Potsdam, NY - Senior captain Nick Dodge (Oakville, ONT) scored two goals and assisted on another to lead 7th-ranked Clarkson University to a 3-2 victory over 10th-ranked St. Cloud State before 2,671 fans at Cheel Arena on Saturday night.
Winners of four of its last five games, Clarkson improved its record to 10-4-0 overall. St. Cloud, which defeated the Golden Knights 4-1 on Friday, saw its seven-game unbeaten streak (6-0-1) come to and end, and drops to 7-3-2 overall.
Clarkson’s leading scorer, Dodge broke a 2-2 tie and gave the Knights’ their only lead of the weekend when he connected for the game-winner with just over five minutes left in regulation. During a flurry in front of the Huskies’ crease, Dodge finished off the hard work around the net by sophomore Matt Beca (Mississauga, ONT) and junior Shea Guthrie (Carleton Place, ONT) when he jammed in a loose puck at the side of the goal for his second goal of the game and fifth of the season at 14:32.
St. Cloud pulled its goaltender for the extra skater with one minute eft, but Clarkson’s senior netminder, David Leggio (Williamsville, NY), with strong support from his defense, was able to keep the Huskies from tying the score. Leggio finished with 30 saves, including nine in the final frame.
After a scoreless first period, in which Clarkson out shot the Huskies 15-12, the teams traded specialty-team goals in the second stanza for a 2-2 tie through 40 minutes of play.
St. Cloud junior John Swanson (St. Cloud, MN) started the scoring when his shorthanded shot trickled through the pads of Leggio at 1:27. Senior Aaron Brocklehurst (Nanaimo, BC) assisted. The Huskies came close to taking a 2-0 lead just over a minute later, but Leggio came up with a big glove save on a shot in tight by freshman Andreas Nodl (Vienna, Austria).
The Knights tied it up at 5:29 when Dodge scored his second shorthanded marker of the season. Dodge took a pass off the right boards from junior Chris D’Alvise (Mississauga, ONT) and fired a slap shot from the top of the circle for his seventh career shortie.
While skating on a lengthy two-man advantage, the Huskies regained the lead with a 5-on-3 power-play marker from freshman Garrett Roe (Vienna, VA) at 10:54. Swanson and sophomore Ryan Lasch (Lake Forest, CA) assisted.
The Knights, however, came right back with a power-play tally from Guthrie. Guthrie gathered in a short rebound off senior David Cayer’s (Longueuil, QUE) tipped-in attempt and knocked in his third goal of the season at 15:06. Cayer recorded his 98th career point with the assist. Dodge set up the goal with a strong play at the blueline to keep the puck in the offensive zone.
Clarkson held a 36-32 advantage on shots. The Knights were 1-of-4 on the power play, while St. Cloud went 1-of-7 with the man advantage.
Freshman Dan Dunn (Oshawa, ONT) started in the Huskies net and posted 19 saves on 21 shots before being replaced by sophomore Jase Weslosky (St. Albert, ALB) late in the second period. Weslosky, who took the loss, posted 14 stops.
Clarkson returns to ECAC Hockey play next Saturday with its final game before the exam/holiday break when it faces off at archrival St. Lawrence. St. Cloud plays at WCHA rival Wisconsin next weekend.
