Box Score

ITHACA, N.Y. -- Sophomore Locke Jillson recorded his first career multi-point game and senior Blake Gallagher had a goal and three assists as the Cornell men's hockey team scored a 5-3 victory over visiting Clarkson on Saturday night at Lynah Rink in Ithaca. The win moves Cornell atop the ECAC Hockey standings, two points clear of a three-way tie for second with one fewer game played.

Cornell also got goals from freshmen John Esposito and Chris Moulson, with Moulson's coming in just his third career game. Junior Mike Devin added a pair of assists, while Esposito also added an assist for his first career multi-point game. Brendon Nash, Sean Whitney and Nick D'Agostino each added an assist for the Big Red (12-5-3, 9-2-2 ECAC Hockey).

Clarkson got a goal and an assist from Corey Tamblyn, with Tim Marks and Adam Pawlick both adding a goal. Matt Beca added an assist for the Golden Knights, who fell to 5-18-3 on the year and 1-11-2 in league play.

Cornell netminder Ben Scrivens stopped 18 shots on the night for the victory, while Clarkson's Paul Karpowich made 37 saves in taking the loss. Cornell broke out of an 0-for-30 slump on the power play with three goals in seven chances, while holding Clarkson scoreless in four opportunities.

Clarkson took the lead midway through the first period when Pawlick gloved down a clearance attempt in the Cornell end and skated in on Scrivens, ripping a wrist shot into the upper left corner of the goal for the early lead. The Big Red responded nearly four minutes later when Jillson got his first of two goals, picking up the puck along the side boards, skating in front of the goal and using a screen from a Clarkson defenseman to fire a shot that beat Karpowich, sending the two teams to the intermission tied at one.

In the second period, it took just a minute for Jillson to give the Big Red a lead it would not relinquish. With Cornell on the power play after a double-minor penalty to Clarkson's Julien Cayer, Brendon Nash ripped a shot from the center point that was stopped by Karpowich, but Jillson was there for the rebound to lift Cornell to a 2-1 lead. Three and a half minutes later, it was Moulson scoring his first career goal, cleaning up a rebound off a shot from the point by Mike Devin that lay in front of the crease. Moulson backhanded the puck around the leg of Karpowich to stake Cornell to a 3-1 lead.

Cornell expanded on the lead when Gallagher scored at the 8:08 mark of the second period, this time burying his own rebound off a shot from Sean Whitney to make the score 4-1 and give Cornell its second power-play goal of the night.

Two minutes later, with Cornell again on the power play, the Golden Knights drew within one when Tamblyn picked up a loose puck in the Clarkson end and played it ahead to Beca for a 2-on-1. Beca fed Marks, who roofed his shot past Scrivens to cut the Cornell lead to two.

Still, Cornell responded, this time with Esposito scoring on a power-play goal, again cleaning up a rebound off a shot from the point by Devin. Devin's shot caromed off D'Agostino and onto the stick of Esposito, who buried the puck for the Big Red's fourth goal of the period.

Clarkson again drew within two on another short-handed goal, this time with Tamblyn picking off a pass at the Clarkson blue line and breaking in alone on Scrivens, scoring an unassisted short-handed goal on a breakaway. That would turn out to be the only scoring of the third period just 1:53 in.

The Big Red returns to action on Friday when it travels to Quinnipiac for an 8 p.m. contest in a game that will be televised nationally on CBS College Sports. The Big Red will seek to avenge one of its two league losses, a 3-2 Quinnipiac win on Nov. 21 at Lynah Rink.