Behind a strong effort by sophomore goalie Alex Petizian and a balanced offensive attack, St. Lawrence upended the No. 9 Clarkson Golden Knights 4-2 at Appleton Arena.
“I think [Clarkson] is the best team we’ve played this year, maybe that brings out the best,” said Saints’ head coach Joe Marsh.
The Saints got on the scoreboard first just 1:54 into play. Junior Brock McBride sent a loose puck through the crease where senior Charlie Griffin stuffed it past a defender and senior netminder David Leggio.
Two-and-a-half minutes later, freshman defender Bryan Rufenach hit the left pipe for Clarkson on a shot from just outside the right circle.
St. Lawrence went on the power play first, but did not look good, giving up two breaks the other way. However, the Knights were unable to take advantage.
Clarkson evened the score with 9:14 remaining. Senior Steve Zalewski collected the puck near the blue line but was unable to send a backhand pass to Grant Clitsome. Zalewski carried into the slot and found Clitsome with a forehand pass to the right circle, and Clitsome one-timed it into the left side of the net.
The Saints reclaimed the lead at the 15:14 mark. Junior Kevin DeVergilio sent a pass from the left circle wide left of Leggio, and Casey Parenteau tracked down the rebound off of the boards as the puck ricocheted back to the right post. Parenteau quickly dumped the puck into the net before Leggio could recover to his left side.
“I thought [St. Lawrence] certainly played like a team that needed this win more than we did,” said head coach George Roll. “Unfortunately, our guys didn’t match their effort; we had some solid efforts tonight, but they had it right from top to bottom and certainly earned the win tonight.”
Saints’ sophomore Mike McKenzie accounted for the lone goal of the second period. Sean Flanagan skated in on net from the right side but dropped the puck back to junior Zack Miskovic, who sent a pass to the left side. Skating onto the puck, McKenzie was able to easily poke it home before Leggio could shift over to his weak side.
Clitsome tallied again in the third period to pull the Knights to within 3-2, but it was a case of too little, too late. On a power play, freshman Scott Freeman found Clitsome in the right circle, where he fired a shot that beat Petizian to his right side.
St. Lawrence would tack on an insurance goal with 8:02 to play when junior Zach Miskovic redirected a shot by freshman Nick Pitsikoulis from the blue line.
