Third-Period Collapse Costs No. 17 Men’s Hockey Against Clarkson

This story will be updated.

POTSDAM, N.Y. — Less than five minutes into the game, No. 17 men’s hockey was celebrating an early goal to take a lead on Clarkson’s home ice.

Things can change, though, and quickly.

That goal was scrubbed off the board for goaltender interference, and the Red would never quite find the response it needed. Three Clarkson goals in a 1:53 span in the third period, along with undisciplined play by Cornell, were the difference as the Golden Knights rolled over Cornell, 4-1, at Cheel Arena. 

Cornell entered the weekend averaging the fewest penalty minutes per game in the nation with 6.4. It tripled that on Friday.

Cornell (6-4-0, 5-2-0 ECAC) took nine minor penalties in the game, and although Clarkson (6-11-0, 2-5-0 ECAC) would not score on any of the ensuing advantages, the 18 minutes the Red spent away from even strength stunted any semblance of a Cornell comeback.

Freshman goaltender Alexis Cournoyer made 25 saves in what became his second-consecutive loss, while Clarkson’s goaltender Shane Soderwall — a Division III junior transfer — dazzled with 32 saves on 33 Cornell shots.

The majority of Soderwall’s saves came in the first two periods, however. Cornell only mustered two shots on goal through the first 10 minutes of the final frame, and as the Red desperately searched for five-on-five offense in the waning minutes, Soderwall shut the door.

Cornell thought it scored first when sophomore defenseman Michael Fisher fired a shot from the point that beat the Clarkson goaltender, but after a Clarkson coach’s challenge, the score was wiped due to goaltender interference.

The call gave Clarkson some momentum, and after sophomore defenseman Luke Ashton turned the puck over on a stretch pass, the Golden Knights came racing back and Jace Letourneau wristed the puck past Cournoyer. The goal also marked Clarkson’s first shot on net.

The Red’s game-tying goal — and only tally on the scoreboard on Friday came just over eight minutes into the period after a Clarkson skater was sent off for interference, giving the Red its first power play of the game. A faceoff win by junior forward Jonathan Castagna, a handful of shots and rebounds led him to pot the game-tying goal, sailing the puck over a flailing Clarkson netminder.

From there, most of the action was seen in the penalty box. Eight minor penalties were whistled in the first, including four roughing minors — two skaters from each team — coming with just one second left in the opening frame.

That was not before Cournoyer — after allowing the first shot he saw — found his footing, fending off a flurry of Clarkson opportunities in the second half of the opening period. The Golden Knights had a slight edge in the shot department, 9-8, after period one, but Cournoyer came up big when needed.

Though the second period would not see either team light the lamp, penalty-ridden play continued, namely by the Red. Cornell was tasked with three penalty kills in the middle frame alone, the third of which would bleed into the third period.

Both goaltenders stood tall in the second, with Soderwall making 14 saves while Cournoyer tallied eight. Some of Soderwall’s best work came with around five minutes to go in the middle period, as the junior netminder made seven saves in less than three minutes.

After the puck dropped for the final frame, Cornell killed off the remaining 1:33 of a freshman forward Reegan Hiscock penalty taken with 0:27 left in the second period.

But from there, the Golden Knights got to work. Clarkson came up snakebitten once again on the power play, but with momentum on its side, more and more shots reached Cournoyer.

Clarkson ultimately regained the lead 6:24 into the third period, when a feed from behind the net found Remi Gelinas, who fired it far side past Cournoyer.

That’s when the floodgates opened.

Just 17 seconds after making it 2-1, a snipe by Owen Van Steensel over the left shoulder of Cournoyer made it 3-1. After playing the puck in the corner and returning to his crease, Cournoyer had little time to react to a perfectly placed shot.

Then, 1:36 later, it was 4-1. After a turnover, a lackluster recovery by Cornell awarded Clarkson a two-on-one opportunity, and a spinning feed found Shawn O’Donnell, one-timing the puck past Cournoyer to cushion the lead.

Though it was tasked with its largest deficit of the season, Cornell had no answer to the Golden Knights’ smothering defense. It was not until the 15:00 mark — long after Clarkson’s three third–period goals — that Cornell was able to muster consecutive shots on net.

In all, Soderwall had 11 pucks reach him in the final frame, but nine of those would come in the final five minutes, as Cornell desperately searched for five-on-five offense.

Time would run out on the Red, solidifying its worst loss of the season to date, and just the second conference win for Clarkson.

Cornell will look to salvage a split when it takes on St. Lawrence on Saturday night at Appleton Arena in Canton, New York. The puck will drop at 7 p.m. and all action will stream live on ESPN+.

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