A frustrating effort on specialty teams played a large role in the Clarkson University Hockey team’s downfall in a 4-2 loss at Rensselaer on Saturday. The Golden Knights were 0-of-10 on the power play, while the Engineers went 3-of-9 with the man-advantage in the penalty-filled contest. Clarkson, which has lost three straight games, falls to 11-12-5 overall and to 6-8-2 in the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC). The Knights open a four-game home stand at Cheel Arena next weekend hosting Vermont on Friday and Dartmouth on Saturday.
“I thought we really played well tonight,” sated head coach George Roll. “Guys played hard and competed, but RPI was very good on their execution on the power play and we weren’t. That was really the game, three power play goals for them and none for us. That was the difference tonight.”
After a scoreless first period against Rensselaer, Clarkson took a 2-0 lead early in the second period. Senior Trevor Edwards (Carleton Place, ONT) tallied his eighth goal of the season, at 4:10, finishing off a pass from the side of the net by freshman Brodie Rutherglen (Trail, BC) on a quick wrist shot from the bottom of the left circle. Sophomore John Sullivan (New Bedford, NH) also assisted.
At 7:12, freshman defenseman Matt Nickerson (Old Lyme, CT) scored from the right circle, connecting off a passing combination from senior Rob McFeeters (Woodville, ONT) and junior Jay Latulippe (Saratoga Springs, NY) for his fifth goal of the year.
The Engineers started their rally with the first of three straight power-play goals at 13:16. Rensselaer continued to roll with the man-advantage, adding two more scores 2:19 apart early in the third, connecting at 6:36 and 8:55. With 30 seconds remaining, the Engineers sealed the victory with an empty-net goal.
Sophomore Dustin Traylen (Kirkland, QUE) posted 32 saves as the Knights were out shot 36-31
