The Knights took to the ice again on Saturday night looking to settle the score against the Colorado College Tigers. Tonight’s game was Parent’s Weekend, and oh boy were the parents in for a treat. Coming off a 1-1 tie the night before, the Knights were aided with the return of senior sniper Chris D’Alvise, fresh off a one game suspension from a spearing major against Niagara.

Now if I were to tell you the Knights came out flying, that would be a huge mistake. In fact, the Tigers slipped in a garbage goal just 16 seconds into the game. The puck was centered and legitimately bounced off 27 different skates and into the net. The Knights however, did not allow this to get to them. Just under 6 minutes later, the Knights tied the game off the stick of non other than D’Alvise. Back and forth action ensued the game tying goal as both teams had numerous chances to take the lead. Karpowich again got the nod over Potter; Bachman was back in net for the Tigers. After several penalties from both sides, the period ended without any harm in a 1-1 tie.

The Tigers came out for the second period with more of an edge than the Green and Gold. Just two minutes into the period, Chad Rau gave the Tigers a 2-1 lead. Karpowich stopped an initial shot from the point and believed he had the puck before it popped out behind him. Rau picked up the loose trash and slid the puck into the net before Karpy could cover it back up. Clarkson pressed for the equalizer but came up empty the rest of the period.

Third period underway, the Knights were in desperation mode. Down a goal, Clarkson fought the entire period against both the Tigers and the refs. McDonald and Whitemore gave George Roll a reason to miss the presence of Murphy. Penalty after penalty after penalty after penalty. That is how the third period went. The Knights up a man, to even, to down a man, to playing even, to up a man, to up 2 men and on and on and on. With about ten minutes to go in the period, McDonald stuck the dagger right in the Knights (and all of Cheel Arena’s) heart. With a scramble in front, a Knight player picked up a lose rebound and lifted it up and over the sieve Bachman. Bachman, in the process of attempting to make a ridiculous save, slide the net off the moorings AFTER the puck went into the net. The Knights celebrated the goal as McDonald stood there waving his hands like a little child. Calling no goal, and with Clarkson on the edge of Bonesaw’ing the ref, the play went to the video replay. After about a minute (and a significant amount of money being transferred to McDonald’s bank account courtesy of the Tiger’s coach), the decision was no goal. Play resumed again with the Knights pressing even harder. Several more penalties were called and with Clarkson on a 5x4 power play, Scott Freeman showed old McDonald that his farm does not go E-I-E-I-O. Another scramble in front of the net, Freeman picked up a rebound and flipped it over everybody, including Bachman, to tie the game up at 2 with only 4:28 remaining. Now with all 3392 fans on their feet, the Knights were looking for go-ahead goal with little time remaining. The Tigers stepped up their defense and the period ended in yet another tie. The Knights were going to ovveeerrrrrrrrtime.

For the second night in a row, the Knights and Tigers found themselves playing next goal wins. The extra session started with (SURPRISE) Clarkson taking its tenth penalty of the game. This was soon cancelled out with Colorado’s twelfth penalty of the game. Rufenach wanted to get in on the action in penalties so he also took a penalty a bit later, Clarkson’s eleventh. The Tigers would not have any of that as that had to take the final penalty late in the session to end with thirteen. In all, there were 24 penalties for 48 minutes. The extra session ended scoreless with the Knights and Tigers tying for the second straight night.

Although Clarkson did not win either game this weekend, they showed they can play with ANYONE in the nation. Two ties against the top-ranked team is completely acceptable and should not be looked down upon. The two ties move the Knights record to 1-1-2 with Clarkson returning next weekend to battle Carleton University in an exhibition match. 

The Clarkson Golden Knights opened their first game at Cheel this season tonight in epic fashion. Hosting the newly number one ranked Colorado College Tigers, the Knights took the ice looking to show which team is truly number one. The first game of two between the Knights and Tigers started off with a bang.

The game started off extremely fast with end to end action occurring over the first several minutes. Both teams took the ice and played without caution as the defenses were put to test. In net for the Golden Knights stood freshmen standout Paul Karpowich. On the other end, the Tiger’s name was sieve, sometimes referred to as Bachman. Although the first period ended in a scoreless tie, the game had an edge to it that left the sold-out crowd on the ends of their chairs.

The second period would turn out different than the first as the scoring opened up. Brandon DeFazio almost ignited a flame under the Knights when he rushed in on a breakaway early in the period. The Tigers’ net-minder had seemed to make a brilliant save but the puck actually ringed right off the crossbar and did not cross the line. For now, the game was still scoreless…until Lauri Tuohimaa solved the sieve. Brandon DeFazio laid out a Tiger defensemen in the offensive zone which led to a turnover. DeFazio collected the puck and fed a wide-open Tuohimaa in front who buried the puck for a 1-0 Golden Knight lead. Following the goal, the Knights played with an edge that the Tiger’s could not solve. Unfortunately, none of the Clarkson power play chances were capitalized on and the game stayed 1-0 until the Tiger’s offense struck. Karpowich let an errant rebound get away from him as Chad Rau snuck in a bad-angle shot to tie the game at 1 apiece. The second period came to a close at a deadlock.

Third period got underway in the same manner as the first. End to end action dominated the majority of the game with both teams coming extremely close to taking the lead. In fact, several posts were hit but no pucks crossed the line. Paul Karpowich played like a champion down the stretch as he backstopped the Knights in allowing only 1 goal to sneak by in 33 shots. Again the Knights found themselves outshot by significant margin, having only 22 shots over three periods of play.

The game entered into overtime with the arena buzzing. The Knights were looking to upset the Tiger’s run while Colorado College looked to maintain undefeated coming into the match with a record of 4-0. Clarkson took an unnecessary penalty mid-way through the extra session which put the Knights in a situation where they were playing for the tie. Again, Karpowich stepped up huge and did not allow anything to get past him. The Knights ending up having the chance to win the game in the last minute of play. Breaking in on 3-2, Clarkson moved the puck to a wide open forward to ripped a wrister just wide of the net. The rest of the overtime period went uneventful and the game ended in a 1-1 tie. Although this is not a win, the Knights played a very good game defensively in only allowing one goal to the top ranked team in the nation. Clarkson returns to the ice Saturday night on Parent’s Night to seek revenge against the Colorado College Tigers. Puck drops at 7:30.

The Clarkson Women’s hockey team was on the road this weekend, as they faced Boston University and New Hampshire in back to back games Saturday and Sunday.  Against Boston, the girls found themselves down 2-0 at the end of the first period.  They would go on to play two sound periods of hockey, out shooting their opponents 26-16.  The lone goal of the game for Clarkson would come off the stick of freshmen Juana Baribeau (her second of the season) with assists from Britney Selina and Courtney O’Conner.  Sophomore Lauren Dahm tended the nets for Clarkson turning away 25 of the 27 shots she faced.

Sunday saw the girls playing fourth ranked UNH.  Again, the knights got off to a slow start, allowing two goals in a one minute span halfway through the first period.  After a scoreless second period, the knights would finally get on the scoreboard with Marie-Jo Gaudet’s second goal of the season.  This was one of 3 shots Clarkson would take in the third period thanks to some stingy defensive play by UNH.  Eve-Grandmont-Berube made 25 saves in the losing effort, while Clarkson’s power play remained idle, failing to capitalize on all ten chances.

The following night after coming back to defeat the RIT Tigers, the Clarkson University Golden Knights traveled down the Thruway to face-off against the Niagara Purple Eagles (Fairies). The Knights opened the scoring very early in the first off Lauri Tuohimaa’s second tally of the weekend. Niagara later tied the game 1-1 with a goal at the 10:48 mark. However, freshmen and brother of graduate David, Julien Cayer notched his first collegiate goal at 17:56 of the first period to give the Knights their second lead of the game. Although being badly outshot (again), the Knights held the lead up until the second period. From here on out, the ice-rink turned into a boxing ring. Scraps, fights, scuffles, whatever you want to call them, it all happened. Penalties being tosses around, the Purple Eagles scored two power play notches against Clarkson’s one power play goal from Philippe Paquet to tie the game up 3-3. Third period resulted in the same as the penalty box was constantly acquainted with. Niagara was able to slip one past Paul Karpowich, who relieved Tim Potter of net midway through the second, to take a 4-3 lead. To no surprise, this goal occurred with both an Eagle and a Knight in the box. The Knights could not overcome this deficit and fell to the Niagara Purple Eagles 4-3 to split the opening weekend with a record of 1-1.

The Knights will return to the ice this weekend in two monstrous games against Colorado College. Friday’s game is STILL a regular game. Saturday night’s game is the Parent’s Weekend game and no, to little, student section will be available. On a side note, T-shirts are slated to be picked up on Wednesday the 22nd. Shirts will be available for pick-up on the times listed below. Again, if you have not ordered a shirt, we will be taking pre-orders for the next set of shirts. See us to order your shirt. I promise you, the final design will make you want to own this shirt.

Friday:

Pick-up: Starting at 1pm up until women’s game at 3pm

Women vs. Mercy Hurst

Pick-up: Following women’s game up until men’s game at 7pm

Saturday:

Pick-up: Starting at 5pm up until men’s game at 7:30pm

In its opening game of the 2008-2009 season, the Clarkson Golden Knights men’s hockey team showed exactly how to tame the tiger in Rochester. The Knights faced off against the, Reading is Tough (I mean Rochester Institute of T-T-Technology) Tigers on Friday night in a game that would start off the season with a bang. 

The first period was tough on Clarkson, as we entered the locker room down 2-0. Because of Leggio’s departure from the Knights, the goaltender status for the game was uncertain. Freshmen Paul Karpowich got the starting nod and looked a bit shaky in net. He would eventually settle into the game as the time went on. The second period, however, tables were turned. Chris D’Alvise opened the scoring for the Knights after lighting up a couple defensemen followed by the sieve called Menard in net. Just five minutes later, D’Alvise lit the lamp to tie the game unassisted. At this point, the RIT crowd had felt the full force of the Bonesaw. However, just when everything was safe, the Tigers took the lead again off a broken play just 29 seconds after D’Alvise’s equalizer. Life started to climb back into the arena. However, Matt Beca would have none of that. Off a feed from Brandon DeFazio, and Chris D’Alvise, Beca tied up the game a minute and a half later on the Power Play. Lauri Tuohimaa then gave the Golden Knights a lead later in the period to stun the Tiger crowd. A four goal 2nd period sparked the Knights to a 4-3 lead. 

Third period underway, Clarkson was hanging to a 4-3 advantage, although being outshot by a considerable margin. To continue the tradition of owning the best offensive penalty kill in the nation, Tim Marks showed RIT that our special teams were indeed far more special than theirs. Marks, off a nice pass from Scott Freeman, scored a short-handed goal halfway through the 3rd period to give the Knights a huge 2 goal lead. RIT, however, kept the pressure alive and cut the lead to 1 with around 6 minutes left in the third. Karpowich kept the Knights alive with several Leggio-worthy saves as time winded down. With an empty net in place, Chris D’Alvise slammed the door on the home team and recorded a Golden Knight hat-trick on the empty net. 

The game finished with the bonesaws being raised a total of 6 times. D’Alvise recorded 3 goals and 1 assist, DeFazio racked up 3 assists, and Paul Karpowich settled in to make 35 saves in 39 attempts for his first Golden Knight victory. Clarkson now travels down to Niagara looking to start the season fresh at 2-0.

Clarkson’s women’s hockey team saw its first action of this season this past weekend, with a pair of games against 10^th ranked Boston College.  Sophomore Lauren Dahm started the first game in goal, allowing only 2 goals on 25 shots.  The two goals scored in the second period would be more than enough for BC, as Molly Schaus stopped all 26 shots by Clarkson.  An even game for the most part, Clarkson failed to capitalize on 10 power play opportunities.

The next game saw the scoring pick up for both teams.  BC got off to a quick start in the first period, scoring 4 goals, one of which was shorthanded.  Clarkson bounced back early on in the second period, with goals from Marie-Jo Gaudet and Juana Baribeau.  The goals were scored just 56 seconds apart, with Gaudet’s being her 70^th career point and the second being Baribeau’s first collegiate goal.  Clarkson would go on to tie the score in the third as freshmen Kali Gillanders notched her first collegiate goal while senior Kimberly McKenney scored on a 2 player advantage to tie the score.  Lauren Dahm replaced Eve Grandmont-Berube and didn’t allow any goals to get the tie for Clarkson.  Clarkson was 1 of 9 on power plays in this game and was out shot 36-27.  The next set of games of the girls is this upcoming weekend, against Boston University and New Hampshire.

The first set of shirts were ordered today. The final design will be printed sometime later this week with the only added difference of a buzzsaw effect around the swirl on the back side. We felt that the saw should be included in the design, and thanks to a last-minute idea from Bonesaw-legend Kyle, we made this possible.

The shirts will be available for pick-up on Parent’s Weekend (for those who pre-ordered). We will be available prior to both the women’s game and men’s game on Friday October 24th in the arena. We will also be in Cheel on Saturday October 25th before the men’s game. Exact times will be posted when the date draws nearer. We will also be taking pre-orders for students who did not see us the first time. Also, you can place your order online through the link below (click the image) to ensure there will be a shirt waiting for you in the second batch. So if you have an extra $10 from your beer-runs, and want to spend it on something that will last longer than a hangover, stop by the tables that weekend and get your shirt. These shirts will be available for the second set of home games on Nov 7/8.