LAKE PLACID, N.Y. - No. 11/10 Massachusetts hockey built a 3-1 lead in the second period, but Clarkson rallied to score four of the final five tallies in the contest to top the Minutemen in overtime, 5-4, in the consolation game of the Adirondack Winter Invitational at 1980 Herb Brooks on Saturday. The loss leaves the Minutemen at 11-5-2, while the Golden Knights improve to 9-6-1 on the year.
"It's a book I've read before," said UMass head coach Greg Carvel. "We control tempo, we control the play, we control chances and can't find a way to win. We're lacking something. We're ahead 3-1 in a game where we're playing well, and we let them back in and take some bad penalties. Once again, we find a way to come back in the third period. It's just a bit little frustrating. We're a good hockey team that's not playing to our full potential right now.
Sophomore Michael Cameron opened the scoring 4:48 into the first period with his fifth goal of the season. Cameron cleaned up a rebound off the pads of Austin Roden after freshman Sebastian Törnqvist fired the puck from the point off a feed out of the corner by junior Lucas Mercuri.
Before the close of the frame, the Golden Knights managed to tie the score at one. With Ryan Richardson springing Ellis Rickwood and Ryan Taylor on an odd-man rush, that ended with Taylor burying a pass from Rickwood into the back of the UMass net at the 18:16 mark.
UMass regained the advantage 4:33 into the second period when junior Taylor Makar collected an outlet feed from junior Ryan Ufko and dropped the puck off to sophomore Kenny Connors for a one-timer that found its way home from the left faceoff dot.
The Minutemen then added to their lead on the power play at the 8:49 mark when sophomore Cole O'Hara flung the puck through traffic for his second of the year off a feed from classmate Owen Murray at the point.
Clarkson, however, answered with a power-play goal of its own moments later at 13:51 with Richardson finding Mathieu Gosselin at the back post with a pass through the crease for the tally. Ayrton Marino earned the secondary helper on the play.
Marino then leveled the score at three just before the intermission, beating a UMass defender and tucking the puck behind Cole Brady off a feed from Anthony Romano and Gosselin at the 18:34 mark.
Romano gave the Golden Knights the lead 42 seconds into the third period after Richardson set him up with a partial breakaway with Clarkson shorthanded.
Senior Linden Alger brought UMass back level with the Golden Knights at the 8:30 mark of the third period. Graduate student Liam Gorman won an offensive zone faceoff for the Minutemen back to freshman Aydar Suniev who sent the puck up the half wall to Alger at the point. Alger threw a low wrister towards goal that tucked inside the far post, bringing the score to 4-4.
Massachusetts killed off a lengthy 5-on-3 in the third period, but Clarkson managed to come away with the victory in the extra frame with Ryan Taylor cleaning up his own rebound in front of Brady 2:21 into overtime.
Clarkson finished the contest with a 28-23 advantage in shots on goal. UMass was 1-for-2 on the power play and the Golden Knights were 1-for-4.
Brady ended the day with 23 saves for the Minutemen and Roden stopped 19 in net for Clarkson.
UMass will return home to face UConn on Friday, January 5 at 7 p.m. at the Mullins Center. The Hockey East matchup will air on NESN.
