A return to Cheel Arena wasn’t enough to snap the Clarkson University Hockey team out of a slump as the Golden Knights suffered their fourth straight loss, falling 4-2 to Quinnipiac in ECAC Hockey action before 2,521 fans in Potsdam.
Clarkson, at 2-5-2 overall and 1-4 in ECAC Hockey, will try and break out of its skid when it hosts a streaking Princeton squad, which has won five straight games. The Tigers, ranked 8th in the national polls, edged St. Lawrence 2-1 in Canton on Friday.
Clarkson nad Princeton will play at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, followed by Clarkson's annual "Skate With a Knight".
David Marshall scored twice and Bud Fisher posted 22 saves as Quinnipiac won its third straight ECAC Hockey game on the road.
The Bobcats (5-4-1, 3-2-1) scored twice in the first period and added one more in both the second and third frames to hand the Golden Knights their second straight loss at Cheel.
“It is hard to take a lot of positives out of tonight’s game,” stated Clarkson head coach George Roll. “I thought for the third straight time in our own building we got out worked by our opponent. We have to started battling, getting grittier and winning loose pucks. We are fragile right now and things are snowballing. The only way to get out of it is to compete harder.”
Quinnipiac came out strong to start the game and grabbed a 2-0 lead after the opening 20 minutes. The Bobcats, who held a 7-2 shot advantage through the first 10 minutes, got on the scoreboard with a pair of goals 74 seconds apart. After a Clarkson turnover in its own zone, Quinnipiac's Chris Myers picked up the loose puck and fired a shot up and over the shoulder of Golden Knights freshman goaltender Paul Karpowich (Thunder Bay, ONY) at 12:17 for his first goal of the season. The Bobcats struck again at 13:31 when defenseman Dan Henningson scored on a quick shot from the point for his first tally of the year. Brandon Wong and Jean-Marc Beaudoin assisted.
Just 38 seconds into the middle frame Quinnipiac went on top 3-0 when Marshall knocked in a rebound off of Eric Lampe’s wrap-around attempt. Bryan Leitch also assisted.
Clarkson had an excellent opportunity to get on the scoreboard when the Bobcats were whistled for a five-minute major at 10:12. Quinnipiac was penalized again for a two-minute holding call at 10:28, giving the Knights a full two-man advantage for two minutes. Despite good pressure in the Quinnipiac end and five shots on goal during the man-advantage Clarkson could not convert during the lengthy five-minute power play.
The Knights broke their scoreless drought with a shorthanded marker by sophomore Lauri Tuohimaa (Helsinki, Finland) at 8:26 of the third. Sophomore Scott Freeman (Whitby, ONT) and senior Adam Bellows (Lancaster, NY) assisted on Tuohimaa’s team-high sixth goal of the season.
Quinnipiac came right back, however, with Marshall’s second goal of the game at 9:17 to regain the three-goal margin at 4-1.
Clarkson ended a lengthy drought on the power play with sophomore Brandon DeFazio’s (Oakville, ONT) man-advantage marker at 11:25. Junior Shea Guthrie (Carleton Place, ONT) and sophomore Matt Beca (Mississauga, ONT) assisted on the goal, which broke a 0-of-15 skid on the power play for the Green and Gold.
Clarkson pulled Karpowich for the extra attacked with 1:33 remaining, but could not pull any closer.
Quinnipiac out shot the Knights 31-24. Karpowich finished with 27 saves. Clarkson was 1-of-4 on the power play and held the Bobcats scoreless in their six man-advantage opportunities.
