DURHAM - It was as if UNH sharpened its skates during the second intermission.

Perhaps Clarkson University, at some point, forgot to do the same.

Despite being outshot, outhit and, for the most part, outhustled to loose pucks, Clarkson still managed a 1-0 lead through two periods.

Brett Hemingway, however, scored a pair of third-period goals and Sean Collins added an empty-netter to lift the UNH men's hockey team a 3-1 victory over the Golden Knights last night.

"We knew we were going to give up a lot of chances," Clarkson Coach George Roll said. "We just wanted to keep them on the perimeter.

"They have that confidence. Even when they're down they still play like they're going to win the hockey game."

Hemingway's first goal came at the 7:24 mark. Alone on the right wing, Hemingway took Preston Callander's cross-ice pass and beat goalie Kyle McNulty with a wrister in the top left corner.

Five minutes later, Collins won a faceoff in Clarkson's end and fed Hemingway in the slot. Hemingway's shot beat McNulty in the upper right corner. Collins also assisted on Hemingway's first tally.

"I was trying to get the shot up," Hemingway said. "I had a lot of time to get it off. It was almost like practice. I would've been mad at myself had I missed that."

"He's got a good shot and a good release," UNH Coach Dick Umile said of Hemingway. "He doesn't telegraph his shot and gets it off quickly."

Collins's goal came with 50 seconds left in the game as the Wildcats tried to kill off an obstruction penalty.

"Obviously, I told the guys we played a real important third period," Umile said. "We needed to play solid down the stretch."

The win was a positive note for the Wildcats, who were ranked sixth in the country before tying Lowell, 3-3, and losing to Vermont, 5-4, last week. Having slipped to No. 7, last night's win improves UNH's record to 9-3-2.

The win, however, didn't come as smoothly as the Wildcats had hoped, especially against an unranked, out-of-conference team.

"The power play generated some shots, but (McNulty) made some great saves. It's a little frustrating when you get chances but you're still trailing 1-0."

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