Junior captain Nick Dodge (Oakville, ONT) scored two goals and added one assist as Clarkson University rallied for a 4-4 tie against visiting Dartmouth College in ECACHL action on Friday before 2,376 fans at Cheel Arena.
Ranked 10th in the country, the Golden Knights posted their third tie over the last six games and stand at 15-6-4 overall and are in third place in the ECACHL with a 7-3-3 league mark. The Big Green extended their unbeaten streak to four games (3-0-1) and own a 9-8-3 overall record and are tied for fourth place in the conference with a 5-5-3 ECACHL slate.
Trailing 4-2 with less than seven minutes remaining in regulation, Dodge connected for two goals in a five-minute span to even the score for the Green and Gold. At 13:15, Dodge tallied his first of the game when he knocked in a big rebound off a shot by junior defenseman Grant Clitsome (Gloucester, ONT) for a power-play marker. Junior Shawn Weller (South Glens Falls, NY) picked up his second assist of the game on the goal. Dodge tied the game with 1:45 left in the third, finishing off assists from sophomore defenseman Adam Bellows (Lancaster, NY) and junior Steve Zalewski (New Hartford, NY) for his team-high 14th goal of the season.
Dartmouth came out strong to start the game and made the most of its first power play opportunity of the contest, scoring at 7:52 of the opening period. J.T. Wyman tipped in a shot from the point by Grant Lewis for his fourth goal of the year.
Skating on a two-man advantage, the Knights tied it 1-1 midway through the second frame. Sophomore Chris D’Alvise (Mississauga, ONT) one-timed a shot from the slot off a pass from sophomore Shea Guthrie (Carleton Place, ONT) at 10:30 for his ninth goal of the year. Senior Michael Grenzy (Lockport, NY) also assisted.
Moments after Clarkson’s junior goaltender David Leggio (Williamsville, NY) stopped Dartmouth's Tanner Glass on a breakaway in the second period, the Big Green regained the lead. At 14:56, Kevin Swallow picked up a shot off the backboards by Nick Johnson and got off a quick shot from the side of the net past Leggio for his fifth goal of the season, giving the visitors a 2-1 advantage through 40 minutes.
After Clarkson tied it 2-2, just 2:19 into the third period on a shorthanded marker by sophomore defenseman Philippe Paquet (Quebec City, QUE), Dartmouth grabbed a 4-2 lead. Josh Gillam netted his first career goal, capitalizing on a Clarkson turnover behind the net at 5:31. David Jones gave the Big Green a two-goal lead at 8:20 when he finished off a 2-on-0 rush from Connor Shields for his team-high 13th goal of the season.
Clarkson out shot Dartmouth 32-24. Leggio made 20 saves, while the Big Green's Mike Devine finished with 28 stops. The Knights were 2-of-8 on the power play, while Dartmouth was 1-of-5 with the man advantage.
Clarkson will host Harvard on Saturday, while Dartmouth plays at St. Lawrence.
