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ITHACA, N.Y. — Kirill Gotovets picked a good time for his first goal of the season and the power play picked a good time to emerge from a 2-for-42 slump, as the Cornell men's hockey team used a pair of goals from defensemen to secure a 2-1 victory Friday night against Clarkson at Lynah Rink.

The win gives fourth-seeded Cornell a 1-0 lead in the ECAC Hockey Championships quarterfinal series and a chance to close out the best-of-three set at 7 p.m. Saturday in Game 2.

Joakim Ryan scored the winning goal for the Big Red early in the second period on the man advantage – his seventh strike of the season, tying the blueliner's career high. Captain John McCarron had the primary assist on both goals for Cornell (16-8-5). Andy Iles made 28 saves for the victory, including 13 in a high-octane first period.

The Big Red came out of the blocks strong after enjoying a bye week through the first round of the league's playoffs while fifth-seeded Clarkson (20-16-4) was taken to a third game against last-place Princeton. Golden Knights goalie Steve Perry – making his first career start against the Big Red – was forced to make a difficult save in the first minute on Jeff Kubiak's deflection of a point shot.

Clarkson then made a bid to take an early lead when Iles struggled to corral Pat Megannety's shot. Jordan Boucher was first to chip at the rebound, sending the puck off the crossbar before it bounced ominously across the goal mouth mere inches from the goal line. The Golden Knights protested as play continued, but the officials' initial call of no-goal was upheld after a video review a short time later, still just six minutes into the game.

That set the stage for Gotovets' first goal in more than two years. He started the play by flagging down a clearing attempt in the neutral zone, gloving the puck down and poking it to Kubiak. The freshman center cut toward the middle and led McCarron to an entry on the right side.

Cornell's captain put on a shot from distance high to the far side, meeting Perry up high as the goalie froze awaited for the puck to reappear. It eventually dropped in the slot, with several battling players skating past. Gotovets joined the fray and cashed in the rebound, putting Cornell on top 11:33 into the game. It was just the second time in the last eight games that the Big Red got on the board first, and it was Gotovets' first goal since Nov. 4, 2011 – a power-play tally during a 6-2 victory at Yale.


But the Big Red couldn't pad its advantage with the balance of what promised to be a lengthy power play. A minor penalty on Cornell cut into some of that time, then Clarkson gradually started to take a competitive edge in the middle frame.

The Golden Knights eventually cut their deficit in half with 5:11 left in the second period on Boucher's penalty-shot goal. A Big Red defenseman lost his balance at the offensive blue line, leading to a breakaway. The other defenseman made a last-ditch effort to thwart Boucher's chance, but tripped the forward in the process – leading to the fourth penalty shot against the Big Red this season. Boucher, a left-handed shot, made a move to his backhand before tucking the puck between Iles' legs to make the score 2-1.

The third period proved to be tougher sledding for Clarkson, with the visitors mustering just five shots on goal in search of the equalizer. Cornell's best scoring chances were bids toward an empty net late in the game, but none were successful.

Game 2 is scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday, though the start time could be pushed later if the Cornell/Mercyhurst NCAA women's quarterfinal goes into overtime earlier in the day. If necessary, Game 3 would be at 7 p.m. Sunday.

NOTES: Cornell remains undefeated when it scores first, now 11-0-3 on the season when breaking the ice. The Big Red is also undefeated when it leads at any intermission – 8-0-3 after the first and 13-0-1 after the second. … Cornell has been subjected to four penalty shots against this season, with the opposition converted on three. Nebraska-Omaha's Josh Archibald (Oct. 25), Brown's Matt Lorito (Nov. 22) and Boucher have all scored, while Princeton's Andrew Calof (Nov. 1) was unsuccessful. … The last four Cornell-Clarkson playoff games have all been decided by one goal – though Friday's game was the first in that stretch to not need overtime. … While the Big Red is still seeking its first shutout of the season, it has surrendered just six goals over its last five games.