A strong third-period effort was not enough for the Clarkson University Hockey team to overcome a sluggish opening 40 minutes of play as the Golden Knights lost to Union 3-1 at Messa Rink in Schenectady on Friday. Clarkson, which has dropped its last two games, falls to 11-11-5 overall and to 6-7-2 in the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC). The Knights play at Rensselaer on Saturday,
Union (10-13-4, 4-9-2), coming off a 7-0 win at Dartmouth last Saturday, dominated the Green and Gold through the first two periods, out shooting Clarkson 24-7 en route to a 2-0 lead. The Dutchmen scored their first goal at 4:01 of the first and added their second, a power-play marker, at 6:49 of the middle frame.
“I was certainly disappointed in our effort for the first 40 minutes,” stated head coach George Roll. “We didn’t show up for the first two periods. We got completely out-worked and out-coached by Union and I take full responsibility for that. I don’t care that we played hard for the final 20 minutes, Union deserved to win.”
The Knights finally got on the scoreboard at 15:52 of the third when sophomore John Sullivan (New Bedford, NH) tipped in a shot from the point by junior Jay Latulippe (Saratoga Springs, NY). Senior Trevor Edwards (Carleton Place, ONT) also assisted.
Clarkson had an apparent tying goal waved off with just over 50 seconds left, and then Union sealed the victory with an empty-net goal with nine seconds remaining.
Sophomore Dustin Traylen (Kirkland, QUE) made 27 saves as the Knights were out shot 30-27. Clarkson was 1-of-6 on the power play, while Union was 1-of-3 with the man-advantage.
