POTSDAM -- Junior defenseman James de Haas fired in a shot from the right circle 65 seconds into the second overtime to lift the Clarkson University Hockey team to a 3-2 victory over Princeton before 2,376 fans at Cheel Arena in Game 1 of the best-of-three ECAC Hockey first-round series.

At 19-13-3 overall, the Golden Knights will face off against Princeton (5-22-3) in Game 2 of the series on Saturday night. With a win Clarkson will move on to the quarterfinal round. If the Tigers win, the two teams will play a deciding Game 3 on Sunday.

The Green and Gold trailed for most of regulation, but forced the extra sessions when their struggling power play finally came to life late in the third period. A lengthy drought on the man-advantage came to an end in a big way for the Knights as they struck twice on the power play to tie the game.

While skating on an abbreviated three-minute major power play Clarkson got on the scoreboard. Sophomore defenseman Kelly Summers connected on a one-timer from the point off a pass from classmate Terrance Amorosa for the Knights' first goal at 13:53 of the third. Junior Jordan Boucher also assisted on the goal which snapped a 0-of-20 scoreless stretch on the power play.

Clarkson went on the power play again when Princeton was called for too many men on the ice at 18:14. During the power play the Knights had their goaltender pulled for the extra attacker, giving them a 6-on-4 advantage. On the penalty kill the Tigers had a chance to seal a win, but a shot down the length off the ice toward the empty net hit off the post with about 30 seconds remaining.

With 21.9 seconds left in regulation Sam Vigneault converted a beautiful diagonal pass from Amorosa and buried a shot from the bottom of the right circle to tie the game 2-2. Boucher picked up his second assist to start the scoring play.

After a scoreless first 20 minute overtime, Clarkson wasted little time in the second extra session to end the game. Senior Jeff DiNallo picked up a loose puck just outside the Princeton zone, skated over the blueline and ripped a shot off the crossbar. de Haas picked up the rebound and scored the game-winner to end the seventh longest game in Clarkson history at 81:05.

Princeton, which enjoyed the better of the play in the first period, struck early scoring 5:35 into the playoff contest. Alex Riche scored his second goal of the season, connecting from the left circle after taking a pass out of the corner from Max Veronneau to give the Tigers the early momentum. Princeton, which enjoyed two power-play opportunities in the stanza, outshot the Knights 11-5 through the opening 20 minutes.

The Knights held a 14-8 advantage in shots in the middle frame, but it was Princeton that found the back of the net to take a 2-0 lead. At 9:46, Ryan Siiro scored from the slot for his fifth goal of the season, finishing off a pass from along the boards by Kyle Rankin.

Clarkson outshot Princeton 46-31, including a 14-7 margin in overtime. Senior Greg Lewis made 29 saves to record his first career playoff win. Colton Phinney posted 43 stops for the Tigers.

Clarkson was 2-of-4 on the power play and killed off all five of Princeton's man-advantage opportunities.