The hard-luck streak continued for the Clarkson University Hockey team on Saturday night as the Golden Knights dropped their fifth straight game, falling 3-2 at Hockey East foe UMass-Lowell. The Knights, who were defeated by 7th-ranked UNH on Friday, fall to 3-11-1 on the season.
“Tonight, was the toughest loss our team has taken all season,” stated Clarkson head coach George Roll. “We played very well and weren’t rewarded for our effort.”
Clarkson held a 2-1 lead over the River Hawks after 40 minutes, but Lowell took advantage of three straight third-period power plays, converting on two, to rally for the victory. The River Hawks, who own the second best power-play unit in the country, tied the contest at 5:56 of the final frame when Ben Walter scored his second goal of the night, a 5-on-3 man-advantage goal. Lowell, which is undefeated in non-conference play at 7-0, went on top 3-2 with another power-play goal with 2:44 remaining. Clarkson, which went on the power play with 95 seconds left, pulled sophomore goaltender Kyle McNulty (Wakefield, RI) for another extra attacker, but could not come up with the tying goal despite a shot of the crossbar and one off the post in the closing seconds.
Lowell jumped out to a 1-0 lead before a crowd of 3,429 fans at Tsongas Arena with the opening goal at 3:30 of the first period. The Knights picked up their play to start the second and senior assistant captain Jay Latulippe (Saratoga Springs, NY) tied the game just 61 seconds into the middle frame, jamming in a power-play goal with sophomore Mike Sullivan (Stouffville, ONT) and senior captain Mac Faulkner (King City, ONT) assisting. At 16:35, freshman Mike Arciero (Avon, CT) took the puck away from the River Hawks’ goaltender behind the net and slipped in a wrap-around shot just over the goal line to give Clarkson a 2-1 lead.
The Knights, out shot Lowell 23-21, a season-low by an opponent. McNulty, making his second consecutive start, finished with 18 saves. The Knights went 1-of-4 on the power play, while the River Hawks were 2-of-5 with the man-advantage.
Clarkson will look to break out of a six-game winless skid (0-5-1) when it hosts nationally-ranked and CCHA power Ohio State University a weekend series at Cheel Arena this Friday and Saturday in the final games before the holiday break.
