Despite producing a three-goal outburst late in the third period, the Clarkson University Hockey team had to settle for a 3-3 overtime draw against Alabama-Huntsville before 2,329 fans at Cheel Arena on Saturday night as the Chargers scored on the power play in the final seconds of regulation to gain the non-league draw on the road.
Clarkson, which defeated Alabama-Huntsville 3-1 on Friday, owns a 5-12-3 overall record. The Golden Knights resume ECAC Hockey play next weekend when they host Cornell and Colgate. The Chargers stand at 5-11-2 and will play at Robert Morris in CHA action next weekend.
Audio of Clarkson Head Coach George Roll's postgame comments
Trailing 2-0 with less than 10 minutes left in the third period, the Knights scored three times in a span of 3:30 to take the lead. Clarkson’s captain, junior Scott Freeman (Whitby, ONT) started the rally when he took a pass in slot from sophomore Nick Tremblay (Candiac, QUE) and fired in his fifth goal of the season at 10:25. Junior Lauri Tuohimaa (Helsinki, Finland) also assisted.
Audio of Freeman's Goal
At 12:50, junior assistant captain Brandon DeFazio (Oakville, ONT) jammed in a wraparound attempt for a power-play marker and his sixth goal of the year. Freeman and senior assistant captain Matt Beca (Mississauga, ONT) assisted.
Audio of DeFazio's Goal
Beca put the Green and Gold on top 3-2 when he one-timed a power-play shot from the left circle at 13:55 for his second goal of the weekend and team-high 11th of the season. Freeman picked up his second assist of the game. Sophomore Louke Oakley (Whitby, ONT) also set up the goal.
Audio of Beca's Goal
The Knights were called for a penalty at 17:47, and Alabama-Huntsville made the most of the opportunity. Skating with the man advantage, the Chargers pulled their goaltender for another extra skater with one minute to play and the move paid off as Keenan Desmet’s shot deflected off a skate in front and rolled just over the goal line to tie the game with 29 seconds left in regulation.
After a scoreless first period Alabama-Huntsville recorded an early goal and a late tally in the second stanza to take a 2-0 lead through 40 minutes. Defenseman Brandon Roshko put the Chargers on the scoreboard at 4:32 of the second period when he connected on a long low shot along the ice from just inside the blueline that found its way through traffic and past Clarkson’s sophomore goaltender Paul Karpowich (Thunder Bay, ONT). Justin Cseter assisted
With 53.8 seconds left in the period, Kevin Morrison tipped in a shot by Davide Nicoletti late in an Alabama-Huntsville power-play to give the visitors a two-goal lead heading into the third. Cody Campbell also assisted.
Clarkson put a season-high 47 saves on the Alabama-Huntsville net, but Chargers goaltender Cameron Talbot was in top form making 44 saves. Karpowich made 18 stops on 21 UAH shots. Both goalies finished with three saves in the five-minute overtime session.
The Knights went 2-of-7 on the power play, while the Chargers were 2-of-3 with the man-advantage.
