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Refreshed after a rare mid-January break, the Clarkson University Hockey team will need to be on top of its game when it returns to action this weekend with a pair of games in New England. The Golden Knights will look to hand number-one ranked Yale University its second consecutive loss when it battles the Bulldogs in New Haven, CT on Saturday at Ingalls Rink at 7:00 p.m. On Saturday afternoon in Providence, RI, the Green and Gold will take on a Brown University squad, which on Sunday snapped Yale’s 10-game winning streak, facing off against the Bears at Meehan Auditorium beginning at 4:00 p.m.
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After a grueling stretch of playing four games against Top-15 ranked teams over a six-day span to open the New Year, Clarkson took last weekend off. Guided by eighth-year head coach George Roll, associate coach Greg Drechsel and assistant coach Chris Rogles, the Golden Knights have already surpassed last year’s win total, owning an 11-8-2 overall record.
The Green and Gold, led by junior captain Mark Borowiecki (Kanata, ONT) and assistant captains, senior Brandon DeFazio (Oakville, ONT) and junior Jake Morley (Ogdensburg, NY), are in sixth place place in the ECAC Hockey standings with a 5-3-1 league mark. Clarkson, which is just two points shy of fourth, has played, along with travel partner St. Lawrence, the fewest games in conference action.
The Knights opened the 2011 portion of the scheduled with a 1-3 mark during the first week of the New Year. After a 21-day layoff, Clarkson dropped a pair of non-league games to fifth-ranked University of Minnesota-Duluth (4-1, 4-2) at Cheel Arena on January 3-4 before returning to conference play with a weekend trip to NY’s Capital District region. On January 7, Clarkson rallied for a 3-2 overtime victory against ninth-ranked Rensselaer in Troy, NY to extend its league winning streak to five games, but came out tired at 15th-ranked Union the following day, losing 8-1 in Schenectady.
DeFazio leads a balanced offense for the Knights with 18 points on a team-high nine goals and nine assists. Matt Zarbo (Grand Island, NY) is Clarkson’s leading rookie scorer (6-7) and is tied with juniors Nick Tremblay (Candiac, QUE) (5-8) and Morley (5-8) for second on the team’s scoring charts with 13 points. Senior Scott Freeman (Whitby, ONT) (6-6) and freshman Allan McPherson (Kinburn, ONT) (5-7) round out the Knights’ double figure scorers with 12 points apiece.
Junior Paul Karpowich (Thunder Bay, ONT) has started 20 of the 21 games in the Clarkson goal and posts a .914 save percentage, a 3.00 goals against average and an 11-7-2 record, including one shutout.
Yale has been just about unstoppable all season, owning a 15-2 overall record and has led the conference standings since the start and currently owns a 9-1 ECAC Hockey mark. Guided by fifth-year head coach Keith Allain, the Bulldogs are ranked first in the national polls. Yale saw a 10-game winning streak come to an end on Sunday afternoon as Brown rallied for a 3-2 victory in Providence. The Bulldogs defeated Brown 5-2 on Saturday in New Haven to improve their home record to 10-0.
Brown, guided by second-year head coach Brendan Whittet, takes a 6-7-4 overall record into Friday’s game at Meehan Auditorium against St. Lawrence. The Bears entered the week in ninth place in the conference with a 4-5-1 league mark. Brown posted one of the program’s biggest wins ever with this past Sunday victory over top-rated Yale, which was its first victory at home this season (1-3-2).
The Series:
Clarkson leads the all-time series against Yale, which began in 1929-30, 68-32-4. The Bulldogs, however, have won four of the last five meetings, including a sweep of the Golden Knights during the 2009-10 campaign. Yale won 3-2 at Cheel Arena on January 22, 2010 and rallied for a 5-4 overtime triumph at Ingalls rink on February 20 in the last meeting. Clarkson split two games during the 2008-09 season, winning 4-3 in New Haven, CT on January 16, 2009 after losing 3-2 in Potsdam on November 8, 2008.
Lauri Tuohimaa has a team-high five points against Yale with one goal and four assists through six games. Paul Karpowich posts a .928 save percentage, a 3.64 GAA and a 0-3 mark in the series. Richie LaVeau is 1-0 against the Bulldogs with a .906 save percentage and a 3.00 goals against average. George Roll is 8-7 against the Bulldogs, while Yale head coach Keith Allain is 4-4 against Clarkson.
Clarkson leads Brown in their all-time series, which began in 1953, by a commanding 55-15-6 margin. The Bears snapped a seven-game losing streak to the Green and Gold by sweeping the Knights in last year’s regular-season meetings. Brown took the opening game last season with a 3-2 victory at Cheel Arena on January 23 and won again by a 3-2 margin at Meehan Auditorium on February 19. Clarkson edged the Bears 4-3 in overtime in Providence by scoring the game’s last three goals on January 17, 2009 for its last victory in the series.
Brandon DeFazio (2-2) and Scott Freeman (1-3) both have a team-high four points against Brown through six games. Paul Karpowich posts a .902 save percentage, a 3.07 GAA and a 2-2 mark through 195 minutes in four games of the series. George Roll is 8-6 against Brown, while Brendan Whittet is 2-0.
Knight Notes:
The Last time Clarkson played the number-one ranked team in the country was on October 24-25, 2008 when the Green and Gold skated to a pair of ties (1-1, 2-2) against Colorado College at Cheel Arena … The Knights’ last victory over a number-one ranked opponent was on March 24, 1991 when they defeated Lake Superior State 4-3 in Game 3 of the NCAA Quarterfinal series in Ste. Sault Marie, MI …The Knights are 7-3 away from Cheel Arena and have won five of their last six games outside of Potsdam … Clarkson is 10-0-2 when scoring first and 11-0-1 when leading or tied after two periods … The Knights are 7-3-1 when outshot by their opponents … The Knights have scored six shorthanded goals this season, tied for third most in the NCAA this season. The school record is 18 set in 1979-80 … Twenty-one different Golden Knights have scored at least one goal this season and seven have recorded a game-winning goal … Brandon DeFazio leads the team in scoring with 18 points (9-9) … Paul Karpowich has posted 12 games with 30-or-more saves this season. Through 20 games this year he owns a .914 save percentage and a 3.00 goals against average en route to an 11-7-2 record, including one shutout … Former Clarkson standout defenseman Grant Clitsome ’08 was recalled to the National Hockey League by the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday, January 9. Clitsome was playing with the Springfield Falcons, Columbus’ American Hockey League affiliate. He is one of nine former Golden Knight to skate in the NHL this season.
Clarkson, the SUNY Potsdam Men’s Hockey team and the Potsdam Central High School Boys’ Hockey team have teamed up for the first-ever Hockey Day in Potsdam on Saturday, January 29. Each team is scheduled to host one game that afternoon. Potsdam High will take on Thousand Island at 1 p.m. at SUNY Potsdam’s Maxcy Hall, while the Golden Knights will host Princeton at 4 p.m. at Cheel Arena. SUNY Potsdam will cap the day with a 7 p.m. contest at Maxcy Hall against SUNY Cortland. Fans can purchase one ticket good for admission to all three games for just $20. Tickets to each individual game will also be available for purchase at each site. All proceeds benefit Marine Cpl. Aaron Howell, a 24-year-old Parishville native who was severely injured during a tour in Afghanistan last April.
