Clarkson scored three unanswered goals in the second period and sophomore goaltender Dustin Traylen made 30 saves to lead the Golden Knights to their first win since January 30, a 3-2 squeaker over slumping Brown.
The Bears’ third straight loss, combined with Colgate’s win over Rensselaer, dropped the nationally-ranked former ECAC leaders into second place with only two games left in the regular season.
Looking to split its North Country trip after being blanked by St. Lawrence on Friday, Brown jumped on top just 57 seconds into the game capitalizing on a Clarkson turnover in its own zone. Senior Pascal Denis scooped up an errant drop pass by the Knights between the faceoff circles and fed sophomore Corey Caouette, who fired in his fifth goal of the season.
One night after registering just 24 shots, the Bears dominated the first period on this night, holding an 18-5 shot advantage over Clarkson and not allowing a shot until the 11:01 mark of the opening frame.
The two teams did an about-face in the second period as the Knights responded by outshooting their guests 21-8.
Senior Jean Desrochers, playing the final regular-season home game of his Clarkson career, tied the game with his sixth goal of the year, lifting a shot from in tight just under the crossbar at 3:14.
The Knights then scored twice on the power play in a span of just 1:48, snapping an 0-33 slump with the man-advantage. Senior Tristan Lush scored his fourth goal of the season, tipping in a shot from the point by sophomore defenseman Chris Brekelmans at 10:54.
Junior Jay Latulippe continued Clarkson’s new-found success on the power play, knocking in a rebound off a shot by classmate Chris Blight at 12:42 for his second goal of the weekend and eleventh of the season. For Blight, the Knights’ second-leading scorer, it was his first point in six games.
Brown pulled to within one midway through the third period when junior Paul Crosty connected on a slap shot from the point — after senior Nick Ringstad won a faceoff — for his second goal of the year, a power-play marker at 12:42.
The Bears pulled netminder Yann Danis with 56 seconds left for the extra skater, but could not come up with the tying score.
Clarkson improved to 12-15-5 overall and 7-11-2 in the ECAC, moving to within one point of eighth-place St. Lawrence. Brown stands at 14-8-5 overall and 12-6-2 in the league, two points behind Colgate.
Next weekend, the Knights travel to central New York to play Colgate and Cornell, while Brown returns to Providence to host Dartmouth and Vermont.
