Senior Corey Tamblyn (Bobcaygeon, ONT) scored two goals and classmate Paul Karpowich (Thunder Bay, ONT) made 20 saves to lift the Clarkson University Hockey team past Rensselaer 4-1 before 2,550 fans at Cheel Arena on Friday night in the opening game of the ECAC Hockey campaign for both teams.

The Golden Knights, who extended their unbeaten streak to seven games (6-0-1), stand at 6-1-2 overall and will host defending ECAC Hockey regular season champion Union tomorrow in a 7:00 p.m. game in Potsdam.

The Engineers lost their sixth straight to fall to 1-7 overall. The Engineers play at St. Lawrence on Saturday.

In a heated game, which saw 59 minutes in penalties, between two fierce rivals, Clarkson overcame an early 1-0 deficit with four unanswered goals, to gain the win.

Despite two power plays and several excellent scoring opportunities in the first period, Clarkson trailed 1-0 late in the opening stanza. Rensselaer took the lead at 18:06 when freshman Ryan Haggerty redirected a shot from the point by Mike Bergin for a power-play marker. The Knights had two power-play opportunities in the opening 20 minutes, but failed to score on their chances. Clarkson finally got on the scoreboard late in the period.

Tamblyn took a pass along the left boards from sophomore defenseman Alex Boak (Norwood, NY) and fired a shot from the top of the circle with 8.9 seconds remaining to tie the game. Senior Jake Morley (Ogdensburg, NY) also assisted.

Clarkson took a 2-1 lead at 8:43 of the second period when senior Louke Oakley (Whitby, ONT) scored in front after a pass from the end boards by sophomore Matt Zarbo (Grand Island, NY) for his team-high sixth goal of the season. Senior Julien Cayer (Longueuil, QUE) also assisted.

The game heated up midway through the second. Sophomore Mike Garlasco (Mahwah, NJ) was knocked out of the game after a hard hit into the boards in front of the Clarkson bench on a charge by RPI’s Mark McGowan at 10:44, leading to a rash of penalties. The Knights were unable to capitalize on the ensuing power plays, but gained momentum entering the third.

Clarkson sealed the win with two late scores in regulation. Tamblyn, who scored twice in the Knights’ 3-2 overtime victory at Rensselaer last January, tallied his second goal of the night at 14:05 to give the Green and Gold a 3-1 lead. Position at the top of the crease, Tamblyn redirected a shot from the top of the slot by Oakley for a power-play marker and his fourth goal of the season. Freshman defenseman Sam Labrecque (Granby, QUE) also assisted as the Knights extended their string of scoring a power-play goal in every game this season.

With regulation time winding down, RPI pulled goaltender Bryce Merriam for the extra attacker, but the Knights gained control of a loose puck at center ice and senior Nick Tremblay (Candiac, QUE) scored into an empty net at 17:02 to seal the win. Tremblay has now scored a goal in each of the past five games.

Clarkson outshot RPI 32-21. Karpowich posted 20 saves. Merriam made 28 stops for the Engineers.

The Knights were 1-of-7 on the power play, while RPI was 1-of-4 with the man advantage.