Rensselaer RPI 10-21-4

Clarkson GKN 18-16-1

Rensselaer RPI

10-21-4

Final

Mar. 09, 2024

Clarkson GKN

18-16-1

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	3	F
Rensselaer RPI	2	0	1	3
Clarkson GKN	0	0	2	2

Summary
Box Score

Game Recap: Men's Hockey | 3/9/2024 9:21:00 PM

Knights Third Period Comeback Attempt Falls Short in 3-2 Loss to RPI in ECAC First Round

Potsdam, NY – Less than a minute into the game, the Clarkson University Men's Hockey team was playing from behind and the Golden Knights could never completely recover, falling 3-1 in the ECAC Hockey First Round against Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on Saturday evening at Cheel Arena.

The Golden Knights saw their season come to a close with a record of 18-16-1 overall, while the Engineers stayed alive at 10-21-4 and will face top-seeded Quinnipiac in the ECAC Quarterfinals next weekend.

The visitors scored on their first rush of the game as a rink-wide pass started things off with Ryan Brushett gaining possession just inside the blue line. Tyler Hotson had a burst of speed through the three Clarkson defenseman and was the first to the net, receiving a pass from Brushett and quickly chipping it past Austin Roden just 40 seconds into the game.

Clarkson had a chance to tie the game while on the power play, getting two solid chances on hard shots from Ayrton Martino and Noah Beck, but RPI goaltender Jack Watson was up to the task, smothering both shots without a rebound. RPI would get a second goal on its first chance on the power play just a few moments later. Jack Agnew controlled the puck in the high slot and slid a pass over to Austin Heidemann at the left circle. Heidemann patiently waited for the play to develop and, instead of passing the puck back up to the point, stayed low and sent a pass to the opposite side of the crease. Although John Beaton's stick was held up by a Clarkson defender from converting on the one-timer, the puck caught enough of the blade and trickled over the goal line to make it 2-0 at 11:38 in the first.

The second period was fairly quiet for the first nine minutes as each team had only one shot on goal in that run of time. Clarkson had several good scoring chances in the final six minutes, only to see Watson deny them all. Jesse Tucker was denied by a sliding stop at the 13:54 mark and about 90 seconds later Watson covered up another shot that went off the post. In the waning seconds of the frame, Watson kicked away one shot and had another sliding save to keep the Knights off the scoreboard through 40 minutes.

Clarkson looked to get some momentum going in the third when the Engineers were whistled for a penalty, but the Knights were called for their own infraction a minute later. Skating four-on-four, the Engineers seemingly put the game away near the midway point of the period. Lauri Sertti chipped a backhand pass up ice to Sutter Muzzatti from blue line to blue line, and Muzzatti took a few strides in before wristing a shot from the top of the left circle past Roden's glove side at the 9:05 mark.

Clarkson cut into the deficit with just under seven minutes to go, getting an offensive zone faceoff after RPI was called for icing. Right off the draw, Tristan Sarsland took a shot from the blue line with the rebound bouncing out to Ellis Rickwood in the slot, where the sophomore would not miss, converting at 13:13 to put the score at 3-1.

The Knights pulled Austin Roden with roughly 3:20 remaining in the game, and immediately put pressure on the Engineers, but Watson continued to stand on his head in the RPI crease, forcing Clarkson to take its timeout with 2:37 to go. It appeared as if RPI would get a reset, but a scrum in the slot kept the puck in the offensive zone and Mathieu Gosselin's one-timer ripped past Watson to make it 3-2.

With Roden still out of the net, Clarkson rushed the net on a couple of occasions, creating piles of humanity in the crease, but Watson kept the puck out. One last chance came with 1.2 seconds remaining as Gosselin communicated with his teammates, but instead of winning the faceoff backwards he tried a shot to beat Watson or to get a quick rebound for another attempt. Watson was up to the task, however, stopping the attempt from Gosselin without another shot being taken.

Clarkson finished with a 36-17 edge in shots on goal in the game, but came up empty on four power play chances. Austin Roden finished with 14 stops for the Knights, while Jack Watson had 34 saves for the Engineers.

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Scoring Summary
Scoring Play	Home Team Score
1st Period		RPI	GKN
00:40	RPI - Hotson, Tyler Assisted by Brushett, Ryan, Tinling, Dovar	1	0
11:38	RPI - Beaton, John Assisted by Heidemann, Austin, Agnew, Jack	2	0
3rd Period		RPI	GKN
09:05	RPI - Muzzatti, Sutter Assisted by Sertti, Lauri, Heidemann, Austin	3	0
13:13	GKN - Rickwood, Ellis Assisted by Sarsland, Tristan	3	1
17:51	GKN - Gosselin, Mathieu Assisted by Martino, Ayrton, Taylor, Trey	3	2