St. Lawrence broke a 1-1 tie in the third period and fought its way past No. 7 Clarkson Sunday afternoon, coming out 3-2 victors. The game was the first of the season for both teams, a tough match-up for both sides so early in the year.
“For October 7th, that was a heck of a college game on both sides,” said St. Lawrence head coach Joe Marsh, “You have to give credit to all of the kids on both teams, to see how well prepared they got themselves, the coaches have had very little time to influence them.”
The Golden Knights had penalty issues early on but weathered the storm, tallying the first goal of the game with 1:33 to play in the first. Freshman Scott Freeman skated down the left side and found senior Nick Dodge on a centering pass. Dodge immediately fired a shot to the upper-right corner over sophomore netminder Alex Petizian.
Play was even through one period with Clarkson registering eight shots on goal to St. Lawrence’s 11.
The tide turned in the second period when the Saints were able to knot the game with 4:22 remaining. Senior Jordan Hack scored off a faceoff won by freshman Aaron Bogosian, firing a shot over Clarkson goalie David Leggio’s glove side.
Junior Casey Parenteau put St. Lawrence ahead at the midpoint of the third period. Sophomore Alex Curran found Parenteau in between the circles for a shot on Leggio. Screened by players in front of the net, Leggio was unable to make the stop.
“[Heading into the third period] there was a good focus and a good sense of purpose, and that was the big thing,” said Marsh.
Faceoffs proved crucial again nearly four minutes later when the Saints were able to convert on what would be the eventual game-winning tally. Sophomore Jeremiah Cunningham won a faceoff in the left circle, directing the puck back to senior Charlie Giffin. Giffin quickly fired a shot from the top of the circle, beating Leggio through the five hole for a 3-1 margin.
“The second goal was through a couple legs, I just didn’t see the release,” reflected Leggio, “The third goal I didn’t see at all; it was just off of the point, they were fortunate to get a lot of traffic.”
Clarkson mounted a comeback with 3:33 to play but it was too little too late. Sophomore Matt Beca was able to put one past Petizian in front of the net off of assists from senior Steve Zalewski and classmate Tim Marks.
The Golden Knights had a solid opportunity when Curran picked up a hooking penalty with 2:35 to play, but were unable to pick up a tying goal.
“We worked hard for probably 25-30 minutes, I thought [St. Lawrence] worked hard for sixty,” said Clarkson head coach George Roll. “It’s a lesson where if you don’t match a team’s intensity level, we’re not going to win.”
St. Lawrence ended the game with a thirty to twenty-nine advantage in shots in the game.
“To be able to squeak one out against a team that good to start the season, it’s big,” said Marsh.
Both Clarkson and St. Lawrence continue their seasons next weekend with home match-ups against Massachusetts and Providence.
