(Clarkson Photo) — Despite a hat trick from senior Jordan Boucher the Clarkson University hockey team suffered its second straight one-goal loss at home to a Big 10 foe over the weekend, falling Saturday night to the University of Wisconsin 5-4 before 3,249 fans at Cheel Arena.
The Golden Knights, who lost to Minnesota 4-3 in overtime on Friday, closed out the season-opening, non-league portion of the schedule with a 3-4-1 record. Clarkson opens ECAC Hockey play next weekend, hosting defending conference champion, sixth-ranked Quinnipiac on Friday, followed by Princeton next Saturday.
Clarkson never led against Wisconsin (4-2), but managed to come back several times to keep the game close on the scoreboard. The Badgers held a slim 31-28 edge in shots. The Knights went 2-of-8 on the power play and killed of all five of Wisconsin’s man-advantage opportunities.
Postgame audio from Head Coach Casey Jones
Wisconsin took the lead with a pair of goals 39 seconds apart early in the first. Seamus Malone tallied the opening goal from the bottom of the right circle at 8:58, followed by Luke Kunin’s score at 9:37 from the top of the circle.
The Badgers then took a string of five straight penalties to close out the first. The Knights took advantage of a lengthy 5-on-3 man-advantage opportunity late in the period when senior defenseman James de Haas fired in a shot from between the circles for his second goal of the season with 54 seconds left before intermission. Boucher and junior Sam Vigneault assisted.
Just 44 seconds into the middle frame Boucher slipped in a backhand to complete a breakaway on a 4-on-4 situation to tie the game, 2-2. Freshman defenseman Greg Moro assisted.
The Badgers came right back, however, with a pair of goals to retake the lead at 4-2. Cullen Hurley tallied at 2:54 and Corbin McGuire connected at 5:17 to give the visitors a two-goal lead.
Once again, Clarkson scored late in a period to make it 4-3 as Boucher scored his second of the night, finishing off a pass from junior defenseman Kelly Summers with 8.1 seconds remaining in the period. de Haas also assisted.
Wisconsin, however, took away the Knights’ momentum to start the third when Grant Besse scored just 15 seconds into the final stanza to give the Badgers a two-goal cushion.
With 3:17 remaining in regulation, Boucher completed his first career hat trick, scoring from in front after a pass from behind the goal line from junior Brett Gervais. Boucher became the first Golden Knight to record a hat trick since Joe Zarbo scored three times in a 5-1 win at Harvard on January 25, 2013.
Clarkson pulled freshman goaltender Jake Kielly late in the final minute, for the extra attacker, but could not come up with the equalizer.
Senior Steve Perry made his first start of the season in the Clarkson crease, but left after Wisconsin’s third goal early in the second period. Perry made 12 saves on 15 shots. Kielly finished the game for the Green and Gold and posted 14 saves, allowing two goals.
