Junior right wing Matt Beca (Mississauga, ONT) scored two goals and freshman goaltender Richie LaVeau (Arlington Heights, IL) made a season-high 39 saves as the Clarkson University Hockey team gained a well-earned point on the road with Friday’s 3-3 overtime tie at arch-rival St. Lawrence on Friday night.
The Golden Knights, who have played in 10 overtime games this season, including five extra-session contests in the past six games, stand at 7-14-6 overall and 5-7-3 in ECAC Hockey play. Clarkson will host St. Lawrence (14-10-3, 6-6-3) on Saturday in a 7:00 p.m. game at Cheel Arena.
Clarkson fell into a 2-0 hole in the first period, but came back to take a 3-2 advantage in the middle frame before the Saints tied it with a power-play marker late in the second.
“I give this team a lot of credit,” stated Clarkson head coach George Roll. “A month ago we would have lost this game, but we regrouped after the first period and settled down. I thought the line of Jake (Morley), Tim (Marks) and Dan (Tuttle) was a spark for us tonight, and they got us that first goal and back in the game. This is a tough building to play in and a lot of teams don’t come out of here with wins. We don’t want to be satisfied with a tie, but to be down 2-0 and come back was nice to see. I was pleased with our effort. We battled hard in the second and third and fought are way back into it. We had our chances, and so did they obviously."
St. Lawrence opened the first period strong, finished the stanza with a flurry and in between scored twice in a 29-second span to take a 2-0 lead through the first 20 minutes. LaVeau turned aside a Saints’ breakaway just 23 seconds in, the first of several key saves by the rookie, and kept St. Lawrence off the scoreboard until late in the period. Brandon Bollig connected at 15:10, and the home team went on top by two with Zach Miskovic’s shot from the point at 15:39. St. Lawrence, which benefited from two power-plays in the stanza, out shot the Knights 18-11 in the period.
Clarkson wasted little time getting back in the game to start the second, scoring just 50 seconds into the middle frame. Senior Dan Tuttle (Augusta, ME) put the Knights on the scoreboard with his first goal of the season on a shot from in front after taking pass out of the corner by junior Tim Marks (Brownville, NY). Senior defenseman Adam Bellows (Lancaster, NY) started the play with strong play down low along the boards.
At 11:18, Beca tied the game on a shot from the corner with senior linemates Shea Guthrie (Carleton Place, ONT) and Chris D’Alvise (Mississauga, ONT) assisting. Five minutes later, Beca gave the Knights their first lead of the game with a power-play marker, his eighth goal of the season. D’Alvise and sophomore Scott Freeman (Whitby, ONT) assisted.
With 67 seconds remaining in the period, St. Lawrence made it a 3-3 game with a power-play goal by Kevin DeVergilio.
Despite a scoreless third period, there was plenty of action as St. Lawrence out shot Clarkson 11-8. The Knights, however, had the better of the scoring opportunities with the lone power-play of the third. Clarkson peppered Saints’ goaltender Alex Petizian with six shots during the man advantage, but could not put in the game-winner.
St. Lawrence out shot the Knights 3-1 in the five-minute overtime. Clarkson went 1-2 on the power play, while the Saints were 1-of-4 with the man advantage.
