Men's Hockey | 3/18/2022 9:57:00 PM
Box Score Lake Placid, NY – Despite two goals from Alex Campbell, the Clarkson University Men's Hockey team's run in the ECAC Hockey Tournament came to an end on Friday evening, as Harvard scored three third-period goals to mount a 5-3 come-from-behind win over the Golden Knights at Herb Brooks Arena.
With the defeat, the Golden Knights fell to 21-10-6 on the season and will await the NCAA committee's selections to see if the season will continue with an at-large selection. Harvard, moving to 20-10-3, exacted a bit of revenge against the Knights, who eliminated the Crimson from the ECAC Tournament in both 2018 and 2019, as well as two defeats in the 2021-22 season.
The first handful of shots for both teams were not particularly challenging as the teams felt one another out in the early going, but Harvard got on the scoreboard near the midway point of the first period by taking advantage of a quick transition. Clarkson attempted to chip the puck forward out of its defensive zone, but a Harvard defenseman was able to stop the puck with his skate and tip it forward to Matthew Coronato near the blue line. Before getting clipped and taken out of the play, Coronato was able to pass the puck forward to Nick Abruzzese, starting a 2-on-1 with Sean Farrell. Farrell received the puck a half step ahead of the defense, skated in, and took a wrist shot from the left face-off dot, his shot slipping through the glove and pad of Clarkson goaltender Ethan Haider.
Harvard wouldn't have much time to relish its lead, however, taking two penalties in quick succession. The first Clarkson power-play opportunity did not amount to much as Alex Campbell had the best chance but lost control of the puck in front of the Harvard net. Just a few moments later, however, Campbell redeemed himself in tying the game at 14:47 at the start of the second power-play chance. Right off the face-off, the Knights began to set things up with Jack Jacome near the wall at the right face-off circle. Jacome passed the puck up to the point to Noah Beck, who returned a pass to Jacome. The grad student then took some time for Campbell to work his way into the slot, and Jacome's pass found the blade of Campbell, who flicked it through Mitchell Gibson, five-hole, to tie the contest at 1-1.
Two minutes later Harvard had an extra-man opportunity as well, and the Crimson were methodical in their passing, but Clarkson's penalty kill was up to the task by deflecting passes and Haider making key saves. The biggest stop came near the end of the penalty kill when Chris Klack was drilled with a hard wrist shot from Ian Moore, knocking the puck back to the blue line and all but ending the threat. Harvard finished the first period with a 14-10 edge in shots, due in large part to its numerous attempts on the power play.
In the second period, Gibson made a few solid saves, laying down on one shot and smothering a few others, but the top stop may have been by Haider. Clarkson had the puck in its own end and was looking to send a pass to the other side of the ice, but Coronato blocked the pass with his stick and quickly controlled it, walking in for a quick chance on the Clarkson goal. Haider was up to task, however, denying the attempt with his left pad.
Harvard took advantage of a failed clear midway through the second to take a 2-1 lead. One of the Knights tried to pass the puck behind the Clarkson net, but it hit the skate of another Golden Knight and it bounced out into the middle of the ice near the right face-off circle. Ian Moore took a soft shot that was easily stopped by Haider, but the velocity of the attempt from Moore made for an easy rebound, and Nick Abruzzese was able to put the puck past the Clarkson defense at 10:59.
For the second time in the contest, the Crimson had very little time to revel in their lead. Harvard skated with too many players and was whistled for a penalty, where the Knights again took advantage of the miscue. In a near repeat of the first goal, again Jacome and Beck played with the puck on the right side, and Jacome slipped a pass towards the net where Campbell was able to tip the puck through Gibson and another Harvard defender for the power-play marker at 13:11.
Clarkson got a fortunate bounce to take the lead late in the second period. Tommy Pasanen was looking to clear the zone and flipped a pass off the boards near the wall in the neutral zone, and with the challenge of two players, icing was called off. Harvard was able to get possession of the puck behind the net briefly, only to see Ayrton Martino steal possession and make a quick pass out front to Zach Tsekos, who wristed a shot chest high and just inside the post at 16:52, putting Clarkson up 3-2.
It only took a few minutes in the third for the game to be knotted up once again, as the Crimson were able to take advantage of a rebound off a scrum in front. Ryan Siedem skated in and dropped a pass to Farrell near the bottom of the right circle. Haider denied an attempt from Farrell, but was unable to corral the shot, as the puck squirted out in front to Abruzzese, who tapped it into the net at 4:23. Clarkson was also whistled for a penalty after the goal and was immediately put on the defensive, but Haider made stops when he needed and Klack again blocked a hard shot from the point to keep the game tied at 3-3.
Just a few moments later, Harvard was called for an infraction to put the Knights up a skater. The Knights had the crowd roaring with some near misses where shots and rebounds slid just beyond the pipes, but Clarkson, like the Crimson's most recent attempt on the power-play, came up empty.
Down the stretch, Harvard's top line was able to come through when the Crimson needed them most late in the third period. Nick Abruzzese dug the puck out of a scrum near the boards in Harvard's defensive zone and skated hard up the ice. Once the zone was cleared, Abruzzese had a quick give-and-go with Sean Farrell, and Abruzzese then spun with a backhand pass near the bottom of the left face-off circle, finding an open Matthew Coronato on the opposite side of the ice. Coronato collected the pass quickly and wristed a shot past Haider at 15:06.
The Knights were whistled for a penalty just 10 seconds after Harvard's fourth goal, but once the penalty was killed, Clarkson called a timeout and pulled the goalie for an extra attacker. In the final minutes, Clarkson had two chances in front that had fans gasping in anticipation, but instead it was the Crimson that would score a key goal, tallying an empty-netter with 11.6 seconds left.
Haider finished with 29 saves in the game, while Campbell scored twice and both Jacome and Beck each added two assists. Abruzzese and Coronato each had four points with two goals and two assists apiece, while Farrell had a goal and a pair of assists. Gibson denied 24 shots in the Harvard crease. Clarkson went 2-for-5 on the power play while Harvard was 0-for-3, and the Crimson ended with a 35-27 edge in shots.
