Crimson Frustrated by Tie, Can’t End Winless Streak

The Clarkson men’s hockey team struck gold Saturday night, mustering two goals late in the third period to come away with a 2-2 tie against Harvard at Bright Hockey Center.

The Crimson (1-4-2, 1-4-2 ECAC) outshot the Golden Knights (4-8-1, 1-4-1), 43-20 and had a stranglehold on the tempo of the game for the first two periods. In the third period, Harvard remained in control, but a defensive letdown with four minutes to go allowed Clarkson to score twice in 50 seconds.

“We didn’t beat ourselves, but we tied ourselves to a certain extent,” Crimson coach Ted Donato ’91 said. “We got to learn how to play smart in the third period but maintain our aggressiveness and our pressure on them...the concern is we got to play a complete hockey game.”

Harvard came out quickly in the first period, and six minutes into the contest, freshman Louis Leblanc scored the first goal of the game at even strength. The goal-scoring play began when Clarkson goaltender Paul Karpowich and a Golden Knight defender tried to corral a loose puck in the crease. During the clearance attempt, Leblanc stole the puck, swiftly wrapped around the net, and tucked it in the left corner of the goal. The score was Leblanc’s third of the year, tying him with sophomore Alex Killorn and junior Michael Biega for the team lead in points. The three forwards play on the same line together and have been the major source of Harvard’s offensive output this season.

With Killorn, Michael Biega, and Leblanc leading the way, the Crimson pestered the Clarkson defense for the majority of the game.

“We just kept it simple,” captain Alex Biega said. “We established a forecheck, we played in their zone, we got pucks on the net.”

Karpowich stopped a number of menacing Harvard chances in the first period to keep Clarkson within striking distance. He finished the contest with 41 saves.

Four minutes into the second frame, Nick Pokulok was whistled for hitting from behind. The Crimson capitalized on the ensuing power play. Off a pass from Michael Biega, freshman Alex Fallstrom rifled a one timer on net. Karpowich made a pad save, but the rebound fell right to freshman Marshall Everson. Everson slammed the puck home, putting Harvard up 2-0. By the end of the second period, Harvard had built a 29-7 advantage in shots.

“I think we did a lot of good things,” Donato said. “We were very much in control of the game for the first 57 minutes or so.”

Not much changed at the beginning of the third period, but things took a drastic turn with five minutes remaining in the game. Having yet to generate any real opportunities on net, the Clarkson attack started to threaten the Crimson goaltender, junior Ryan Carroll. Sixteen minutes into the period, Golden Knight Bryan Rufenach blasted a shot at Carroll, who deflected it with his right pad. Rufenach quickly raced through the Harvard defense to the loose puck and finished the rebound.

Thirty seconds later, Clarkson earned a faceoff in its offensive zone. The puck was knocked toward the Crimson goal, causing a commotion in front of Carroll. In the pile-up, the Golden Knights’ Matt Beca got his stick on the puck and forced it into the net.

Neither team could register the game-winner in regulation or in overtime, and the final score stayed 2-2.

“Obviously it’s a frustrating, frustrating game,” Donato said. “At times when the heat gets turned up, we’re actually trying to do too much, and we’re accomplishing less.”

With the draw, Harvard’s winless streak extends to six games. Three of those games—Colgate, Cornell, and Clarkson—featured both a Crimson lead and then a major Harvard defensive collapse in the third period.

“To put it in [its] simplest form, we need to be better,” Alex Biega said. “There’s not one individual on our team who can really look back on the past seven games and have said that they’ve played to their full capability.”

Against Clarkson, the Crimson found some hope in its special teams. Despite coming up short with a man advantage in overtime, Harvard went one for four on the power play and seven for seven on the penalty kill.

Carroll started the game between the pipes for the Crimson, replacing junior Kyle Richter, who has started five of six games this season.

“I’m going to try to play the best guys every night to give us a chance to win that night,” Donato said.

Looking to emerge from the ECAC basement, Harvard finishes the semester with four home games.

—Staff writer Jake I. Fisher can be reached at jifisher@fas.harvard.edu.