The Clarkson University Hockey team put a scare into nationally-ranked Cornell on Friday night in a game televised nationally by CSTV, but the Golden Knights came up short in their bid to hand the eighth-ranked Big Red their first loss at Lynah Rink this season, falling 4-2. Clarkson, which owns a 7-16-2 overall record and a 3-9-1 Eastern College Athletic Conference Hockey League (ECACHL) mark, plays at Colgate on Saturday in a 7:00 p.m. game to be televised live throughout the North Country and Greater Syracuse area by Time Warner Cable.
After a scoreless first period, Cornell took control in the second stanza with three goals. Boasting the second-best power play in the country, the Big Red scored on the man advantage for the game’s first goal at 5:54. A little over three minutes later, Cornell made it 2-0. With 2:08 left in the second, the Big Red struck again with a goal off a face off to hold a 3-0 advantage after 40 minutes.
The Knights, however, refuse to give in and rallied with two scores early in the third to make it a 3-2 game. Freshman standout Steve Zalewski (New Hartford, NY) continued his scoring prowess with his team-high 11th goal of the season, a 4-on-3 power-play marker at 3:41 with classmates David Cayer (Lonqueuil, QUE) and Grant Clitsome (Gloucester, ONT) assisting. At 8:03, Cayer, back in the line up after missing the previous three games while recovering from a concussion, scored Clarkson’s second goal and his fourth of the year connecting off a pass from rookie Nick Dodge (Oakville, ONT) on a 2-on-1 break. Senior assistant captain Jay Latulippe (Saratoga Springs, NY) also assisted.
With 2:06 remaining, however, Cornell sealed its 10th straight win at home with its fourth goal of the contest.
Cornell held a slight 31-27 shot advantage. Sophomore Kyle McNulty (Wakefield, RI) posted 27 saves for the Knights. Both teams were 1-of-5 on the power play.
