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Clarkson University Athletics

Knights Continue Offensive Surge with 8-2 Win Over USNTDP

goal vs USA
Jim Meagher

Men's Hockey | 12/13/2025 4:22:00 PM

Potsdam, NY – Continuing its strong run of scoring since the calendar flipped to December, the Clarkson University Men's Hockey team found the back of the net frequently in the early going and gained an 8-2 win over the USA Hockey National Team Development Program's U18 squad on Saturday afternoon at Cheel Arena.  

The win for the Knights would have been their eighth of the season, but the game was played as an exhibition for the Green and Gold. USA went 1-1 on the weekend after downing St. Lawrence 3-2 on Friday night in Canton, and moved to 9-15-1 overall.

The eight goals for the Knights continued a recent offensive surge that has seen Clarkson score 17 goals over the course of its last three contests. 

Clarkson's first goal came off a soft forecheck in the Team USA zone as Owen Van Steensel stole the puck on the right hand side. He blindly tried to put a pass back on the net which was swiped away by a USA defender, but Jared Mangan created another turnover from behind. He then slipped towards the left circle and wristed a shot from a few feet below the left dot, and it found the back of the net just under the crossbar at 4:28.

Clarkson scored a second goal in the opening period, beginning when Jared Mangan wisely banged the puck off the boards from the neutral zone to get it over the blue line for Justin Cote. A backhanded pass to Ryan Bottrill allowed the senior to take the puck closer to the left side boards near the circle and get the Knights' skaters time to fill some lanes. It was Mangan who did just that, finding his way into the slot to receive the pass from Bottrill, and Mangan's one-timer snuck beneath the pad of USA goaltender Luke Carrithers at 14:19.

It didn't take long for the Knights to pick up another goal when Remi Gelinas tallied barely 90 seconds later. Erik Bargholtz went from the left point to the right point on a pass for Bryce Sookro, and Sookro provided a simple pass back to the center for Gelinas. He took a stride or two forward to pick his spot, utilizing a multi-player screen from Luka Sukovic and two USA defenders to blind Carrithers, shooting high into the net at 15:50 to make it 3-0.

Clarkson spent the final two minutes of the opening period on the penalty kill when Van Steensel was whistled for a five-minute major, but the Knights kept USA off the board until the intermission. That would not be the case at the start of the second when Clarkson was whistled for a delayed penalty where Team USA would pick up an extra skater for a 6-on-4 and Parker Trottier wristed in a shot from top of the slot at 1:47 in the second.

The Knights quickly regained their three-goal lead after concluding the penalty kill. Talon Sigurdson made a rink-wide pass through the neutral zone to Ryan Bottrill at the opposite blue line and he quickly passed the puck into the slot for Ty Brassington, and Brassington was able to redirect the puck in at 3:23 to make it a 4-1 game.

Less than four minutes later, Team USA was able to reduce the margin to two goals for a second time, creating a turnover at the blue line near USA's zone. Victor Plante picked up possession and brought the puck into the Clarkson zone, pushing a pass forward to Sammy Nelson, who hit the post with his shot. Plante had already begun to fill space in the slot following his pass, and he was there to gain possession of the rebound, flipping the puck past Clarkson goalie Nick Avakyan at 7:01.

Clarkson continued its high-octane output near the midpoint of the period with its fifth goal of the contest. Matthew Mayich wristed a shot on goal from a few strides above the top of the right circle. The save was made off of Mayich's shot, but Shawn O'Donnell was there to win the puck in the middle of the scrum, knocking the puck in at 11:47 to make it 5-2.  

After a tussle between two players at the end of the second period created a 4-on-4 to start the third, it was Clarkson that would take advantage of the more open ice. Tristan Sarsland was down at the bottom of the left circle and he passed the puck to the top of the slot off a Team USA skate to Tate Taylor. Taylor collected himself and whipped a shot just under the crossbar 32 seconds into the third. Back skating even less than five minutes later, it was Taylor again finding the back of the net, as he knocked in a rebound off a shot from Luke Pakulak at 5:23.

Clarkson lit the lamp one more time just after the midway point of the third period. Luka Sukovic and Ryan Bottrill ran a bit of a give-and-go on the left side of the rink in the USA zone. From beneath the end line, Bottrill found his teammate quickly at the dot and Sukovic dropped the puck in at 10:29.

The Knights controlled the play from the beginning of the contest, outshooting Team USA 12-1 in the opening period. Though USA would even things up in the second period (12-8 in favor of the visitors), the third period was more of a return to the results of the first (20-3 for Clarkson) as the tired legs of Team USA began to show against the rested and stronger Clarkson players. Avakyan made seven saves in 32-plus minutes for Clarkson before being relieved by Keenan Rancier for the final stretch, where he matched the starter with seven saves of his own. For USA, Luke Carrithers made 32 stops.


 
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Players Mentioned

Tristan Sarsland

#5 Tristan Sarsland

D
6' 1"
Senior
Erik Bargholtz

#9 Erik Bargholtz

F
6' 1"
Senior
Luka Sukovic

#11 Luka Sukovic

F
6' 3"
Sophomore
Shawn O

#13 Shawn O'Donnell

F
5' 11"
Junior
Talon Sigurdson

#14 Talon Sigurdson

F
6' 1"
Junior
Ryan Bottrill

#16 Ryan Bottrill

F
6' 1"
Senior
Owen Van Steensel

#19 Owen Van Steensel

F
5' 10"
Freshman
Jared Mangan

#20 Jared Mangan

F
5' 10"
Sophomore
Matthew Mayich

#21 Matthew Mayich

D
6' 3"
Freshman
Tate Taylor

#27 Tate Taylor

D
5' 11"
Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Tristan Sarsland

#5 Tristan Sarsland

6' 1"
Senior
D
Erik Bargholtz

#9 Erik Bargholtz

6' 1"
Senior
F
Luka Sukovic

#11 Luka Sukovic

6' 3"
Sophomore
F
Shawn O

#13 Shawn O'Donnell

5' 11"
Junior
F
Talon Sigurdson

#14 Talon Sigurdson

6' 1"
Junior
F
Ryan Bottrill

#16 Ryan Bottrill

6' 1"
Senior
F
Owen Van Steensel

#19 Owen Van Steensel

5' 10"
Freshman
F
Jared Mangan

#20 Jared Mangan

5' 10"
Sophomore
F
Matthew Mayich

#21 Matthew Mayich

6' 3"
Freshman
D
Tate Taylor

#27 Tate Taylor

5' 11"
Sophomore
D