The Clarkson University Hockey team closed out its season with a hard-fought effort forcing the third-ranked team in the country to the brink on its home ice, but Eastern College Athletic Conference Hockey League (ECACHL) regular season champion, Cornell prevailed with the winning score at 12:00 of overtime to gain a 3-2 victory Saturday night in the league quarterfinals. Cornell (24-4-3), which defeated Clarkson 5-0 at Lynah Rink in Ithaca, NY in Game #1 on Friday night, wins the quarterfinal series 2-0 and earns the right to move on to Albany next weekend for the ECACHL Championship Tournament.
The Golden Knights, who played in four postseason overtime contests, complete the 2004-05 campaign with a 13-23-3 overall record.
Clarkson wasted little time in setting the tone for Saturday’s Game #2 as the Green and Gold’s leading scorer, senior assistant captain Jay Latulippe (Saratoga Springs, NY) forced a turnover in front of the Big Red net and slipped in his team-high 16th goal of the season just 1:48 after the opening faceoff. Cornell, which enjoyed seven power plays in the contest, tallied on its first man-advantage opportunity to tie the score at 3:56.
Freshman David Cayer (Longueuil, QUE) gave Clarkson a 2-1 first-period lead at 11:22. Cayer finished off a passing play from classmates Nick Dodge (Oakville, ONT) and Shawn Weller (South Glens Falls, NY) with a hard shot from the top of the right circle for his seventh goal of the year. The Big Red tied it at 8:58 of the middle frame to complete the scoring in regulation.
Clarkson controlled play in the third period, out shooting Cornell by a 2-to-1 margin, 12-6. The Knights, also had 10 shots in the extra session, but it was the Big Red who tallied the winner with eight minutes left in overtime on a quick shot from the bottom of the left circle.
Cornell held a slight 37-36 shot advantage. Junior Dustin Traylen (Kirkland, QUE) posted 34 saves, including eight in overtime. The Knights were 0-of-5 on the power play; Cornell was 1-of-7.
