Clarkson Comes Up Short at Cornell

Greg Lewis makes one of his 27 saves at Cornell - photo by Mike Tansey

A hard-working effort on the road came up short for the Clarkson University Hockey team on Friday night as the Golden Knights fell to nationally-ranked Cornell 3-1 in ECAC Hockey action at Lynah Rink in Ithaca.

Clarkson, which lost on the road for the first time since the season-opening weekend at Colorado College, falls to 2-6-5 overall and to 2-2-1 in ECAC Hockey. The Knights play at Colgate on Saturday in a 4:00 p.m. contest at Starr Rink in Hamilton.

Audio Head Coach Casey Jones Postgame

Clarkson played the 12th-ranked Big Red (5-3-2, 2-3-2) tough on their home ice, but a pair of power-play goals by the home team in a wild and confusing second period proved to be the difference.

After a scoreless opening 20 minutes, Cornell jumped on top in the middle frame. Cole Bardreau tallied the game’s first goal, a power-play marker at 7:55. After a rash of penalties at the 11:13 mark that led to a 10-minute game misconduct penalty to Clarkson’s leading scorer, junior Allan McPherson (Kinburn, ONT), Cornell extended its lead. John Esposito capitalized with a power-play goal at 15:17 for a 2-0 Cornell advantage.

The Knights got on the scoreboard early in the third period with sophomore Joe Zarbo’s (Grand Island, NY) fourth goal of the season. Zarbo took a perfect pass in front from freshman Pat Megannety (Oakville, ONT) and connected for a power-play score at 3:28. Junior Jarrett Burton (Echo Bay, ONT) also assisted.

Audio Joe Zarbo Goal

Clarkson continued to pressure in the final frame, but Cornell was able to seal its second straight win with an empty-net goal by Esposito with 42 seconds remaining.

The Big Red outshot the Knights 30-23. Clarkson was 1-of-5 on the power play while Cornell was 2-of-4 with the man-advantage.
Freshman Greg Lewis (Mars, PA) posted 27 saves for the Knights, including 14 in the second period.

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