A strong effort in its first game in 22 days was not enough for the Clarkson University Hockey team as the Golden Knights fell to 8th-ranked UMass-Lowell 3-0 in the opening round of the Three Rivers Classic at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, PA on Monday evening.

Clarkson, which falls to 7-7-2 overall, will play Penn State in the tournament consolation game on Monday at 4:30 p.m. Robert Morris defeated the Nittany Lions 6-4 in the second game on Monday night.

Lowell, which improved its record to 11-3-4, scored a goal in each period and held a slim 26-25 shot advantage to extend its unbeaten streak over the Knights to 10 games (9-0-1).

Playing before hometown fans, Ligonier, Pennsylvania native, junior Steve Perry was strong between the pipes for Clarkson turning aside 23 of the 25 shots he faced. Unfortunately the Green and Gold could not convert on any of their chances and suffered their third shutout of the season.

Another strong start by the Knights did not show up on the scoreboard as UMass-Lowell grabbed a 1-0 first-period lead. Clarkson outshot the River Hawks 10-8 and recorded nine block shots in an intense effort over the opening 20 minutes. UMass-Lowell, however, took the lead on a goal by Joe Gambardella at 14:30. Both teams had one power-play opportunity each in the period.

The River Hawks added to their lead midway through the second period with a 5-on-3 power-play tally by C.J. Smith at 13:53 for a 2-0 advantage after two periods.

UMass-Lowell closed out the game, scoring an empty-net goal with nine seconds remaining.

Kevin Boyle, who backstops the nation's sixth-ranked defense, posted the shutout for the River Hawks.

Clarkson continued to struggle on the power play to see its scoreless stretch with the man-advantage go to 0-of-30 after a 0-of-5 outing against the River Hawks. UMass-Lowell was 1-of-4 on the power play, scoring with a two-man advantage.