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After opening the 2009-10 campaign last weekend at Michigan State, the Clarkson University Hockey team will officially begin its 19th season at Cheel Arena this Friday when it begins a three-game home stand. The Golden Knights host Niagara University in a 7:00 p.m. contest followed by a faceoff against Rochester Institute of Technology on Saturday, beginning at 7:30 p.m. 

The Golden Knights began their 88th season of play this past weekend with their first-ever trip out to East Lansing to battle Michigan State at Munn Arena. Clarkson came out flat in Friday’s opener and fell to the Spartans 6-1. Clarkson came back with a much better effort on Saturday, but just came up short, losing 4-3. Two controversial calls went against the Knights in the one-goal loss. An apparent go-ahead goal for Clarkson was waved off in the third, and then MSU’s game-winner came on call that was at first ruled "no goal". After video review, however, the call was overturned giving the home team the fourth and deciding score with 2:49 remaining.

Guided by seventh-year head coach George Roll, associate coach Greg Drechsel, and assistant coach Jean-Francois Houle, the Knights will look to return to the form they displayed in 2006-07 and 2007-08 when they were one of the top teams in college hockey, claiming consecutive ECAC Hockey titles and making back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances before suffering last winter’s letdown.

Last season the Green and Gold were plagued by injuries and poor play, finishing with a 10-19-7 overall record, and tying for eighth in ECAC Hockey with an 8-10-4 league mark. Along with using last year’s disappointment as incentive, the Knights will draw on the ECAC preseason coaches’ poll as motivation. A perennial power in ECAC Hockey since the league’s inception in 1961, Clarkson was picked to finish 11th in the 12-team conference, its lowest rating ever in the coaches’ preseason poll. The Knights, who have five NHL draft picks on this year’s roster, claimed their 10th league regular season title just two years ago.

Seventeen lettermen, including 10 who contributed to Clarkson’s 2008 ECAC Regular Season Championship and a victory in that year’s NCAA Tournament, will be counted upon to key the Knights’ turnaround. Another talented incoming class consisting of six recruits will also be asked to play a pivotal role. Clarkson is led by junior captain Scott Freeman (Whitby, ONT) and assistant captains, senior Matt Beca (Mississauga, ONT) and junior Brandon DeFazio (Oakville, ONT).

Always one of the dominant teams in College Hockey America, Niagara will look to close out the final year of the conference by once again challenging for the regular season league title and by winning the CHA Tournament Championship, which they host this year at Dwyer Arena. The Purple Eagles, guided by ninth-year head Coach Dave Burkholder, will join Atlantic Hockey for the 2010-11 campaign. Coming off a 16-14-6 record last season, Niagara opened the year last Friday with a 4-4 tie against ECAC Hockey foe Colgate at Dwyer Arena. The Purple Eagles also played an exhibition contest against York on October 3, skating to a 5-2 victory.

Now in its fifth year as a Division I program, RIT will be looking to make its first NCAA Division I Tournament appearance with 19 lettermen returning from last year’s school-record 23-win campaign. RIT tied Air Force for first place last season in Atlantic Hockey. The Tigers, guided by 11th-year head coach Wayne Wilson, opened the 2009-10 campaign with a hard-fought 3-2 loss to Colgate at Blue Cross Arena on October 10. RIT defeated York in an exhibition contest, 3-2, on October 4. The Tigers play at St. Lawrence on Friday before meeting up with the Knights.

Quotes From the Coach:
"We would have like to come away with a split, but there were a lot of positives that we can take out of the Saturday’s game," stated George Roll on the Knights’ opening weekend at Michigan State. "Friday night we were not sharp. From Paul (Karpowich) and right on out as a team we struggled. We needed a better effort. On Saturday, I thought we played extremely well. We worked hard for 60 minutes and probably deserved a better fate. We had a couple of calls go against us. That was unfortunate, but that is part of the game. We played well and could have easily won that game."

On this weekend’ s games, Roll remarked, "Certainly we have to concern ourselves with both Niagara and RIT, but our biggest focus will be to make sure we are ready and better prepared in all areas of our game. I hope we can build upon our effort from Saturday. We need to show up with that type of effort every night. If we can do that good things will happen." 

The Series:
The Knights have won six straight over RIT and lead the series, which started with a 3-0 Clarkson win on October 29, 1983 in Potsdam, 9-2-1. Clarkson opened the 2008-09 campaign with a 6-4 victory over the Tigers at Ritter Arena on October 17. The Knights defeated RIT 4-2 on October 7, 2006 in the Tigers’ last appearance at Cheel Arena. The Knights are 7-1 all-time against RIT in Potsdam, including a 2-0 mark at Cheel, with the Tigers’ lone win at Clarkson coming on October 26, 1985 at Walker Arena. RIT’s last win over Clarkson was a 4-3 victory in the first round of the 1986 Syracuse Invitational on December 27. George Roll is 7-9-1 against RIT, which includes his coaching stint at SUNY Oswego. Tigers head coach Wayne Wilson in 0-3 against the Knights.

Clarkson and Niagara have played eight times with Clarkson holding a slim 4-3-1 lead in the series, which started with a 5-1 win for the Green and Gold on December 28, 1997 in the consolation of the SIT. The Purple Eagles snapped a two-game skid to the Knights by posting a 4-3 win at home on October 18 last season. Clarkson’s last victory over Niagara was a 7-3 triumph in Potsdam on October 6, 2006. The Knights are 2-1-1 all-time against Niagara at Cheel Arena. The Purple Eagles’ lone victory in Potsdam was a 5-3 win on October 29, 2004. Both George Roll and Niagara head coach Dave Burkholder are 3-3 in the series.

Knight Notes:
A Clarkson assistant captain, Matt Beca moved closer to the 100-point career mark with two goals at Michigan State over the weekend. He tallied the Knights’ lone goal on Friday with a power-play marker and then scored his 33rd career goal on Saturday. Beca has 87 career points through 114 games … The Knights’ best all-around defenseman, sophomore Mark Borowiecki (Kanata, ONT) connected for his second career goal when he opened the game on Saturday with an unassisted tally just 1:49 after the opening faceoff … Sophomore Louke Oakley (Whitby, ONT) also scored on Saturday, knocking in a power-play marker for his fourth career goal … Scott Freeman, Brandon DeFazio, junior defenseman Bryan Rufenach (Cameron, ONT) and sophomore Nick Tremblay (Candiac, QUE) picked up assists over the weekend … Sophomore Paul Karpowich (Thunder Bay, ONT) opened the season with 14 first-period stops at Michigan State, but the Spartans’ offensive pressure finally proved too much in the end as MSU put six goals behind the Knights’ goaltender. Karpowich responded with a 27-save effort on Saturday and was named the game’s Third Star … Clarkson had five freshmen in the lineup both nights at Michigan State ... Clarkson struggled in specialty teams at Michigan State, connecting just twice on 15 power plays (13.3%), while allowing five MSU man-advantage goals in 16 opportunities … The 6-1 loss on Friday was Clarkson’s worst loss in an official season-opener since Michigan State handed the Green and Gold a 9-1 setback to start the 1953-54 campaign … Former Clarkson standout forward Steve Zalewski ’08 was called up from Worcester in the AHL to the National Hockey League’s San Jose Sharks on Monday. He played alongside former Clarkson All-American defenseman Kent Huskins ‘01 on the Sharks’ roster in Monday night’s game against Phoenix. Along with Huskins, Zalewski joins former Golden Knight all-stars Chris Clark ‘98 (Washington), Erik Cole (Carolina), Craig Conroy (Calgary), Todd Marchant (Anaheim), Willie Mitchell (Vancouver) and Todd White ’97 (Atlanta) as former Knights who are now in the NHL … Five current Clarkson players have been selected in the NHL Draft - Rufenach (Detroit ‘07), Borowiecki (Ottawa ‘08), Julien Cayer (Detroit ‘08), Tremblay (Boston ‘08) and Karpowich (St. Louis ‘08) ... Clarkson owns a 210-81-32 all-time record at Cheel Arena, but was just 5-7-5 on their home ice in 2008-09.