Collette Scores in Overtime to Propel Clarkson to Their First SECHL Championship
Prior to the playoffs, the regional ranking period came to a close with Army sealing the auto-bid as the top ranked team in the Northeast, while Sacred Heart stood firm as the 8th seeded team in the region. Missing regionals was Clarkson, who narrowly missed a regional berth, but truly deserved to be there as they were just few hundredths of a ranking point away from making it into the top 14. As we would see, the Golden Knights made their mark during the SECHL playoffs and proved that they can play with any team in the region.
The SECHL playoffs opened with two quarterfinal matchups between Clarkson and Marist and Siena and Montclair State. Clarkson was able to cruise to a 6-2 victory, while Siena and Montclair had a goalie dual for the ages in the second game of the evening. Matt McCarthy and Cam Carmen combined for 72 saves as Siena was able to seal the game 2-0 when they added an empty net goal with 8 seconds remaining in the contest.
On day two, Army faced Siena in the first semifinal matchup, while Sacred Heart would battle Clarkson. Army received a hat trick from the SECHL player of the year Bobby Staring, and pulled away after two periods of play cruising to a 7-3 win. The second matchup saw Clarkson jump out to a 3-0 lead in the first period, which the Pioneers would cut to 3-1 early in the second period. Clarkson would tally two more in the second and took the game 5-2. Clarkson would move on to face Army in the final game.
Army was looking for their fourth consecutive SECHL title as they took on the Golden Knights on Sunday morning. This would be, by far, the most entertaining final in SECHL history as the teams would exchange blows in the high scoring affair. Clarkson and Army would see their stars shine as Bobby Staring and Charlie Aronov for Army and Griffin Shaheen and Ty Hlywa led the way for their respective teams, each tallying multiple points in the high scoring contest. Clarkson goaltender Kevin Rose also shut the door on sever Army opportunities that could have made the game an even higher scoring affair. As Clarkson would hold a few leads through the contest, Army would battle back late in the third to tie the game at 7 a piece. The game would go into overtime and Clarkson's Evan Collette would score at the midway point of the first overtime to capture Clarkson's 1st SECHL title. While it wouldn't propel the Golden Knights into the regional tournament, it was an incredible statement by the 3rd seeded team to capture the championship.
