Clarkson Beats Princeton 4-2 At Cheel Arena
Feb. 9, 2024
Clarkson took the lead three times outlasting Princeton to get their first win since Jan. 26. Four different goal scorers separated the Golden Knights in the 4-2 victory. The Knights now move into a tie for third in the conference standings with Colgate, one point ahead of Union and three ahead of Yale.
Assistant Coach
Chris Brooks was pleased with the performance offensively and defensively. After adjusting some pairings in the lines, he felt the team adjusted nicely and played well to the team's game plan. "We wanted to concentrate on eliminating their rush offense and our D limited those opportunities," said Brooks, "I thought we did a great job limiting clean entries, we got sticks to pucks and sent them in the other way deep behind them.
Both teams protected their net fronts defensively throughout the entirety of the game, limiting scoring chances. Clarkson derived the first power play of the game 14:57 into the first period. After a couple Tiger clearances, the Knights shifted to their second unit.
Tristan Sarsland gained the offensive zone up the right wing and centered a pass to
Cody Monds, who scored the first goal at 16:33. Princeton would draw a penalty inside 90 seconds later sending the nation's second best power play to work. After back-to-back faceoff wins, Kai Daniells equalized at 18:23, sending the teams to the locker room tied 1-1.
In the second, the Knights would go back on the power play five minutes into the period.
Ryan Richardson scored to briefly give the Golden Knights the lead, but Princeton was able to successfully challenge for goaltender interference, wiping the goal off the board. After review,
Trey Taylor narrowly made contact with the goalie's glove as he skated by before the puck went in on the blocker side.
The Knights received a 5-on-3 power play after a pair of Tiger penalties. After the second penalty expired, Monds found a loose puck and made a smart pass to
Trey Taylor who put Clarkson back into the lead with an even strength goal. The lead lasted only nine seconds as Princeton was able to win the faceoff and score on their zone entry.
Sarsland gave the Knights the lead for good halfway into the third period. As
Jesse Tucker won an offensive zone faceoff clean, Sarsland's shot deflected off a Princeton stick into the net.
Talon Sigurdson scored his first career goal inside the final minute of regulation on an empty net goal to seal the victory.
"We really worked hard all week to get our systems in place and I think we executed our game plan tonight. Obviously we'll enjoy it tonight , but have to be ready for a big one tomorrow," said Sarsland after the win.
Sarsland and Monds both recorded multiple points, each with a goal and an assist. The first multiple point game of Sarsland's collegiate career. Clarkson's power play scored twice on four chances, their penalty kill stopped one of two Tiger advantages.
Austin Roden made 16 saves adding his ninth win of the season.
"They did a really good job getting pucks to the weak side of the ice to capitalize on our forecheck. When we stayed up on the forecheck I thought we had a lot of success creating pressure and creating offense," said Brooks. "We just have to control momentum a little bit more. We go up 2-1 then give up a goal nine seconds later. Those are situations where we have to be ready to go to finish that period ahead instead of where we were."
Clarkson will host the defending national champion Quinnipiac Bobcats in their next appearance on Saturday, Feb. 10. With the win, the Knights are 14-12-1 this season, 7-6-1-1 in ECAC play. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. Saturday night. Stream the game on ESPN+ or listen on B99.3 FM.
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