After a thrilling 3-2 overtime game last night won by St. Lawrence, the Saints and the Clarkson Golden Knights renewed their rivalry again for the second night in a row for game two of their best-of-three ECAC quarterfinals series, and for the second night in a row, 60 minutes was not enough to find a winner. However, unlike the previous night, where only a single overtime was required, Kyle Hayton and Greg Lewis put on goaltending exhibitions, and forced the game to a second overtime. The eventual score was the same, reading 3-2, but it was Gavin Bayreuther who played the hero for St. Lawrence this time.
Bayreuther scored his team leading 11th goal of the season 3:14 into the second overtime period, sending the Saints back to Lake Placid for the second straight season.
“It was a clean faceoff win that came right to my stick; I think I took four or five steps along the blue line and saw a lane,” said Bayreuther. “I saw a lane, we’ve focused on getting those shots through, and luckily it just found a hole.”
“I don’t know of many defensemen that are goal scorers; he’s a goal scorer,” said St. Lawrence coach Greg Carvel of his prized defenseman. “If you get him the puck, he’ll score, and he scores them all from way out. That was a great shot by Gavin.”
Unlike Friday night, it was Clarkson that needed to tie it late after trailing 2-0, and Kevin Tansey provided the equalizer with a blast from the point that found its way through a sea of players at the 4:47 mark of the third.
Much like Friday, it was the Saints scoring early, but this time it took only 56 seconds. It was a similar play to the previous night’s first goal, with a deflection of a shot from Nolan Gluchowski that was sent intentionally wide, looking for a tip. This time, Mike Marnell was the beneficiary.
Jacob Pritchard made it 2-0 St. Lawrence 6:47 into the second period, capitalizing on a rebound from his own shot and netting his ninth of the season.
A two-on-one for the Golden Knights, started by a pass from Simon Bessette which sprung Troy Josephs and Jeff DiNallo, resulted in the latter scoring his fifth of the season to bring the Golden Knights within one goal of their rival. Tansey’s third-period blast provided the equalizer, and despite a plethora of third-period chances for Clarkson, the teams headed for extra hockey again.
The overtime period was about as fast-paced as a hockey game can be, with numerous odd-man rushes and a breakaway for St. Lawrence’s Sean McGovern, but all chances were denied by the netminders. The teams headed to double overtime.
“Pretty exciting,” said Carvel. “We’re lucky we didn’t lose the game in the third period, and I though we were better in OT. I thought we were the better team in the first OT and then in the second overtime, I though it was just a matter of time.”
“I thought we had every opportunity to win that game,” said Golden Knights coach Casey Jones. “Our guys are competitive. I thought we competed at a high level.”
Jones had a message for his seniors as well, whose seasons and careers came to an end with the loss.
“We tell guys we have a simple motto: ‘When you go a place, make sure you leave it better than when you got there,'” said Jones. “They’re all tremendous people and tremendous leaders.”
While the Golden Knights season came to an end, the Saints will return to Lake Placid for the ECAC semifinals, though their opponent is yet to be determined, as Quinnipiac and Cornell faceoff in game three of their series tomorrow.
