Clarkson Finishes Non-Conference Play With 4-3 Victory Over Canisius.
 

A trio of quick goals and a late penalty kill allowed Clarkson to hold on for a 4-3 victory at the Harbor Center in Buffalo, NY over Canisius.

Coach Jones altered his lineup from Friday's contest, adding four new names to the chart. Gardner, Sigurdson, and Rose gave new energy to the team's core depth, and Junior Brady Parker got the nod for his first start of the season in between the pipes.

The Golden Knights ramped up the offensive intensity from the opening puck drop, dominating time of possession in the opening frame. Stick handling in the defensive zone, Noah Beck was able to gain the first power play of the night on a boarding call to Canisius's Stefano Bottini. Clarkson's power play generated a couple great chances including a hard one timer from Ayrton Martino in the right circle and a shot off the post from Tristan Sarsland, but the Griffins came out unscathed. 

Clarkson's offensive pressure would continue to mount throughout the period, finishing with seven straight shots on goal. Eric Ciccolini opened the scoring with 1:30 remaining in the period as he misfired on a slap shot from the blue line, but was able to track down his own rebound and sling in a wrist shot off the Canisius defender. Assists were credited to Ryan Taylor and Ellis Rickwood, the goal marks Ciccolini's 5th of the season.

Emotions ran high in the second period which was heavily riddled by penalties on both sides. Clarkson would go shorthanded first on a cross checking call against Tristan Sarsland. The Golden Knights penalty kill stood strong in front of Parker, holding their lead. About 2 minutes after the kill, Sarsland would be sent back to the box for holding. Again, the penalty kill would do its job as Brody Parker eliminated seven straight Canisius shot attempts. With tensions to the rafters, Clarkson would draw an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty 11:02 into the middle frame. The power play came up short allowing 5 on 5 play to resume for 36 seconds before a pair of players were sent to their boxes on offsetting roughing calls, Noah Beck for Clarkson and Max Kouznetsov for Canisius. 

Late in the period, Anthony Romano was charged with interference giving Canisius their 3rd power play opportunity of the period. Erik Bargholtz was hit hard on the blue line as he chased a puck towards a clearance, giving Canisius an odd man rush toward the net. The Griffins tied the game with 1:14 remaining in the period, Bargholtz would leave the game and did not return. After capitalizing on their power play, Canisius immediately surrendered a high sticking penalty and put Clarkson back on the advantage with 37 seconds on the clock.

The Golden Knights offense erupted to kick off the final period. Winning the opening faceoff the overlapping power play, Mathieu Gosselin shook off a hit entering the offensive zone and powered in his 2nd goal of the season. Ryan Taylor and Ayrton Martino received assists on the play that came 44 seconds into the period. In the blink of an eye, the score was 3-1 as Daimon Gardner notched the first goal of his career just 23 seconds after Gosselin's goal. Oliver Moberg and Anthony Romano assisted the tally. Their offensive onslaught would not wait long to continue with Ayrton Martino and Mathieu Gosselin feeding a pass to Cody Monds in the slot, who broke a shot through the five-hole to extend the lead to 4-1 with 17:29 left in regulation.

Canisius tightened the game with 8:59 remaining, as the defense kept an attempted clearance inside the zone leading to a series of quick passes and a shot that went bar-down to beat Parker cutting the lead to 4-2. As the Griffins pulled their goalie in the closing minutes, the puck luck shifted in their favor. On a quick zone entry, Oliver Torr sent a wraparound into the crease that took an unfortunate bounce off the skate of Kaelan Taylor and narrowly crossed the goal line. After trimming the Clarkson lead down to one, Canisius immediately pulled their goalie again. Brady Parker made a series of stops to hold the lead and covered the puck with 15.2 seconds remaining. On the faceoff, Gosselin played the puck with his hand and was sent to the box on a faceoff violation which gave the Griffins a 6 on 4 advantage for the final faceoff. Parker deflected a quick shot into the corner where Dustyn McFaul sent the game clinching clearance into the neutral zone.

Mathieu Gosselin, Ryan Taylor, and Ayrton Martino all recorded multiple points. Gosselin recorded a goal and an assist, Taylor and Martino found a pair of assists. Brady Parker found 25 saves in his first win of the season. Clarkson's penalty kill finished 3-for-4, and the power play went 1-for-3.

With the win, the Golden Knights are now 10-7-1 and end non-conference play on a high note. The  team will return to play next Friday, January 12 on the road at Union. Puck drop is set for 7:00 PM EST streaming on ESPN+ or on the radio, B993 FM.