Clarkson Gains Tie with Two Late Goals at Harvard

Photo by Chris Lenney

Sometimes a tie feels like a win. That may have been the case for the Clarkson University Hockey team on Saturday as the Golden Knights rallied with two late goals in the third to gain a 2-2 draw against Harvard before 2,405 fans at Bright Hockey Center in Cambridge, MA.

On Friday, Clarkson staged a third-period comeback to earn a 3-2 victory at Dartmouth. With the three-point weekend, the Green and Gold improved their ECAC Hockey record to 1-4-1 and to 4-8-1 overall. Clarkson returns to Boston this Friday for a non-league game at Boston College.

As he did on Friday, sophomore goaltender Paul Karpowich (Thunder Bay, ONT) kept Clarkson in the game with another solid effort in the crease. Karpowich followed up his 35-save performance in the win at Dartmouth with 41 stops against the Crimson.

The Knights trailed throughout the majority of the contest and generated very few offensive opportunities against Harvard before striking twice in a 32-second span late in the third. Trailing 2-0 with less than four minutes in regulation, Clarkson came to life. 

At 16:09, junior defenseman Bryan Rufenach (Cameron, ONT) tallied the Knights' first goal, knocking in his own rebound from the slot for his third goal of the season, Sophomore blueliner Mark Borowiecki (Kanata, ONT) and junior captain Scott Freeman (Whitby, ONT) assisted. 

At 16:41, senior Matt Beca (Mississauga, ONT) pounced on rebound at the left side off a Borowiecki shot and knocked in his team-high seventh goal of the year to tie the game. Senior Tim Marks (Brownville, NY) started the play by winning a faceoff in the Harvard zone.

The Crimson had the best opportunities to win it in overtime when they skated on the power play, but Karpowich turned aside all five shots he face in the extra session. For the game, the Knights' goaltender posted 15 first-period saves, 12 stops in the middle frame and nine more saves in the third.

Harvard out shot Clarkson 43-20, including by a 29-7 margin through the first 40 minutes.

The Crimson (1-4-2, 1-4-2), looking to snap a five-game winless drought, took advantage of a Clarkson turnover around the net and went on top 1-0 with Louis Leblanc's unassisted goal at 6:04. Harvard added a power-play marker by Marshall Everson at 4:03 of the second stanza.

Clarkson struggled on the power play, going 0-of-7 with the man advantage. Harvard went 1-of-4 on the power play.