Behind a solid defensive effort, backboned in goal by freshman netminder Paul Karpowich (Thunder Bay, ONT), and goals from three different players, the Clarkson University Hockey team defeated arch-rival St. Lawrence 3-1 before 3,521 fans at Cheel Arena on Saturday night.
Clarkson, which owns a three-game unbeaten streak, improves its record to 8-14-6 overall and to 6-7-3 in ECAC Hockey. The Knights, who tied the 20th-ranked Saints 3-3 in Canton on Friday, take to the road next weekend with games at Princeton and Quinnipiac.
“I thought our team played very good tonight,” stated Clarkson head coach George Roll. “Other than the first period last night, I thought we played five periods of solid hockey. “Obviously Paul was very good in net, but we came out with a great first period and had them on their heals. We got pucks deep and forced them to play in their end. Our penalty troubles in the third got them back in the game. We have to do a better job of staying disciplined. Overall, I am real pleased with where our team is at. Hopefully we are peaking at the right time here.”
In a dominating first-period effort, in which the Knights out shot St. Lawrence 16-4, Clarkson jumped out to a 2-0 lead after the opening 20 minutes, scoring twice in a 79-second span early in the stanza.
Senior Chris D’Alvise (Mississauga, ONT) started the scoring by knocking in his own rebound with a low shot from the side of the net at 4:42 for his team-high 11th goal of the season. Senior Phil Paquet (Quebec City, QUE) and junior Matt Beca (Mississauga, ONT) assisted. Freshman Nick Tremblay (Candiac, QUE) followed closely behind with his first goal in 13 games and his third of the season at 6:01. Sophomore defenseman Bryan Rufenach (Cameron, ONT) set up the goal by sending the puck from behind the net out front where Tremblay was able to tuck it past Saints’ goaltender Alex Petizian.
The Saints (14-11-3, 6-7-3) increased their offensive pressure with nine shots in the second stanza, but were not able to capitalize on their chances. With one minute left in St. Lawrence’s third man-advantage opportunity of the period, Karpowich dove across the crease to rob the Saints’ leading scorer Mike McKenzie to keep the visitors off the scoreboard through 40 minutes.
McKenzie started a third-period flurry by St. Lawrence with a dangerous shot on goal just 11 seconds in, but once again Karpowich denied the Saints. On the ensuing power-play, one of four by St. Lawrence in the final frame, Jared Ross rang a shot off the post and Kevin DeVergilio was stopped in front by Karpowich.
Clarkson gained a little bit more breathing room going on top 3-0 when sophomore Scott Freeman (Mississauga, ONT) snapped out of a 17-game goalless drought when he took a pass along the right boards by classmate Brandon DeFazio (Oakville, ONT) and fired in a shot from the top of the circle at 11:43 for his third goal of the year. Paquet picked up his second assist of the game.
St. Lawrence, benefiting from a string of Clarkson penalties, continued to put pressure on the Knights. At 14:27, seconds after a 5-on-3 man advantage came to an end for the Saints, Brock McBride spoiled Karpowich’s shutout bid with a power-play marker to make it a two-goal game.
The Saints pulled Petizian for the extra skater with 1:36 remaining, but the Knights were able to hold of St. Lawrence, which held a 14-4 shot advantage in the third, to gain their first victory over the Saints in five games.
Clarkson out shot St. Lawrence 30-27, including a 26-13 margin through the 40 minutes. Karpowich finished with 26 saves, including 13 in the third period. Petizian made 27 stops. The Knights went 0-of-4 on the power play, while the Saints were 1-of-8 with the man advantage.
