Another determined effort by the Clarkson University Hockey team came up short as Cornell scored twice in a span of 2:07 midway through the third period to gain a 4-2 victory at Lynah Rink in Ithaca, NY on Saturday night.
Tied 2-2 after 40 minutes, the Big Red (13-4-2, 8-3-1) broke open the tight contest with a goal by Chris Abbott at 10:09, while both teams were skating four aside, and a power-play tally by Matt Moulson at 12:16.
After a scoreless first period, Clarkson and Cornell traded two goals apiece in the second stanza. Sophomore David Cayer (Longueuil, QUE) ended a 0-22 drought on the power play for the Knights when he finished off assists from senior Jeff Genovy (Kalamazoo, MI) and junior Mike Sullivan (Stouffville, ONT) at 1:46 for his ninth goal of the season. The Big Red came back with their first goal of the game on Byron Bitz’s score during a 4-on-4 situation at 7:57.
The Knights regained the lead with another power-play marker at 11:33 as sophomore Steve Zalewski (New Hartford, NY) found the back of the net for the first time since early December. Just one second after a 5-on-3 advantage ended, Zalewski knocked in a loose puck in front for his fifth goal of the year with freshman Shea Guthrie (Carleton Place, ONT) and sophomore defenseman Grant Clitsome (Gloucester, ONT) assisting. Just under three minutes later, Cornell made the most of the man advantage with Mark McCutcheon connecting on a blast from the top of the left circle for a power-play goal at 14:29 to make it 2-2.
Cornell out shot Clarkson 34-29. Junior Kyle McNulty (Wakefield, RI) posted 30 saves. Both teams were 2-of-7 on the power play.
Clarkson will look to snap out of a four-game losing skid when it plays North Country rival St. Lawrence in a home-and-home series this coming weekend. The Knights, at 12-10-2 overall and 5-6-1 in the ECACHL, will host the Saints at Cheel Arena on Friday and then battle St. Lawrence at Appleton Arena on Saturday. Both games are 7:00 p.m. starts.
