{"id":89967,"date":"2018-12-29T22:08:32","date_gmt":"2018-12-30T04:08:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/?p=89967"},"modified":"2020-08-24T13:34:37","modified_gmt":"2020-08-24T18:34:37","slug":"desert-hockey-classic-clarksons-kielly-shines-once-again-as-the-golden-knights-skate-through-the-desert-for-a-championship-defeat-minnesota-duluth-3-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/2018\/12\/29\/desert-hockey-classic-clarksons-kielly-shines-once-again-as-the-golden-knights-skate-through-the-desert-for-a-championship-defeat-minnesota-duluth-3-1\/","title":{"rendered":"DESERT HOCKEY CLASSIC: Clarkson’s Kielly earns MVP as the Golden Knights win title, defeat Minnesota Duluth, 3-1"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Clarkson, behind two nights of near-perfect goaltending, captured the title at the Desert Holiday Classic with a 3-1 victory over Minnesota Duluth (Photo: Greg Cameron)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Another outstanding performance from junior goaltender Jake Kielly propelled the Clarkson Golden Knights to a 3-1 victory in the championship game of the third Desert Hockey Classic.<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cHe gave us a chance, and that\u2019s what good goalies do,\u201d said Clarkson head coach Casey Jones. \u201cThey give you a chance when you need it. I thought we defended really hard. That\u2019s our game, that\u2019s who we are, and I\u2019m really excited for the guys.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n

Eight minutes into the first, Golden Knights freshman center Nick Campoli won an offensive zone faceoff back to defenseman and 19th-skater Shane Kuzmeski fired a seeing eye point shot to open the scoring. It was the junior Kuzmeski\u2019s first career NCAA goal in 34 NCAA games, his second career point, and a great moment for him and his teammates.<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cI had to give him a hard time about that one,\u201d joked Kielly after the game. \u201cI think I had one or two more [points] than him for a year and a half, and he ended up getting a goal before me and I let him know.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n

No. 19 Clarkson (11-6-0) added a second goal in the final five minutes of the first. Three seconds after a Bulldogs interference penalty expired, junior winger Haralds Egle worked the puck behind the cage of Hunter Shepard and passed back to the weak side to a wide open Nico Sturm. The co-captain Sturm buried it, and his team found themselves in the same 2-0 situation as Friday’s semifinal through one.<\/b><\/p>\n

No. 4 Minnesota Duluth (11-5-2) stormed out of the locker room in the second period, scored almost instantaneously, and spent an exorbitant amount of time in the Clarkson zone to start the frame.<\/b><\/p>\n

Less than a minute into the second, the Bulldogs cut the lead in half on a two-on-one net drive. Sophomore center Justin Richards found his senior winger Parker Mackay for Mackay\u2019s team-leading eighth goal.<\/p>\n

This marked the first goal Kielly allowed in the previous 146:22 of game time, a streak that goes back to the team\u2019s 4-2 loss to St. Lawrence on December 7.<\/p>\n

<\/b>Jones noted that if there was one aspect of the weekend that the team could improve upon, it was the second period.<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cI thought both nights, our second period starts weren\u2019t very good,\u201d said Jones. \u201cIt\u2019s given us some troubles in the past, and just the urgency – we had such a focus going into the first period and we executed well, and it\u2019s almost like we drop off our focal points in the game.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n

Yet at some point in the latter half of the period, the momentum shift from the Bulldogs to the Golden Knights in the second period was sizeable and somewhat surprising. It may not show in the shot column or the faceoff department, but Clarkson got the puck to the middle of the ice much more frequently than in the first, where about half of their shot attempts came from the points or the perimeter.<\/b><\/p>\n

Clarkson kept up their hot penalty kill in the third period, blanking the Bulldogs on two chances and limiting the chances of the Minnesota Duluth point men, something they could not do on even strength in the second period. The unit improved to 33-for-34 in their last nine games.<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted to shoot to the side of the net and have some players there deflecting them back across the crease. We tried to get him moving,\u201d said Bulldogs associate head coach Jason Herter about the approach to beating Kielly. \u201cIt\u2019s up to our guys to get the puck through, and we came up with a couple plays late that ended up working. We just didn\u2019t score.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n

Sturm notched his second goal of the game on an empty net within the final minute to seal the deal. The Golden Knights have now won an in-season tournament three years in a row after going 10 years without one; they captured 2016\u2019s Shillelagh Tournament title in South Bend and 2017\u2019s Friendship Four championship in Belfast, Northern Ireland.<\/b><\/p>\n

Kielly was named the Desert Hockey Classic\u2019s Most Valuable Player and finished the game with 29 saves. He relished the opportunity to take part in such a high-powered tournament and in particular, show well against the defending national champions.<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cI thought tonight, we did a really good job of shutting it down defensively,\u201d said Kielly. \u201cI thought that was definitely one of the best teams we played all year, certainly in my college career as well.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n

Both Arizona State head coach Greg Powers and Minnesota State associate head coach Todd Knott congratulated Jones in the hallway outside of the Clarkson locker room after the game, as Clarkson left for home shortly after the game\u2019s conclusion.<\/b><\/p>\n

Clarkson travels to Vermont to face the Catamounts next Sunday, and Minnesota Duluth hosts the United States National Under-18 Team in an exhibition next Saturday.<\/p>\n

CONSOLATION: Arizona State 2, Minnesota State 2 (F\/OT, ASU wins shootout, 1-0, 5 rounds)\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Johnny Walker’s rebound goal with 29.4 seconds remaining in regulation forced overtime and a 2-2 tie for Arizona State and Minnesota State in the Desert Hockey Classic’s consolation game.<\/p>\n

Max Balinson’s goal in the fifth-round of the shootout gave Arizona State third place in the tournament. The game will be recorded as a tie for NCAA purposes.<\/p>\n

Things looked dire for the hosts, which were poised to finish the weekend winless. But strong pressure with the goaltender pulled led to a shot from the right point, a bobbled puck at the right post and a seeing-eye rebound to Walker, who scored his team-leading 18th goal of the season.<\/p>\n

The Sun Devils jumped out to a 1-0 lead on Jordan Sandhu’s second goal of the season at 14:42 of the first.<\/p>\n

The Mavericks evened the score at 11:49 of the second on Walker Duehr’s fourth goal.\u00a0Dallas Gerads’ goal in the final minute of the second period broke a 1-1 tie and put the Mavericks in a position to win until Walker’s late-game heroics.<\/p>\n

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TIE GAME!!!@jwalks96<\/a> knots it up 2-2 with just seconds remaining.<\/p>\n

Watch @SunDevilHockey<\/a> on us: https:\/\/t.co\/TwvjFMK4TZ<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/rUWWq9RmID<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) December 30, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n