The Clarkson University Hockey team’s bid to extend its unbeaten streak over archrival St. Lawrence University came to an end late in the third period on Saturday night when senior right wing Alex Curran (Perth-Andover, NB) scored on the power play to lift the Saints to a 4-3 ECAC Hockey victory before 3,337 fans at Cheel Arena.
The Golden Knights, who saw their unbeaten streak over St. Lawrence stopped at four games (2-0-2), closes out the 2009 portion of the schedule with a 4-10-2 overall record and a 1-5-2 ECAC Hockey mark. Clarkson is back in action January 2-3 when it plays in the Dodge Holiday Classic at the University of Minnesota.
Curran snapped a three-game winless stretch for St. Lawrence (8-6-2, 4-3-1) when he knocked in a rebound from the bottom of the right circle with just five seconds remaining in a Saint power play at 18:16 of the third..
After connecting for three power-play goals in Friday’s 3-3 tie at St. Lawrence, the Knights took advantage of their first man-advantage opportunity in the opening period on Saturday to grab the early lead against the Saints.
At 9:51, with three seconds remaining in the first power play of the game, junior Brandon DeFazio (Oakville, ONT) gathered in a loose puck at the top of the St. Lawrence crease and lifted in his fifth goal of the year. Senior Matt Beca (Mississauga, ONT) and junior Scott Freeman (Whitby, ONT) assisted.
Audio of DeFazio Goal
St. Lawrence gained control later in the period with a pair of goals 1:54 apart. Sophomore Jacob Drewiske (Hudson, WI) tied the game at 15:31 off assists from Aaron Bogosian (Massena, NY) and Rick Carden (Elk Grove Village, IL). Freshman defenseman George Hughes (Westwood, MA) put the Saints on top 2-1, connecting on a slapshot from the blueline for a power-play marker at 17:25
Clarkson, which has struggled in the second period for the majority of the season, scored twice in the opening 10 minutes of the middle stanza to regain the lead against the Saints. Junior defenseman Bryan Rufenach (Cameron, ONT) took a pass from sophomore goaltender Paul Karpowich (Thunder Bay, ONT) at the side of the net and finished off a rush up ice by scoring his fourth goal of the year on a shot from the top of the right circle that deflected in off of St. Lawrence’s goaltender Alex Petizian’s (Kirkland, QUE) glove 69 seconds into the middle frame.
Audio of Rufenach Goal
North Country native Jake Morley (Ogdensburg, NY) scored his second goal of the weekend and third of the season at 9:09. Morley took a pass from sophomore defenseman Mark Borowiecki (Kanata, ONT) at the blueline, split two defenders and put a shot through Petizian’s five-hole to give the Green and Gold a 3-2 lead on his first goal ever at Cheel Arena. Senior Tim Marks (Brownville, NY) also assisted.
Audio of Morley Goal
St. Lawrence came back again at 13:30 when Drewiske used a Clarkson defenseman as a screen and snapped off a quick wrist from the right circle for his second goal of the game to tie the score 3-3 after two periods.
Clarkson out shot the Saints 24-18. Karpowich made 14 saves, while Petizian finished with 21 stops, including 11 in the third period. The Knights were 1-of-3 on the power play while St. Lawrence connected for two goals in five chances.
