Well I desperately wish I made the trip to the North Country this weekend, but I unfortunately was forced to stay back at school to work the Albany Devils hockey games. But while at work last night, I was fortunate enough to be able to listen to Union's game at Clarkson via live stream radio on my buddy's ipod. Its a good thing no Albany front office members walked into the team's merchandise store because I was completely zoned out from my work. The customers who came into the store probably thought I was crazy yelling at the ipod and calling out our guys names to make a play.Coming into the contest, the #7 Dutchmen were atop of the ECAC with 29 points, one point ahead of second place Yale. Clarkson, on the other hand, sat comfortably in the eighth spot with 15 points and a sub-.500 league record of 7-9-1. The last time these two teams met was at Messa Rink on January 8th. Union went to town on the Golden Knights that night with a final score of 8-1.
Last night's win was written a bit differently. What everyone thought would turn out to be another blowout proved to be a nailbiter for the players, coaches and Dutchmen fans both present and left behind.
The Dutchmen got off to a fast start in the opening frame, recording the first seven shots of the contest and outshooting Clarkson 15-8 after one period of play. Union capped its first goal of the night on the powerplay. With Clarkson freshmen forward Ben Sexton in the box for cross-checking, Union senior forward Adam Presizniuk found sophomore defenseman Greg Coburn skating in from the point and fed him a pass through the crease. Coburn scored from the goal mouth to give Union a 1-0 lead at 7:14 of the first period.
The Dutchmen would make it 2-0 at even strength late in the period. Junior forward Kelly 'Shut up Richard' Zajac cut away from the left corner, niftily displaying his puck handling, and beat Clarkson goaltender Paul Karpowich with a low backhander at 17:25.
Sophomore goaltender Keith Kinkaid made several key saves on two Clarkson power plays in the second period, with his most impressive stop coming just after Zajac was whistled for tripping at 17:10. On the ensuing faceoff in the Union zone, Kinkaid made a glove save through traffic on a Brandon DeFazio shot from inside the circle.
On the same Clarkson power play, senior forward John 'Delta's Most Wanted' Simpson gave Union its first shorthanded goal of the season at 18:39 to give the Dutchmen a commanding 3-0 lead.
The third period would spark all momentum for Clarkson. At even strength, Clarkson would finally receive their first offensive break. After an initial kick save by sophomore goaltender Keith Kinkaid on a shot from the point from Alex Boak, Clarkson’s Corey Tamblyn scored on the rebound at 4:45 to start the rally.
Just 18 seconds later, Clarkson’s Brandon DeFazio fired a shot from the high slot that deflected off the pad of Ben Sexton and between Kinkaid’s pads to cut Union’s lead to 3-2.
Clarkson would then even the score on the power play at 6:30 in the third period. With freshmen forward Josh Jooris in the box for tripping, Clarkson senior forward Scott Freeman crashed the net for a rebound to tie the game at 3-3, setting up the wild finish.
A combination of nervousness and anxiety filled Cheel Arena as the Golden Knights and Dutchmen took the ice for the overtime period. The Clarkson band had never given up hope and continued to play throughout the night. The Bonesaw Brigade, Clarkson's student section, attempting to influence the level of play on the ice with their bells and whistles, significantly failed at the hands of 'Serious Flow' Simpson. Wayne scored at 3:48 of overtime to lift #7 Union (23-7-3, 15-3-1 ECAC Hockey) to a 4-3 win over Clarkson.
The win was Union’s eighth straight victory, a school record in the Division I era. Union set an all-time program record for wins, surpassing the previous mark of 22 wins set by both the 1976-77 and 1984-85 teams. The Dutchmen also clinched a first round bye in the ECAC Tournament, securing a top four finish in the conference for the third time in program history.
Union outshot Clarkson 38-28 for the contest, as Kinkaid made 25 saves for his 22nd win of the season. The Dutchmen went 1-for-7 on the power play, while Clarkson was 1-for-5 with the man advantage.
The #7 Dutchmen will continue their continue their North County trek tonight as they take on the St. Lawrence Saints at 7 pm at Appleton Arena.
For more game recap, visit the following links below:
Thanks for reading!
-JZolot
Here's a video of Wayne's game-winning goal:
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