Clarkson settles for 3-3 tie with Bentley in men's hockey

With a three-goal lead heading into the third period, the Clarkson University Hockey team looked to be on its way to a weekend sweep of Bentley University, but the Falcons struck for three unanswered goals in the final frame to gain a 3-3 tie on the road before 3,104 fans at Cheel Arena on Saturday night.

Clarkson (3-2-1) defeated Bentley (0-3-1) 5-1 on Friday in the first game of the non-conference series between ECAC Hockey and Atlantic Hockey foes.

In a fairly even first period, Clarkson got the early jumped and then turned aside several Bentley scoring chances to take a 1-0 lead. Senior assistant captain Brandon DeFazio (Oakville, ONT) scored the game’s first goal just 2:08 after the opening faceoff. Station at the side of the net, DeFazio took a pass from freshman defenseman David Pratt (Napanee, ONT) and jammed in his own rebound at the near post for his second goal of the season. Junior Corey Tamblyn (Bobcaygeon, ONT) also assisted.

The Knights, benefiting from three power-play opportunities out shot the Falcons 16-7 in the frame, but Bentley had several grade “A” attempts stop by junior Paul Karpowich (Thunder Bay, ONT), and also had two shots ring off the posts.

With six consecutive power-play opportunities, Bentley controlled play for a majority of the middle frame, but it was the Knights who made the most of their limited chances to extend their lead to 3-0 through 40 minutes.

At 8:21, freshman Ben Sexton (Kanata, ONT) gathered in a rebound off sophomore Adam Pawlick ’s (Utica, NY) shot at the top of the crease and flipped in his second goal of the weekend.

Junior Nick Tremblay (Candiac, QUE) picked up a loose puck in the slot and slipped in a quick shot through the pads of the Falcon’s goaltender at 14:02 for his second goal of the season to give the Knights a seemingly comfortable 3-0 lead.

Bentley began its rally just 45 seconds into the third when freshman Brett Gensler took a behind-the-net pass from Jamie Nudy and tallied his first collegiate goal to put the visitors on the scoreboard. Brett Hartung cut the deficit to one when he elected to keep the puck on a 2-on-1 break and fired in a quick shot from the left circle for his first goal of the season at 4:03. The Falcons tied the game at 3-3 at 16:21 with Herbie Kent’s shot through screen past Karpowich.

Both teams had excellent opportunities to win it in the final minutes of regulation. Hartung fired a shot off Karpowich’s glove-side shoulder on a 2-on-0 breakaway with under two minutes of play, and DeFazio’s shot in the final minute rang off the crossbar. Clarkson and Bentley had three shots each in the five-minute overtime session.

The Knights held a 43-33 advantage in shots. Karpowich made 30 saves, including 11 in the third. Kyle Rank posted 40 stops, including 17 in the third. Clarkson went 0-of-4 on the power play to see its season-opening drought on the man-advantage extend to 0-for-27. The Falcons were 0-of-7 on the power play.

Clarkson closes out the opening non-league portion of its schedule next Saturday when it battles archrival St. Lawrence in Lake Placid. The Knights open ECAC Hockey play on November 5, hosting Colgate at Cheel. Bentley plays its fifth straight game on the road when it travels to Northeastern for a non-conference game on October 30.