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WHOC13preseason

Women's Hockey September 17,2013

Clarkson Strives for Banner Year in 2013-14

Knights #1 Pick in ECAC Hockey Pre-Season Coaches Poll

The Golden Knights are the #1 pick in 2013 ECAC Preseason Coaches' Poll
PDF of 2013-14 Clarkson Outlook

Big things are expected by the Clarkson University Women's Hockey team this winter. With talent, experience and depth at every position the Golden Knights, under sixth-year co-head coaches Matt and Shannon Desrosiers and assistant Matt Kelly, have high hopes of challenging for ECAC Hockey and NCAA supremacy in 2013-14.

• Clarkson #1 Choice in Coaches ECAC Hockey Preseason Poll
• Three Knights Named Preseason ECAC Hockey All-Stars
• Clarkson Ranked 3rd in USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Preseason Poll

2013 ECAC Women's Hockey Preseason All-Stars
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Howe2ecac
Ambrose2ecac
Jamie Lee Rattray Erica Howe Erin Ambrose

All but two veterans return from last season's team, which posted a school-record 28-10 overall record that culminated in the Knights' second NCAA playoff appearance in the past four years. Clarkson finished in a tie for second in the ECAC Hockey standings with an 18-4 league mark, just one point shy of the top spot.

2013-14 Clarkson Roster

The Knights will strive to lift their play to a higher level this winter and have a solid nucleus of 16 veterans, including seven standouts who participated in Canada's National Women's Development Team selection camp this past August, to lead the way. A promising group of four freshmen along with a talented red-shirt sophomore will add to Clarkson's lofty potential.

The Knights will face a challenging schedule in 2013-14, including eight games against teams that skated in the 2013 NCAA Tournament. In its 11th season of NCAA Division I hockey, Clarkson opens the 34-game slate facing off against College Hockey America's (CHA) Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) on Saturday, September 28 for the first of 20 regular-season games at Cheel Arena.

Clarkson then faces arch-rival St. Lawrence University in back-to-back non-conference games. The Golden Knights battle the Saints in Potsdam on October 4 for the first of four meetings against their North Country neighbor, followed by a game in Canton on October 5.

Clarkson, which has qualified for ECAC Hockey postseason play in each of its first nine years in the highly competitive conference, opens the 22-game league campaign at defending conference champion, Cornell on October 25. Along with battling the Big Red twice, the Knights will also play two games each against 2013 NCAA Tournament participants Harvard, Mercyhurst and North Dakota. Another highlight on the Green and Gold's schedule this winter is a mid-December outdoor game against RIT at Frontier Field in Rochester.

GOAL:
Two-time ECAC Hockey Goaltender of the Year Erica Howe (Ottawa, ONT) is back for one more season in the Clarkson crease and should be one of the best netminders in the country during her senior campaign. Also honored as Clarkson's MVP for the second consecutive season, Howe backboned the Knights' stingy defensive effort in 2012-13 playing the second most minutes in the country (2217:21). She played more minutes than any other ECAC goaltender (1315:38) and posted the most wins in the conference (18). Howe ranked among the best netminders in Division I with a .931 save percentage and a 1.73 goals against average. Clarkson's all-time winningest goaltender with 59 career victories, she posted the second most wins in Division I last winter with a 27-10 overall record, including six shutouts.

Junior Jenna Boss (Little Canada, MN) and freshman McKenzie Johnson (Eden Prairie, MN), will also push for playing time. Johnson was a standout at Eden Prairie High School where she served as captain last year. Junior Emily Horn (Hamilton, ONT) will redshirt this year.

DEFENSE:
With five skilled veterans and a promising freshman patrolling the blueline, Clarkson has the potential to boast one of the top defenses in the country.

The lone senior on the back end, Vanessa Plante (Riviere-du-Loup, QUE), along with juniors Jennifer Shields (Ingersoll, ONT) and Daniella Matteucci (Fruitvale, BC) give Clarkson three knowledgeable defensive-defensemen. Three of the more imposing players on the Knights' roster, Plante, Shields and Matteucci provide an intimidating presence in front of the net.

One of Clarkson's top shutdown defensemen, Plante plays a physical style, but can also provide some offense. She scored three goals last winter and posted a +10 plus/minus rating. Shields, Clarkson's rookie of the year in 2011-12, has steadily gained experience and will be called upon to play a prominent role this season. She skated in all 38 games last year, posting a +14 plus/minus and four assists. Matteucci is a versatile skater who can play a role up front and on defense. She dressed for all 38 games last year, recording two goals and two assists. She will be counted upon to log plenty of minutes this winter.

One of the preeminent all-around defensemen in the country, sophomore Erin Ambrose (Keswick, ONT) is coming off an exceptional rookie campaign and promises to be even better in 2013-14. Classmate Renata Fast (Burlington, ONT) played a lot of big minutes in her freshman campaign and steadily emerged as one of the Knights' most reliable blueliners.

Ambrose enjoyed the best season ever for a Clarkson freshman last year. She was named ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Year and a second-team league all-star. Ambrose, who has extensive experience with Canada's National program, was the leading rookie scorer from the blueline nationally with 36 points, including a school-record 30 assists, through 34 games. She was one of only three defensemen overall in the country who averaged over a point per game (1.06).

Strong at both ends of the ice, Fast tallied 10 points, including eight assists, and a +7 plus/minus rating playing in all 38 games.
Freshman Corie Jacobson (Warren, ONT) will push the veterans for a regular role on the back end and help make up for the graduation loss of Hailey Wood. Jacobson served as an assistant captain with the Northbay Ice Boltz last season. She also helped Team Canada win the Gold Medal at last season's U18 World Championship.

FORWARDS:
The Knights will boast plenty of firepower up front with nine top scorers, including five established seniors providing the leadership.
Clarkson's top scorers, seniors Jamie Lee Rattray (Kanata, ONT) and Carly Mercer (Exeter, ONT) have proven to be two of the best forwards in the Green and Gold's history, amassing 115 (48-67) and 105 (39-66) points, respectively, through their first three seasons.

Rattray, who has seen plenty of action with Canada's National program, was the Knights' leading offensive force last season, averaging 1.44 points per game on 22 goals and 30 assists through 36 contests. A Second-Team ECAC Hockey All-Star, she is a clutch goal scorer who tied for the nation's lead in game-winning goals with nine. Rattray set the Clarkson record for points in a season overall with 52. She shares the program record for most assists in a season with 30 along with Ambrose.

A third-team conference all-star in 2012-13, Carly Mercer posted 41 points on 17 goals and 24 assists. She connected for six game-winning tallies and six power-play markers and recorded a +14 plus/minus rating.

Classmates Britney Styner (Calgary, ALB), Vanessa Gagnon (St. Constant, QUE) and Shelby Nisbet (Wiseton, SASK) are solid two-way, senior players who come to play a full 60 minutes every game.

Styner was among the team leaders in plus/minus last season with a +18 while tallying nine goals and 19 assists as Clarkson's fifth-leading scorer with 28 points in 37 games. She tallied two game-winners, a pair of power-play markers and one shorthanded goal.
Selected as the Knights' Unsung Hero Award Winner last season, Gagnon will look to continue the pace she set down the stretch last year when she was one of the Knights' most productive forwards, scoring a goal in four of the last five games. She recorded 21 points overall on 10 goals and 11 assists through 38 games, and netted three game-winning goals and two power-play tallies.

One of the Golden Knights' hardest workers, Nisbet played through numerous injuries during the season to skate in all 38 games recording 16 points (5-11). Recipient of Clarkson's Coaches Award, she is a tenacious forward and strong penalty-killer.

Junior Christine Lambert (Thetford Mines, QUE) and sophomores Shannon MacAulay (Mt. Herbert, PEI) and Olivia Howe (Moose Jaw, SASK) saw significant time last year and should enjoy breakout campaigns this winter.

Lambert tallied 11 points on four goals and seven assists. She scored a goal in NCAA Tournament game at Boston University. MacAulay was Clarkson's leading freshman forward with 16 points on nine goals and seven assists playing in all 38 games. She also scored in the NCAA Tournament. Olivia Howe enjoyed a solid rookie campaign with eight points and six goals in 36 games.

Sophomore Cayley Mercer (Exeter, ONT) and freshmen Genevieve Bannon (Candiac, QUE) and Jessica Gillham (Uxbridge, ONT) will add to the depth up front and help replace the loss to graduation of Danielle Skirrow.

Cayley Mercer, the younger sister of Carly, missed all of last season recovering from an injury, but looks to be in top form for the 2013-14 campaign. She was team captain for the Bluewater Jr. Hawks in 2011-12 and helped to lead her team to the PWHL championship. Mercer, along with MacAulay and Ambrose, won a Gold Medal with Team Canada at the 2012 U18 World Championship.

Bannon played last season for Ontario Hockey Academy where she was the team captain. Gillham skated for the Aurora Panthers in 2012-13. Both Bannon and Gillham participated in Canada's Women's U18 National Team Selection Camp. Bannon joined Jacobson in winning aGold Medal with team Canada at last season's U18 World Championship.

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