Missed opportunities caught up to the Clarkson Hockey team on Friday night in Ithaca, NY as the Golden Knights fell to Cornell 5-2 at Lynah Rink in a game that was closer than the final score indicated.

Clarkson, which lost its third straight to fall to 12-12-2 overall and to 6-7-1 in ECAC Hockey, will look to get back on the winning track when it plays at Colgate on Saturday night beginning at 7:00 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on Time Warner Cable of Central NY from Starr Rink in Hamilton, NY.

Cornell (10-9-3, 8-5-2) held a slim 28-25 shot advantage over the Knights, but the Big Red went 3-of-5 on the power play, tallied a shorthanded marker and added an empty-net goal to extend their unbeaten streak to five games (3-0-2).

Cornell took a 2-0 lead early in the second period by scoring at the start of the first period and again early in the second stanza. Mike Devin opened the scoring for the Big Red at 4:13 of the first. John Esposito scored Cornell’s second goal 91 seconds into the middle frame.

The Knights got on the scoreboard at 6:00 of the second when senior Brandon DeFazio (Oakville, ONT) tallied his team-high 10th goal of the season, finishing off assists from juniors Julien Cayer (Longueuil, QUE) and Jake Morley (Ogdensburg, NY).

The Big Red gained a three-goal advantage with a power-play marker from Joe Devin at 12:10 and a shorthanded tally from Sean Collins at 10:48 of the third to hold a 4-1 lead.

Freshman defenseman David Pratt (Napanee, ONT) scored his second goal of the season, a power-play marker at 11:40 to bring the Knights back within two. Junior Nick Tremblay (Candiac, QUE) extended his point-scoring streak to eight games with an assist. Morley also set up the goal for his second assist of the night.

With 21 seconds remaining, Cornell sealed the win with a power-play score into an empty net.

Junior Paul Karpowich (Thunder Bay, ONT) posted 23 saves.