Another solid effort in goal by junior David Leggio and a two-goal outing by classmate David Cayer helped lift Clarkson to a 4-2 victory over a stubborn RIT squad before a crowd of 2,549 at Cheel Arena on Saturday in the 2,000th all-time game played by the Golden Knights.
Clarkson, which defeated Niagara, 7-3, in its season opener on Friday, is off to its best start since the 1999-2000 campaign. The Knights fought off a second-period rally by the Tigers with two goals in the final frame to record their fifth straight victory over RIT.
In a tightly played first period, junior defenseman Grant Clitsome put Clarkson on the scoreboard first when he knocked in a loose puck during a scramble in front at 15:53. Senior Nick Dodge and sophomore Shea Guthrie assisted.
Just 26 seconds into the middle stanza the Knights seemed to take control as Cayer jammed in a wraparound attempt after taking a pass down low from senior Mike Sullivan to give the Knights a 2-0 lead. RIT, however, rallied back with two quick scores to tie the game midway through the period.
Sophomore Brennan Sarazin gave the Tigers their first goal at 1:48 followed by Ricky Walton’s marker at 8:25 to tie the game, 2-2, through 40 minutes of play.
At 9:54 of the third, junior Steve Zalewski netted the game-winner as he finished off a perfect feed in front freshman line mate Matt Beca. Junior Shawn Weller also assisted.
Cayer sealed the win with an empty-net, power-play goal with 17 seconds remaining.
Clarkson out shot RIT, 40-28. Leggio finished with 26 saves, while sophomore Louis Menard came through with 36 stops for the Tigers.
Both teams struggled with the man advantage as the Knights went 1-of-9 and RIT went 0-of-8 on the power play.
