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A home-and-home series against archrival St. Lawrence University closes out the 2009 portion of the schedule for the Clarkson University Men’s Hockey team this weekend. The Golden Knights, guided by seventh-year head coach George Roll, associate coach Greg Drechsel and assistant coach Jean-Francois Houle, wrap up a four-game road trip at Appleton Arena in Canton on Friday with a 7:30 p.m. game against the Saints. The North Country rivals square off again on Saturday with a 7:00 p.m. contest at Cheel Arena.

In their lone action this past week, the Green and Gold saw a lengthy winning streak over traditional national power Boston College come to and end as the Eagles held off the Knights to gain a one-goal victory in Chestnut Hill, MA. Despite a late rally and two goals from sophomore defenseman Mark Borowiecki (Kanata, ONT), Clarkson could not continue its winning ways against Boston College as the Eagles skated to a 6-5 triumph in non-league action on Friday to halt a 10-game losing skid to the Knights.

Freshman Adam Pawlick (Utica, NY), Beca and sophomore Corey Tamblyn (Bobcaygeon, ONT), with his first collegiate tally, also scored at Boston College. Sophomore Paul Karpowich (Thunder Bay, ONT) posted 24 saves.

Clarkson began the four-game road trip by picking up its first ECAC Hockey points of the year with a win and a tie in New England. The Knights rallied with two third-period goals to gain their first road win this season with a 3-2 victory over Dartmouth in Hanover, NH on November 20. The following night in Cambridge, MA, the Green and Gold scored twice in the final four minutes to pull out a 2-2 tie at Harvard.

The Knights and Saints played earlier this season with Clarkson earning a 4-1 victory before the fifth-largest crowd (3,843) ever at Cheel Arena on October 24. Four different Knights scored goals, including three power-play markers, and Karpowich was solid in net with a 30-save effort.

Coming off its worst outing since October of 1997, the Saints of St. Lawrence will be out to make amends for their non-league loss last Saturday when they battle Clarkson this weekend. In its lone action of the week, St. Lawrence suffered a 10-1 defeat to Maine in Portland. Guided by long-time head coach Joe Marsh, now in his 25th year behind the Saints’ bench, St. Lawrence owns a 7-6-1 overall record and entered the week tied for fourth in ECAC Hockey with a 3-3 league slate. The Saints, who have lost two straight, posted their last victory on November 20, winning 3-2 at Harvard before losing 3-2 at Dartmouth. St. Lawrence is 4-1-1 at Appleton Arena and 2-3 on opponent’s home ice.

Quotes From the Coach:
On the Golden Knights recent third-period rallies, associate coach Greg Drechsel remarked, "The encouraging thing for us is that the players have shown a no-quit approach. That was a concern for us in the game against Union (11/14), that maybe we stopped playing. In the last three games we have not stopped competing. We have worked hard and have tried to find ways to get back into games."

On the increased offensive contribution from Mark Borowiecki, Drechsel stated, "In trying to get us back into games, George (Roll) made the decision against Harvard to throw Mark up front as a forward for a couple of shifts, and it netted results. We have been working with all our defensemen to be more productive from the blueline because we have been having such a tough time scoring goals, and Mark has been able to contribute."

On the upcoming series against St. Lawrence, Drechsel remarked, "For us to be successful, we have to make sure we do the little things well. That is a concern for us after the game against Boston College. A few mistakes here and there proved costly for us, so we are going to focus on that this week. We are going to continue to remain positive and work hard. We know that playing St. Lawrence is a very emotional game, and we will need our guys to compete at a high level."

The Series:
The Golden Knights hold an overwhelming 110-61-7 series lead against the Saints, which began with a 1-0 Clarkson victory during the 1925-26 season. The rivalry has been fairly even in the 2000s, however, with the Knights going 13-12-1 against their North Country rival this decade. Winners of two straight in the series, Clarkson holds a 5-4-1 edge over the last 10 meetings. The Knights skated to a 4-1 non-league triumph over St. Lawrence on October 24 before 3,843 fans in Potsdam to extend their current unbeaten streak in the series to three games (2-0-1). The Knights hold an 18-5-1 advantage over St. Lawrence at Cheel Arena. In their last meeting in Canton, on February 6, the teams skated to a 3-3 tie. The Knights’ last triumph at Appleton Arena was a 6-2 victory on January 23, 2007.