A hard-fought effort on the road lifted the Clarkson University Hockey team to its second straight victory and first Eastern College Athletic Conference Hockey League (ECACHL) win on an opponent’s home ice as the Golden Knights defeated Princeton 3-2 before 1,794 at Hobey Baker Rink in New Jersey on Friday. The Golden Knights, who stand at 6-12-2 overall, play Yale in New Haven, CT on Saturday.
Coming off an impressive 8-1 win over Yale last Saturday in Madison, WI, Clarkson was sharp in the early going against the Tigers, jumping out to a 2-0 first-period lead and extending their margin to 3-0 midway through the second. Sophomore Mike Sullivan (Stouffville, ONT) tallied on the power play at 13:46, tapping in a loose puck in the crease off a shot from the point by senior Chris Blight (Cambridge, ONT) to start the roll. Senior assistant captain Jay Latulippe (Saratoga Springs, NY) also assisted on the opening goal. At 18:43, senior captain Mac Faulkner (King City, ONT) finished off a behind-the-net pass into the slot by Blight for his eighth goal of the year. Sullivan started the play to pick up an assist. Sullivan scored again tipping in a pass from freshman defenseman Grant Clitsome (Gloucester, ONT) at 2:29 of the middle frame for his second straight two-goal game and seventh goal of the season. Freshman Shawn Weller (South Glens Falls, NY), just back from the World Junior Championship, also assisted to help the Green and Gold grab the three-goal advantage.
Princeton got back in the game, capitalizing on a Clarkson turnover deep in its own zone when defenseman Luc Paquin scored with just 36 seconds remaining in the second. The Tigers made it a one-goal game scoring again at 9:11 of the third.
That was it for the home team as Clarkson managed to hold off the Tigers down the stretch, behind another solid outing in goal by sophomore Kyle McNulty (Wakefield, RI), who picked up his second consecutive win behind a 24-save performance. Princeton had an excellent opportunity to even the score late in the game when the Knights were penalized for too many men with 1:24 left. The Tigers then pulled their goaltender for an extra attacker for a 6-on-4 advantage, but the Knights’ penalty-killing unit, which was perfect on the night (6-of-6), shut down Princeton as the clock ticked down as Clarkson extended its unbeaten streak over the Tigers to 15 consecutive games (13-0-2), including eight straight wins.
Both teams had 26 shots on goal. The Knights were 1-of-4 on the power play.
Mike Sullivan was named the Canton-Potsdam Hospital Golden Knight of the night by Bob Ahlfeld of WGIX 95.3 FM Radio.
