SLU Men’s Hockey Splits Series WithRoute 11 Rival No. 20 Clarkson

By Kyle Gaffney Last updated Jan 30, 2025

The St. Lawrence Saints Mens Hockey team split their two games with Clarkson, losing at home and winning on the road. PHOTO CREDIT: C A HILL PHOTO

5:45 p.m., one hour and 15 minutes before the game, you could feel the crowd’s energy waiting to enter the rink. Once the doors opened, the rush began, and the seats filled. The energy only continued to grow. By 6 p.m., the student section was packed; people began yelling, and everyone was ready for the game to start. It was an underdog story, last-place SLU facing off against the 20th-ranked team in the nation; what did we have to lose?

It was 7 p.m., the national anthem concluded, and the puck dropped. The play quickly moved into the St. Lawrence Saints defensive zone, and then there was silence: one shot and a Clarson lead. The SLU students fell into an apprehensive quiet, worried that Clarkson would pull away and cruise to a big win. A blowout was expected, but the Saints fought back. They tied the game around six minutes after Clarkson’s early goal, with Philippe Chapleau ’25 firing a shot into the Clarkson net. While Clarkson took a 2-1 lead later in the first, Drake Burgin ’25 scored a Saints goal early in the second to tie the game up yet again.

The game stayed knotted at 2-2 through the rest of the second period and into the third. The St. Lawrence student section was abuzz, with many questions swirling through the air. Could the Saints pull off this huge upset? Will the game go into overtime, and most importantly, will the Clarkson pep band ever stop playing? Unfortunately, the answer to all those questions was no.

With one minute and 32 seconds left in regulation, Clarkson scored on a deflection to make the score 3-2, much to the chagrin of the Saints faithful. The Saints then pulled their goalie to chase a last-second equalizer, but instead, Clarkson scored two more goals to win 5-2. Overtime wasn’t needed, and Clarkson’s band never stopped with what they called music.

The walk back to the dorms was long, the weather was cold, and the Clarkson fans rang the Saints victory bell. Though rough, it did spark a fire in the Saints players, who would not let their fans down again. They avenged their loss the following night by beating Clarkson 2-1. Saving their fans and, most importantly, finally silencing the Clarkson Pep Band.

This game was a defensive battle after the first period. In the first, Clarkson got on the board with a goal five minutes and 57 seconds into the game. Yet, the Saints rallied, with Jan Lasak ’26 tying the game ten minutes and 48 seconds in and Isack Bandu ’26 giving them a 2-1 lead 12 minutes and 58 seconds into the opening period. There were no goals for the rest of the first period and the entirety of the second and third periods, and the Saints emerged with the win on enemy territory.

Next for the Saints will be back-to-back home games on Friday, Jan. 31, and Saturday, Feb. 1, both at 7 p.m. They take on Cornell on Friday, and on Saturday, they’ll face off with Colgate.