds on to first place in the ECAC Hockey standings with a 6-1 league mark. Clarkson, which suffered its fifth straight loss, and third consecutive defeat at home, falls to 2-6-2 overall and to 1-5 in the conference.

"I thought we played better as the game went on, but obviously the first two periods hurt us," stated Clarkson head coach George Roll. "They are a good hockey club. I thought our effort was there tonight, but our confidence is pretty down. We did battle hard and we made a step in the right direction. We could have quit when we were down in the third period, but we battled to get within one. I am proud that we didn't give up. It is something to build upon for next weekend."

The Tigers dominated the first period with a 19-4 shot advantage, but only managed to get one opportunity by Clarkson's freshman goaltender Paul Karpowich (Thunder Bay, ONT), who posted a career-high 18 saves in the opening stanza. Junior Mark Magnowski (Winnipeg, MAN) gave Princeton the early lead when he fought through the Knights' defense in front and slipped a low shot past Karpowich at 6:28. Sophomore Matt Arhontas (Naperville, IL) picked up the assist.

Princeton extended its lead in the second stanza with a pair of goals 3:40 apart. Magnowski tallied his second goal of the game and fifth of the season at 5:50, finishing off assists from junior Jodi Pederson (Smithers, BC) and Arhontas. At 9:30, senior Brandan Kushniruk (Hudson Bay, SASK) fired in a shot from the corner for his second goal of the year giving the visitors a 3-0 lead. Junior Kevin Kaiser (Pelham, NH) and Pederson assisted.

Clarkson staged a rallied midway through the final frame, scoring twice in 54 seconds to make it a one-goal game. Sophomore defenseman Bryan Rufenach (Cameron, ONT) tallied his first goal of the season on a quick shot from the slot at 10:43 with classmate Scott Freeman (Whitby, ONT) assisting. Sophomore Brandon DeFazio (Oakville, ONT) made it 3-2 with his third goal of the year at 11:37 with officials ruling it a score after a video review. DeFazio knocked in a loose puck off of a Freeman wraparound attempt. Sophomore Lauri Tuohimaa (Helsinki, Finland) also assisted.

The Knights' bid to tie it in the final minutes was hampered when they were called for two penalties over the final 1:30 of play. Princeton sealed the win with a power-play goal into the empty net by sophomore defenseman Matt Godlewski (Elk River, MN) with 11.4 seconds remaining.

The Tigers out shot the Knights 47-16. Karpowich finished with a career-high