Weekend Thoughts.

When is a tie almost as good as a win? When you let a 2-1 lead slip away in the third, fall behind 3-2, then score a power play goal with your goalie pulled with 3.3 seconds left to tie the game. Instant beach-ball frenzy. One of the more electric moments in recent Cheel Arena history, and a great way to salvage Senior Night.



Clarkson looked fairly dominant against Union, although there was a brief moment when it appeared the Knights let their guard down and almost let the Dutchmen back into the game... then a beer later at Club 99, it was 4-2 and the rout was on.

The change of pace between Union and RPI the following night was substantial. RPI brought a lot of speed and skill to the game early on, and being in the stands I was definitely surprised. It took nearly eight minutes for Clarkson to register their first shot on goal. Part of this is because the offense clearly has a plan to generate strong opportunities close to the net as opposed to just tossing bombs from the blue line.

Coach Roll will definitely put the team to work on converting five on three opportunities. Clarkson missed out on several over the weekend and seemed very tentative on the two man advantage. RPI on the other hand scored their second and third goals off of a 5 on 3 and the ensuing 5 on 4 to take the lead.

Last thought about the men's games. Unbelievably strong OT period for the Knights. No doubt in my mind they need to take that extra period confidence with them into the playoffs where the buzzer at five minutes won't save anyone.

Other Thoughts:

The Women had a strong final weekend of regular season play, sweeing RPI and Union. Their reward? The 7th seed and an opportunity to win their first ever playoff series against arch-rival St. Lawrence in Canton this coming weekend. Puck drops at 7:00 both Friday and Saturday, and at 4:00 on Sunday if necessary. In their previous matchups, St. Lawrence was victorious 3-1 and 5-0. Clarkson will need some serious goaltending and defense, and to take advantage of every opportunity presented to have a chance to advance to the ECACHL Final Four.

I had the pleasure of hanging out with #10 Mike Sullivan's Mom and Aunt for a few moments at Cheel Arena on Saturday while sporting my new game-worn #10. They had spotted me and took a few pictures. Definitely fun as a fan to see family members so excited about support for the team and their son or daughter, and of course we appreciate them becoming dedicated members of the Clarkson community. When Mike makes the bigs some day, and his family is showing off the scrap book, keep an eye out for the other #10.