Rob McFeeters scored the winning goal with just seven seconds left in the second overtime as Clarkson defeated Vermont, 3-2.
The number-one seeded Golden Knights, who improved their record to 21-10-3, evened the best-of-three series and will face Vermont at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday in the deciding game. The 10th-seeded Catamounts (13-17-2) won the first game of the series 5-3 on Friday, snapping Clarkson’s 17-game postseason winning streak at Cheel Arena.
McFeeters scored the deciding goal, his 15th of the season, during a scramble in front. McFeeters got a stick on a shot from the blueline by Kent Huskins and snapped off a low shot from the slot, which squirted through a pile of players and past Vermont goaltender Shawn Conschafter at 19:53 of the second sudden-death OT, ending the Catamounts’ longest game ever and the Knights’ second-longest.
Trailing 2-0 midway through the third, Vermont scored twice in a span of 1:56 to force overtime. Jeff Miles knocked in a rebound off a shot from the point by Martin Wilde at 12:26 to get the Catamounts on the scoreboard.
Then, at 14:21, Ryan Cox’s shot from the point found its way through traffic in front to tie the game at two.
After both teams had goals waved off in the first period, Clarkson took the lead at 16:46. Jean Desrochers knocked in a rebound in front off a shot from the point by Kerry Ellis-Toddington to give the Knights the early momentum.
The Knights added to their margin early in the second when Mike Nagai knocked in his own rebound at 2:42 after taking a pass from the corner by Marc Garceau.
Clarkson outshot Vermont 43-36. Mike Walsh made 34 saves, including 11 in overtime to gain his 15th win of the season. Conschafter posted 40 stops for the Catamounts, including 21 through 39:53 of overtime play.
The Knights were 0-for-2 on the power play, while Vermont, which had the only power play in overtime, was also 0-for-2 with the man-advantage.
