Freshman right wing Matt Beca (Mississauga, ONT) recorded his first collegiate two-goal game and junior David Leggio (Williamsville, NY) made a season-high 40 saves as the Clarkson University Hockey team defeated North Country rival St. Lawrence 6-2 in ECACHL action before 3,465 fans in Canton, NY on Tuesday night.
The Golden Knights, ranked 10th in the nation, improved their record to 15-6-3 overall and moved to within one point of second place in the ECACHL with a 7-3-2 league mark. Clarkson hosts Dartmouth and Harvard this weekend at Cheel Arena.
The Knights, who broke open a tight 2-2 game after 40 minutes with four unanswered goals in the final period, earned their first win at Appleton Arena in six seasons and gained the regular-season sweep of their archrivals for the first time since the 1997-98 campaign.
Clarkson junior captain Nick Dodge (Oakville, ONT) started the Green and Gold’s surge in the third period, knocking in a backhand shot off his own rebound at the top of the crease just 40 seconds into the stanza for his 12th goal of the year. Senior Mike Sullivan (Stouffville, ONT) assisted. At 2:26, sophomore defenseman Tyrell Mason (Dawson Creek, BC) tallied his first goal of the year off an assist from senior Brodie Rutherglen (Trail, BC).
Sophomore Chris D’Alvise (Mississauga, ONT) made it 5-2 at 8:43 with his eighth goal of the season when he one-time shot off a pass by Rutherglen. Sophomore Shea Guthrie (Carleton Place, ONT) also assisted. Junior Shawn Weller (South Glens, Falls, NY) closed out Clarkson’s six-goal run 15 seconds later with his 10th goal of the season with classmate Steve Zalewski (New Hartford, NY) assisting.
Ranked 17th in the country, St. Lawrence (12-10-2, 8-3-1) grabbed the early advantage, jumping out to a 2-0 lead midway through the first period. Max Taylor scored first when his shot from the top of the right circle found its way through a screen, deflecting in off a skate in front and past Leggio at 7:08. Jared Ross made it 2-0 for the Saints with a quick wrist shot from the left circle at 10:26.
Clarkson got back into it late in the opening frame when Beca finished off a perfect centering pass from Zalewski, knocking in the Knights’ first goal at 17:49 to start a string of six straight goals by the Knights.
Leggio came up with his biggest save of the night when he stopped a shorthanded breakaway attempt by Travis Vermeulen in the opening two minutes of the second stanza to keep the Green and Gold within one.
Beca converted again early in the second, this time converting on a 2-on-0 from Weller, to tie the score 2-2. Weller picked up a pass off the left boards at center ice from junior defenseman Grant Clitsome (Gloucester, ONT) and skated into the Saints’ zone where he fed another perfect pass across the crease to Beca who batted in his seventh goal of the season at 6:13.
St. Lawrence out shot Clarkson 42-30. The Knights were 0-of-3 on the power play and killed off all four Saint man-advantage opportunities.
