There have been a lot of big wins for the Clarkson University Hockey program in the 26-year history of Cheel Arena and Saturday's 3-1 victory over arch rival St. Lawrence before 3,640 North Country fans ranks right up there with the best of them.

The Golden Knights, who broke out of a four-game winless skid (0-3-1), improve to .500 overall at 12-12-4, moved up to sixth place in ECAC Hockey at 7-7-2 and gained some much needed momentum for the stretch run of the regular season.

Clarkson overcame a 1-0 first-period deficit to 14th-ranked and ECAC Hockey leader St. Lawrence (15-8-6, 11-3-3), highlighted by a two-goal, third-period effort by freshman center Nico Sturm (Augsburg, Germany).

The Knights out shot St. Lawrence 31-22, including a 12-5 margin over the final 20 minutes.

St. Lawrence, bidding for its fourth straight win in the series, took the initial lead late in the opening period. Shortly after a Clarkson penalty ended, the Saints struck first with a goal by Joe Sullivan with 51.8 seconds remaining in the period.

Clarkson came out strong in the second and tied the game on senior A.J. Fossen's (Maple Grove, MN) fifth goal of the season at 5:10, knocking in a pass from classmate Jordan Boucher (St. Therese, QUE). Junior Sam Vigneault (Baie-Comeau, QUE) started the play to record his team-high 18th assist of the year.

Both teams had excellent opportunities to grab the lead early in the final fame. The Saints' Woody Hudson had a shot at a wide open net trickle just wide and moments later at the other end of the ice, Vigneault rang a shot off the post of the St. Lawrence goal.

The Green and Gold went on top at 9:17 when Sturm took a pass from classmate Sheldon Rempal (Calgary, ALB) and finished off a breakaway, slipping in a shot past the Saints' Kyle Hayton for the game-winner.

Sturm closed out the win and his second two-goal outing of the season, scoring into an empty net with five seconds remaining. Senior defenseman, captain James de Haas (Mississauga, ONT), who missed the last two games with an injury, picked up the assist.

Freshman goaltender Jake Kielly (Eden Prairie, MN) made 21 saves, including 10 in the first period.

The Knights saw their power-play goal-scoring streak end at seven games after going 0-of-7 with the man-advantage. St. Lawrence was scoreless on its five power-play opportunities.

Clarkson played the game in throw-back jerseys, replicas of the 1955-56 undefeated season. The Knights also had a large contingent of over 40 alumni back, who played in an outdoor game earlier in the day. Many of those alumni played for former Clarkson Head Coach Mark Morris, who now is in charge of the St. Lawrence program.

Clarkson has six games remaining in the regular season, starting with next weekend's trip to Quinnipiac and Princeton.