VICTORY!

The fifth ECAC Hockey League Tournament Championship in the history of the storied Clarkson University Hockey program came in stunning fashion as the Golden Knights rallied for four third-period goals to defeat Quinnipiac 4-2 in the tourney title game before 5,565 fans at the Times Union Center in Albany, NY on Saturday night to claim the coveted Whitelaw Cup.

Clarkson, which defeated Dartmouth 5-4 with a last-second goal in Friday’s semifinal game, will continue its season next weekend in the NCAA Tournament. Ranked fifth in the national polls, the Knights own a 25-8-5 overall record. Clarkson will find out which regional it will play in when the 16-team NCAA Tournament is announced on Sunday afternoon. The NCAA selection show will be televised on ESPN-2 in the afternoon beginning at 2:30 p.m.

2007 ECACHL Tournament Most Outstanding Player, sophomore Chris D’Alvise (Mississauga, ONT) led the Clarkson comeback against Quinnipiac with one goal and two assists.

Trailing 2-0 after 40 minutes of play, D’Alvise jump started the Knights rally in the third, scoring his second goal of the weekend and 16th of the year just 1:43 into the final frame. D’Alvise knocked in a loose puck at the side of the goal after strong work behind the net by sophomore Shea Guthrie (Carleton Place, ONT).

The Knights then went on top with a pair of goals 50 seconds apart by sophomore defenseman Phil Paquet (Quebec City, QUE) and senior Brodie Rutherglen (Trail, BC) midway through the stanza.

Paquet tied the game 2-2 at 12:30 when he jumped into the play from the blueline and finished off passes from juniors Steve Zalewski (New Hartford, NY) and Shawn Weller (South Glens Falls, NY), lifting in his third goal of the over the sprawling Bobcat goaltender, Bud Fisher.

At 13:20, the Green and Gold took the lead when Rutherglen took a pass in the slot from D’Alvise and beat Fisher with a quick shot wrist shot for his eighth goal of the season.

Weller, who joined D’Alvise on the All-Tournament Team, sealed Clarkson’s first ECACHL Tournament Championship since 1999 when he scored into an empty net with 56 seconds remaining.

Quinnipiac (21-14-5), which defeated ECACHL regular season champion St. Lawrence 4-0 in semifinal round action, took a 2-0 first-period lead in the championship game, scoring just 32 seconds after the opening faceoff and again with just 6.5 seconds remaining in the stanza with a power-play marker.

The Knights out shot the Bobcats 30-25. Junior David Leggio (Williamsville, NY), the ECACHL Goaltender of the Year, posted 23 saves.