A different night with different Knights.
I must begin by correcting an error in my notes from Day 1--it is the men of Clarkson who are the Golden Knights, while the men from Army are Black Knights. Now that that is settled, let us be off to this evening's lesson.
It really was an entirely different set of Knights than those who took the ice last evening. There was composure on defense, measured precision on offense, and goaltending over which I will rave later in this entry. What is most stunning of all, however, is the fact that the Golden Nights of Clarkson are riding in last place in their conference, overshadowed by fellow ECAC members Princeton, Cornell, and Dartmouth who are all nationally ranked by the USA Today. But for these Knights, two evenings in Columbus, Ohio have set the table for what could be a promising remainder of their season.
Just before Ohio State dispatched of the boys from West Point last evening, Clarkson stunned everyone in Columbus who is plugged into the college hockey scene (all, like, 15 of them) by beating Miami (OH) 4-2. Tough enough, considering the commute for any Golden Knight fans coming from Potsdam, NY. Made tougher, however, when realizing that Miami is ranked #2 in the country! (A side note: The RedHawks can forget that spot after their showing this weekend at the Value City Arena, as they dropped this evening's game to Army, again by a score of 4-2.)
So the table was set tonight for these scrappy bottom feeders from Upstate New York to face off against an Ohio State team that was charging from a big win and looking to impress the home fans. But, someone forgot to tell Clarkson that they were bottom feeders. From the first drop of the puck, the pace was fast and the game was energized. Within the first five minutes, the referees had to pull players apart who were engaging in some "extracurricular activities" after the whistle. The Knights were out to prove a point, one that I believe they did, even when the final horn sounded and handed them a 2-0 defeat.
The Buckeyes' only real goal came in just the 8th minute of play when Hunter Bishop (our french fry man from last night) pushed the puck through a pig-pile in front of the Clarkson net. It did not appear as though much could be done to stop this goal, as the puck just found its way into the goal after traversing no less than four bodies on the ice. The Golden Nights then played 51 minutes of shutout hockey before Zac Dalpe tossed a wrister into an empty net with just under 40 seconds remaining.
This was a game of intensity. I was pleased to see more apparent thinking being done on the part of the teams. Offenses were set and defenses fought to clear the zone. Both Clarkson and Ohio State put on penalty killing clinics, as none of the 12 powerplays resulted in goals. And even though I bleed scarlet and grey, a small part of me was cheering for the green and gold tonight. These boys put on a show this weekend that should put their opponents on notice, and they did it in front of crowds that dwarf the capacity of Cheel Arena back in Potsdam. They took down a national power on night one, and fought the good (and nearly successful) fight against a home team which would be hard pressed to lose on their own ice on night two. Bravo Clarkson Golden Knights! Kick the crap out of those Ivy League boys!
Tonight's Dumb Question: What does someone do (or not do) to get kicked out of a face-off? From my seat, it seems to be one of those things that depends on the official's whims. I seem to remember hearing something about face-off etiquette at some point, having to do with who gets to put their stick down first. Is this sport really that worried about being nice to each other?
Tonight's Three Stars: 3. Hunter Bishop (OSU), I did not mean to belittle his goal by my description above. Bishop fought hard through the scrum to put home what ended up being the game winner. No fries tonight, though... 2. Dustin Carlson (OSU), When you notch a clean sheet, you are doing well. Columbus must just be the place for young goalies right now--as Carlson blanks the Golden Knights just as his professional counterpart from across town is putting up record-breaking rookie stats for the BlueJackets. 1. Paul Karpowich (CLK), In my admitted ignorance of this sport, I do not hold the Golden Knights' net-minder responsible for either goal scored tonight. Karpowich stopped 32 shots on goal, 21 of which came during powerplays. He stoned the Buckeyes' fast-break cold on numerous occasions, keeping his team in the game until the very end. The box score may read differently, but I would be willing to give this guy a clean sheet too.
Tonight's Trip to the Penalty Box: The Officials, 2 minutes for Interference. I know, it is cliché to rip on the refs, but for goodness sake, how many times do you have to get run over by an charging attacker before you get the idea that perhaps on the blue line, 2 feet in from the boards is a bad place to be?!?
Final Score: Ohio State 2, Clarkson 0
Next Session: 24. January, hosting Western Michigan
...oh, and if you have the means, check out Clarkson a week from Sunday (Jan. 11, 4pm) when the host St. Lawrence in a game which will be nationally televised on ESPNU.
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