Quinnipiac 4, Clarkson 2

Clarkson played its best road game of the season Friday, but still came up short, dropping its ECAC Hockey opener to Quinnipiac at the TD Banknorth Center in Hamden, Conn.

The Golden Knights (3-5 overall) outshot Quinnipiac 36-31 and took only two penalties Friday.

But two mistakes on Clarkson power plays led to shorthanded goals for Quinnipiac's Mike Atkinson, and he wound up recording a natural hat trick with an empty net goal with 14 seconds remaining.

Scott Freeman and Adam Pawlick scored Clarkson's goals and Richie LaVeau stopped 27 of 30 shots.

Three Stars

No. 3: Louke Oakley, Clarkson: assisted on both Golden Knight goals.

No. 2: Dan Clarke, Quinnipiac: had a .944 save percentage (34 saves-36 shots)

No. 1: Mike Atkinson, Quinnipiac: two shorthanded goals, natural hat trick