ITHACA, N.Y. — Despite Clarkson posting a 4-3 victory over the No. 11-ranked Cornell men's hockey team on Friday night at a rowdy Lynah Rink, the Big Red solidified a first-round bye in the 2023 ECAC Hockey Championships.

Cornell will host a best-of-three series beginning March 10 at Lynah Rink against one of the winners from the first round, which has changed to a single-game format. The first-round contests will be played in the first weekend of March.

Mathieu Gosselin highlighted the victory for the Golden Knights by assisting on all four Golden Knights goals. Alex Campbell and Ayrton Martino each had two-goal nights for Clarkson (14-14-3, 8-9-2 ECAC). Campbell added an assist on Clarkson's second goal of the contest to give himself a three-point night.

Senior forward Ben Berard scored twice for the Big Red, while fellow senior forward Jack Malone potted the other marker. Junior forward Gabriel Seger recorded two assists in the setback for Cornell (16-8-2, 13-5-1 ECAC).

"It was a tough night," said Mike Schafer '86, the Jay R. Bloom '77 Head Coach of Men's Ice Hockey. "We had opportunities, wide-open nets, a chance hit the crossbar, and [Clarkson] capitalized on their chances. The guys battled back, they did a good job in the third to try and create chances."

How It Happened

Clarkson took an 1-0 lead just shy of the halfway point of the opening period following a 2-on-1 odd-man rush. Gosselin had his first cross-slot pass attempt deflect off an ankle of a Cornell defenseman before a second-chance pass led to Campbell one-timing a shot past Cornell sophomore goaltender Ian Shane.

Malone recorded his fourth goal in as many games when his one-timer from the middle of the slot found the back of the net. Clarkson goaltender Ethan Haider could not cleanly pass the puck from behind his net, leading to Wallace hustling to the loose puck and setting up Malone for the Big Red's opening goal.

Cornell took a 2-1 lead in the second period when Berard wristed a shot past Haider's blocker from the right faceoff circle.

The Golden Knights netted the final two goals of the middle frame to take a 3-2 lead into the second intermission. Martino scored the first of his two goals on the night when he one-timed a pass from Gosselin following a scrum in the left corner.

While the Big Red was killing off a major penalty, Anthony Callin had his initial shot attempt saved by Shane before the puck nestled against the left post, allowing Campbell to tap the loose puck across the goal line to give Clarkson the advantage.

Nearing the halfway point of the third period, Cornell evened the contest at three apiece with a power-play goal by Berard. Almost a carbon-copy of his first goal, Berard wristed a shot from the top of the right circle to draw the contest even.

Martino gave the Golden Knights the lead again with a power-play marker of his own just under two minutes after Berard's game-tying goal. For the second time on the night, Callin had his shot saved by Shane and Martino pounced on the loose puck to scored what proved to be the game-winning goal.

Cornell had a chance to tie the game as freshman forward Dalton Bancroft had a rebound shot attempt ring off the crossbar and out.

Later in the period, with Cornell playing with an extra attacker, the Big Red had a couple of chances to force overtime, but Clarkson's defense and Haider were able to hold on for the road victory.

Game Notes

• Friday was the 147th all-time meeting between the two Empire State programs. Cornell is now 70-58-19 all-time over Clarkson, as the Golden Knights have its first win streak over the Big Red since the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons.
 
• It is Clarkson's first time sweeping the regular-season series against Cornell since the 2007-08 season. The Golden Knights' win was the program's first at Lynah Rink since blanking the Big Red, 4-0, on Nov. 18, 2017.

• With Cornell clinching a first-round bye, this season marks the program's fifth consecutive year that the Big Red will not play in the first round of the ECAC Hockey Championship.

• Following his two-goal game, Berard has three multi-point games over his last four games, logging six points (three goals, three assists) during the span.

• Senior forward Max Andreev has points in each of his last four games, marking his longest point streak since registering points in a career-long eight consecutive contests last year.

Looking Ahead

Cornell will play its final regular-season home game on Saturday when it welcomes St. Lawrence to Lynah Rink. Puck drop between the Skating Saints and Big Red is slated for 7 p.m. Game action will be broadcast on ESPN+ and on WHCU (870 AM, 97.7 FM).

Fans attending Saturday's contest are encouraged to wear red to be a part of the 'C' of Red for the program's annual Senior Day. The Cornell Hockey Association will be handing out "Thank You Seniors" t-shirts to the first 1,500 fans in attendance.

In addition to the Senior Day festivities, Cornell's 2002-03 Frozen Four team will be recognized in the first intermission.