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Clarkson University Athletics

Women's Hockey Travels to Cornell and Colgate

By: Jan. 20, 2016
CornellWIN15
The Knights will look to celebrate another win over Cornell when they make their weekend trip to Central NY this weekend to face the Big Red and Colgate - photo by Jim Meagher

Women's Hockey | 1/20/2016 9:31:00 AM

PDF of Weekly Release

Four games into 2016 and the fifth-ranked Clarkson University Women's Hockey team remains undefeated since returning from break. The Golden Knights will try to keep their five-game winning streak going when they travel to Central NY to take on Cornell and Colgate. Clarkson will face off at Cornell at 3:00 pm on Friday at Lynah Rink in Ithaca, in a game that will be streamed live on ESPN3. Clarkson will then try to avenge an earlier loss when playing Colgate in a 3:00 pm game on Saturday at Starr Rink in Hamilton.

Led by eighth-year head coach Matt Desrosiers and second-year assistant coaches Britni Smith and Meghan Duggan, Clarkson holds a 19-3-2 overall record and a 7-3-2 conference mark. Two wins in two home games last weekend saw Clarkson move up to third in the conference standings.

• USCHO.com Poll
• USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll
• ECAC Hockey Standings

The line of senior captain Shannon MacAulay, junior Genevieve Bannon, and freshman Loren Gabel had a strong weekend for Clarkson. First on Friday, Gabel scored the only goal of a 1-0 win over Dartmouth. Bannon and MacAulay had assists on the goal. On Saturday, the three again combined on Clarkson's opening goal, which tied the score at 1. Bannon later scored a goal of her own, helping her to earn a spot on the ECAC Hockey Weekly Honor Roll, where she was joined by Gabel and sophomore goaltender Shea Tiley.

Tiley made 22 saves against Dartmouth to complete her seventh shutout of the season and the 16th of her career. She has been named to the Weekly Honor Roll six times this season, as well as being named ECAC Hockey Goaltender of the Week once. Tiley is fourth in the country in goals against average (1.29) and shutouts (7), as well as sixth in winning percentage (.818) and tenth in save percentage (.934). The two wins this weekend also give Tiley 41 career victories. That is the fourth highest total in Clarkson history. She is also just seven wins behind Kira Hurley '07 and eight behind Lauren Dahm '11.

Senior assistant captain Olivia Howe, MacAulay, and Bannon are all closing on 100 career points. Howe is now at 90 after scoring against Harvard, while MacAulay has 87 and Bannon has 81. If all three are able to reach the century mark, they would join senior assistant captain Erin Ambrose and junior assistant captain Cayley Mercer in that exclusive club. MacAulay and Bannon are on six and five game points streaks while Howe has a point in 20 of Clarkson's 24 games.

Mercer comes into the weekend with 36 points on 17 goals and 19 assists, all of which lead the team. Mercer is tied for first in the conference in points, with Howe's 27 tying her for third. If Mercer finishes the season still leading the team in points, she will only be the second Clarkson player to lead the team in points in consecutive seasons, joining Jamie Lee Rattray '14, who did so in the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons, as well as in the 2010-11 season.

Clarkson has been one of the best teams in both the country and conference in scoring offense and defense. Clarkson's offense is sixth in the country and first in the conference while its defense is fourth in the nation and second in the conference. The Golden Knights have struggled to convert extra man opportunities. Clarkson has scored just three power-play goals in its last 10 games, during which it had 31 opportunities. Clarkson's overall power-play percentage of 17.8 is tied for 17th in the country, while its 10.8 percent in conference is the 11th best mark.

Cornell has been one of the best teams in ECAC Hockey in recent years, but currently sit in a tie for the eighth and final conference playoff spot. The Big Red has an 8-8-3 overall record and a 4-5-3 record in conference.   Since losing in Potsdam on December 5th, Cornell has a 2-2-1 record, including a 6-4 win over Yale and a 2-2 tie with Brown last weekend. Hanna Bunton leads Cornell with 20 points overall and 11 points in conference play. Jess Brown is tied for first in the conference with three power-play goals against conference opponents while Kaitlin Doering leads the league with a pair of short-handed goals. Cornell has especially struggled in the second period, allowing 18 conference goals in the middle frame, while giving up just seven apiece in the first and third.

Clarkson leads Cornell 13-12-3 all-time. Clarkson's slim one game lead comes from a 4-0 Clarkson victory earlier in the year, a win that sparked Clarkson's current five game winning streak. Mercer had two goals in the game and Gabel grabbed a goal and an assist. It was the first time Clarkson had shutout Cornell since a 3-0 home win in January 2006. A win would give Clarkson consecutive victories over the Big Red for the first time since 2008. Mercer leads the way with six points against Cornell while Ambrose has five.

At the beginning of the season, Colgate was picked to finish ninth in the conference standings. But a strong start has put the Raiders firmly in the playoff picture. Colgate has a 14-4-6 overall record to go with a 6-2-4 conference record, which puts it in a tie for third with Clarkson. Colgate has won four of its first five conference games in 2016, including three consecutive wins. The Raiders have entered the national polls at the number 10 spot.

Of the three teams that have defeated Clarkson this season, Colgate was the last, but will be the first team that the Golden Knights get a second crack at. The Raiders defeated Clarkson 4-3 in overtime in December. Colgate scored just 12 seconds to overtime to earn its first win against Clarkson in six tries. Overall, Clarkson leads the series 13-8-4. Colgate has not defeated Clarkson in consecutive games since winning four straight between 2003 and 2005. Ambrose has a staggering 11 points in just seven career games against the Raiders.   
 
 
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Players Mentioned

Erin Ambrose

#23 Erin Ambrose

D
5' 5"
Senior
Genevieve Bannon

#9 Genevieve Bannon

F
5' 8"
Junior
Olivia Howe

#16 Olivia Howe

F
5' 10"
Senior
Shannon MacAulay

#4 Shannon MacAulay

F
5' 11"
Senior
Cayley Mercer

#18 Cayley Mercer

F
5' 8"
Junior
Shea Tiley

#35 Shea Tiley

G
5' 10"
Sophomore
Loren Gabel

#19 Loren Gabel

F
5' 4"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Erin Ambrose

#23 Erin Ambrose

5' 5"
Senior
D
Genevieve Bannon

#9 Genevieve Bannon

5' 8"
Junior
F
Olivia Howe

#16 Olivia Howe

5' 10"
Senior
F
Shannon MacAulay

#4 Shannon MacAulay

5' 11"
Senior
F
Cayley Mercer

#18 Cayley Mercer

5' 8"
Junior
F
Shea Tiley

#35 Shea Tiley

5' 10"
Sophomore
G
Loren Gabel

#19 Loren Gabel

5' 4"
Freshman
F