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Returning to Potsdam after a disappointing road trip, the Clarkson University Hockey team will look to get back on the winning track when it hosts ECAC Hockey foes Rensselaer and Union College in a weekend series at Cheel Arena. Both games are 7:00 p.m. faceoffs.

Guided by seventh-year head coach George Roll, associate coach Greg Drechsel and assistant coach Jean-Francois Houle, the Golden Knights own a 3-6 overall record and are 0-2 in conference play. This past weekend, the Green and Gold closed out a four-game road trip with a pair of losses as it began ECAC Hockey play. Clarkson dropped a 4-2 decision at Quinnipiac in Hamden, CT on Friday and fell 4-1 to Princeton in New Jersey on Saturday.

At Quinnipiac on Friday, Clarkson came out strong, out-shooting the Bobcats 14-10 in the first period, but fell behind 1-0 after the opening 20 minutes. Back-to-back goals by junior captain Scott Freeman (Whitby, ONT) and freshman Adam Pawlick (Utica, NY) gave the Green and Gold a 2-1 lead early in the second, but three straight goals by Quinnipiac, including a pair of shorthanded markers, led to a Clarkson loss in the conference opener.

The Knights started out strong again at Princeton, but found themselves trailing 1-0 after the first despite out-shooting the Tigers 19-8 in the opening stanza. Princeton ran the count to 3-0 before senior assistant captain Matt Beca (Mississauga, ONT) tallied Clarkson’s lone goal, his team-high sixth of the season, early in the final frame.

Clarkson is 3-0 at Cheel Arena where the Green and Gold have outscored their foes 13-7. The Knights have posted non-league wins over Niagara (4-3 OT), RIT (5-3) and St. Lawrence (4-1) on their home ice. The Knights play only three more times at home in the 2009 portion of the schedule, beginning with this weekend’s game against the Capital District foes. Clarkson also host St. Lawrence in league play on December 5.

Coming off a sweep in its opening weekend of ECAC Hockey action, Rensselaer has plenty of momentum as it begins a three-game road trip. Guided by fourth-year head coach Seth Appert, the Engineers look much improved over last year’s team that finished with 27 losses. Rensselaer owns a 6-3-1 overall record and is tied for first in the conference standings with a 2-0 league mark. The Engineers overwhelmed preseason favorite, sixth-ranked Yale, 5-2, this past Friday at Houston Field House, and then skated by Brown 3-1 in Troy on Saturday.

Union enters the North Country looking to break out of a four-game winless stretch (0-2-2). The Dutchmen, guided by seventh-year head coach Nate Leaman, play at St. Lawrence on Friday before facing off against the Green and Gold on Saturday. All of Union’s past four games have gone into overtime. The Dutchmen have played in five overtime contests in their first nine games. This past weekend at Messa Rink in Schenectady, Union skated to a pair of 3-3 ties against Brown and Yale. The Dutchmen own a 3-3-3 overall record and are tied for fifth in the ECAC Hockey standings at 0-0-2. 

Quotes From the Coach:
"It is frustrating," stated Clarkson head coach George Roll about Clarkson’s results this past weekend. "Friday night against Quinnipiac, I thought we played a very good road game. We had so many opportunities to put that game away when it was 2-1. We gave up the two shorthanded goals that were backbreakers, but overall our effort was there. It is hard to get upset with an effort like that. We just have to do a better job of finishing around the net. At Princeton, we played our best period of the year in the first and came away trailing 1-0. That is the way it is going for us right now. We just have to keep working, stay positive and when we do get those grade "A" opportunities we have to finish."

On the upcoming games against Rensselaer and Union, Roll remarked, "RPI is coming into our building with some momentum after getting the league sweep at home this past weekend. They have done a nice job of scoring and their goaltending has been very good. RPI is a much different team than we have seen in the past. Their skill level is very good. We know what to expect from Union. We had a tough time with them in the playoffs last year. They are a physical team and do a lot of the little things well. These are two teams that are playing good hockey." 

The Series:
In a heated rivalry which dates back to the 1924-25 campaign, Clarkson leads the overall series against Rensselaer 80-41-8. The Knights own a current six-game unbeaten streak (5-0-1) over the Engineers, including sweeps of RPI in each of the past two seasons. Last year, Clarkson won 4-3 in overtime in Potsdam on January 24 and 4-2 at Houston Field House on February 27. Rensselaer’s last win in the rivalry was a 4-3 victory in Troy on January 14, 2006. The Knights snapped a six-game winless drought (0-5-1) against the Engineers in their next meeting, a 4-1 win in Troy on January 19, 2007 to start their current streak in the series. Clarkson owns an 11-4-3 lead over their rival at Cheel Arena. Matt Beca has a team-high eight points (4-4) against RPI through six games. Paul Karpowich is 2-0 against RPI with a .902 save percentage and a 2.46 GAA. George Roll is 5-5-2 against Rensselaer. Engineers’ head coach Seth Appert is 0-5-1 in the series.

Clarkson leads the all-time series against Union, which began with a 5-1 Dutchmen win in Schenectady on January 23, 1925, 27-13-5. Union, however, is on three-game winning streak against the Green and Gold and holds a 5-4-1 advantage in the last 10 meetings. The Knights’ last win in the series was a 4-3 overtime victory in Potsdam on January 23, but Union won the 2008-09 regular season final 2-1 on February 27 in Schenectady and then swept Clarkson in the playoffs, winning 5-3 and 7-2 at Achilles Center. The Knights are 14-3-1 against Union at Cheel Arena. Matt Beca leads the Green and Gold in scoring against the Dutchmen with five points on one goal and four assists. Paul Karpowich has played 154 minutes through three games against the Dutchmen and posts a .890 save percentage, a 3.51 GAA and an 0-2 record. Through 81 minutes in two games, Richie LaVeau is 1-1 against Union with a .884 save percentage and a 3.70 GAA. George Roll owns a 10-8-1 mark against the Dutchmen, while Union coach Nate Leaman is 8-10-1 against the Knights.

Knight Notes:
All three Clarkson wins have come at Cheel Arena where the Green and Gold have out scored their foes 13-7 … The Knights play their only November games in Potsdam this weekend when they host Rensselaer and Union … Clarkson out shot Quinnipiac and Princeton by a combined 33-18 margin in the first period, but trailed 1-0 after the opening 20 minutes in each game this past weekend … All six of Clarkson’s losses have come on the home ice of teams that are ranked in the Top 20 of this week’s USCHO.com national poll. The Knights dropped two (6-1, 4-3) at 13th-ranked Michigan State to open the 2009-10 campaign on October 9-10, suffered a sweep at 18th-rated Minnesota-Duluth (4-1, 4-2) on October 30-31, and fell at 20th-ranked Quinnipiac (4-2) and at #19 Princeton (4-1) this past weekend … Dating back to last season, Clarkson is on an 0-9 skid in road games. The Knights’ last victory away from Cheel Arena was a 4-2 triumph at Rensselaer’s Houston Field House on February 27 … Clarkson was 4-13-2 in road games last season … Sophomore Louke Oakley (Whitby, ONT) leads Clarkson in scoring with 11 points, including 10 assists, after recording nine points (3-6) as a freshman … The Knights have given up three empty-net goals this season, including one in each game over the weekend … Clarkson has drawn over 3,000 fans to each of its first three home games … Sophomore Mark Borowiecki (Kanata, ONT) leads the scoring from the Knights’ blueline with six points on two goals and four assists. The standout defenseman tallied two points (1-1) as a rookie … Adam Pawlick leads the Clarkson freshmen in scoring with three goals, including a team-high two power-play markers.