The top two defensive teams in NCAA Hockey met up in a key ECAC Hockey game at Cheel Arena on Friday night, and to no surprise, Clarkson and Cornell battled to a 0-0 tie before 3,208 fans.

With five games remaining in the regular season, the #7-ranked Golden Knights stand at 19-6-4 overall and remain three points behind Cornell in the ECAC Hockey standings with an 11-3-3 league mark.

Ranked #3 in the country, Cornell owns a 19-3-2 overall record and a first-place 13-2-2 ECAC Hockey mark.

Clarkson will look to break out of a four-game winless stretch (0-2-2) when it hosts Colgate on Saturday in a 7:00 p.m. contest.

Clarkson outshot the Big Red 34-32 and hit the pipes three times, but still suffered its first shutout of the season.

Sophomore goaltender Jake Kielly (Eden Prairie, MN) picked up his second whitewash of the season over Cornell and his seventh shutout of the year. Kielly is tied for the nation lead in shutouts with Cornell's Matthew Galajda.

The Green and Gold blanked the Big Red 4-0 at Lynah Rink November 18. Clarkson with a 1-0-1 record against Cornell this season would have the tiebreaker over the Big Red.

Clarkson outshot Cornell 13-6 through the opening period. The Knights had the best opportunity to get the first one on the scoreboard when senior defenseman Kelly Summers (Golden Lake, ONT) fired a shot from the top of the right circle about seven minutes into the stanza, but his shot rang off the near post.

The Knights had two more shots hit off the crossbar in a scoreless second period, including a shorthanded breakaway attempt by freshman Jack Jacome right at the buzzer. The Big Red outshot Clarkson 14-11 in the middle frame.

Cornell also held a 12-10 shot advantage over the final 25 minutes, but the Green and Gold came up with a big penalty kill in the third and another perfect shorthanded effort in the five-minute extra session to come away with a point in the standings.

Clarkson was 0-of-3 on the power play and killed off the Big Red's four man-advantage chances.