CANTON, N.Y. — It was another low-scoring affair between North Country rivals St. Lawrence and Clarkson on Friday.
The teams skated to a 2-2 tie at Appleton Arena in a nonconference matchup, with neither side taking a penalty in 65 minutes of play.
The first period was tightly contested, with Clarkson owning the edge in shots 11-8 after 20 minutes. However, neither team was able to score.
Both teams were able to break the ice late in the second.
First, Brian Ward put the Saints on the board with a wrist shot from the slot that beat Golden Knights’ goalie Steve Perry low on the blocker side.
Clarkson responded quickly to tie the game as Kelly Summers sprung Jeff DiNallo on a breakaway and DiNallo beat St. Lawrence goalie Kyle Hayton to even the score at 1.
“I thought Jeff DiNallo’s line played really well,” said Clarkson coach Casey Jones.
It wouldn’t be long before the Golden Knights struck again to take a 2-1 lead. Joe Zarbo shot the puck towards the net from below the red line, and it deflected off a skate and through Hayton’s legs to put Clarkson on top, just 52 seconds after DiNallo’s tally.
Jones acknowledged the importance of that goal afterwards.
“That was obviously a turning point for us, to take the lead there,” said Jones.
The second period ended with the score reading 2-1.
Although they were trailing with 20 minutes remaining, the Saints were not concerned with the scoreline.
“Coming into the third we were a little frustrated with our play, weren’t as focused on the score,” said forward Brian Ward.
The Saints maintained pressure early in the final frame, and just over six minutes in, the Saints evened the score as Woody Hudson scored.
“I saw my linemate [Justin] Bruckel was driving the net, and I wanted to be somewhere in the area,” said Hudson. “It came right to my stick, and I was able to bury it.”
“That was a big goal, to get a goal from our fourth line to tie the game,” added St. Lawrence coach Greg Carvel.
Despite good chances for both teams, both Clarkson and St. Lawrence came up empty for the rest of regulation and overtime, and the teams settled for a tie, something DiNallo was less than pleased with.
“Both teams were looking for the win,” he said. “Tying SLU is kind of like a loss.”
Steve Perry stopped 27 shots for Clarkson, while Hayton turned aside 34 for St. Lawrence.
