TROY, N.Y. – The Clarkson University men’s hockey team scored four goals in the third period to erase a two-goal deficit, in defeating 14th-ranked Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in the 39th Annual Big Red Freakout! on Saturday at the Houston Field House. With the win, the Golden Knights improve to 15-10-3 overall (7-6-3 ECAC Hockey), while the Engineers drop to 14-10-6 (6-4-6 ECAC Hockey).
Trailing 2-0 entering the third period, sophomore Ben Dalpe (Paris, ON/Penticton Vees) got the visitors on the board, when a shot by classmate Kelly Summers (Golden Lake, ON/Carleton Place) deflected off body and into the net, at 8:19 of the frame. Senior Pat Magennety (Oakville, ON/Georgetown Raiders) picked up the second assist.
Clarkson then pulled even at 9:55 of the third, as Summers ripped home his second of the season from right between the circles. Freshman Aaron Thow (Toronto, ON/Cedar Rapids Roughriders) saw his shot turned away by RPI senior netminder Jason Kasdorf (Winnipeg, MB/Des Moines Buccaneers), but the rebound popped to Summers for the tally.
Sophomore Terrance Amorosa (Kirkland, ON/Sioux City Musketeers) put the Golden Knights on top at 12:22 of the third, taking a shot from the blue line that deflected off the stick of an RPI defenseman and past Kasdorf. The power play goal was assisted on by senior Jeff DiNallo (Aurora, ON/Newmarket Hurricanes) and junior Jordan Boucher (St. Therese, PQ/Pembroke).
An empty-netter was then rolled in by sophomore Sam Vigneault (Baie-Comeau, PQ/AL Boomerang) from deep in his own zone with 54 seconds left in regulation. Vigneault’s clearing effort sat on edge and found its way into the net for his 10th goal of the year.
RPI opened the scoring at 14:16 of the first period. A shot from the left point by senior captain Chris Bradley (Williamsville, NY/Youngstown Phantoms) caught the shoulder of Clarkson senior goalie Greg Lewis (Mars, PA/Wenatchee Wild) and fell to the ice, where senior Milos Bubela (Banska Bystrica, Slovakia/Dubuque Fighting Saints) was waiting to tap home the rebound.
Bubela made it 2-0 on a similar play in the second period. Sophomore Kenny Gillespie (Morrisville, NC/Jersey Hitmen) raced the puck into the offensive and fired a shot that caught the right pad of Lewis. Bubela swooped in and backhanded in his second of the game and seventh of the campaign.
Lewis (9-4-2) finished with 17 saves, while Kasdorf (8-8-4) had 29 at the other end of the ice. Clarkson was 1 for 2 on the power play, while the Engineers went 0 for 1.
SWALLOWING THE WHISTLE:
After seeing just four total penalties called all last weekend, the Engineers were a part of two, three-penalty games this weekend.
BUCKING THE TREND:
The Engineers loss was just their second when scoring the first goal (11-2-3) and fourth when holding the lead after two periods (12-4-2).
UP NEXT:
The Engineers are back on the ice next weekend, when they visit seventh-ranked Harvard and 20th-ranked Dartmouth on Friday (7pm) and Saturday (7:05pm), respectively.
Clarkson hosts Princeton and first-ranked Quinnipiac next weekend.
