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Women's Hockey November 23, 2016

CU Women's Hockey Takes Part in Windjammer Classic

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On a 10-game winning streak, the fifth-ranked Clarkson University Women's Hockey team will travel to Burlington, Vermont for the Windjammer Classic. The Golden Knights will open the tournament against Robert Morris at 7:00 pm on Friday night. Host University of Vermont and St. Cloud State will play in the first game on Friday at Gutterson Gieldhouse.

Led by ninth-year head coach Matt Desrosiers and assistant coaches Britni Smith and Tony Maci, Clarkson is now 12-3-1 overall and 8-0-0 in ECAC Hockey. With two wins last weekend, Desrosiers reached 200 wins for his career. He is the ninth active coach in Division I to reach 200 career wins at one school.
 
Clarkson opened last weekend with an 8-1 win over Brown that was highlighted by the first career hat trick for Cassidy Vinkle. It was the second consecutive game that Clarkson had scored eight goals. The Golden Knights followed that up with a 4-1 win over Yale to keep them tied with St. Lawrence for first place in ECAC Hockey.

Vinkle's hat trick was the first of the season for Clarkson and the first since Loren Gabel recorded one of her own against Brown on February 19th, 2016. Vinkle was one of eight Clarkson players with multiple points in the two wins, including two of her classmates. Kelly Mariani, Rhyen McGill, and assistant captain Genevieve Bannon were the top scorers with five points apiece. Mariani had two assists against Brown and then three more against Yale. McGill had a goal and an assist against Brown and then one goal and two assists in the win over Yale. Bannon scored the game-winning goal against Brown to go with an assist and then added two more goals and an assist against Yale.

McGill and Bannon are now second and third on the team with 18 and 16 points respectively. Bannon now has 113 career points which is the eighth highest total in Clarkson history, with Bannon having passed former teammate Brittany Styner '14 over the weekend. First on the team is co-captain Cayley Mercer who now has 19 points after notching a goal and two assists over the weekend. Mercer has 135 career points which puts her fifth all-time and trailing Erin Ambrose '16 by two points for fourth place. Mercer also has 58 career goals which puts her in fifth place in total goals.

Overall, the recent hot streak has moved Clarkson up the national rankings in a variety of categories. The Golden Knights are now the top scoring team in the country as they score 3.88 goals per game. That number improves to 5.38 goals per game against conference opponents which leads ECAC Hockey. Clarkson is sixth in the country in scoring defense as it allows 1.69 goals per game. With five power-play goals last weekend, Clarkson is now third in the country as the Golden Knights have converted 22% of their extra man opportunities.

Clarkson has players littered all over the top of the ECAC Hockey leaderboards. McGill leads the conference in points per game with 14 points in conference matchups. Michaela Pejzlova, the reigning ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Month, is first in the conference in points per game among first year players while Ella Shelton is third in the same category. Shelton is second in points per game amongst defensemen with co-captain Savannah Harmon right behind her in a tie for third. Also leading the conference are Gabel and Bannon who are tied for first with three power-play goals. Finally, goaltender Shea Tiley is second in the conference in goals against average and third in save percentage.

Robert Morris is just outside the top ten national polls and has a 9-1-4 overall record and is first in College Hockey America conference with a 5-0-1 record. Robert Morris is 13th in the nation in scoring offense with 2.93 goals per game and 14th in scoring defense as the Colonials allow 2.00 goals per game. However, Robert Morris is near the top of the leaderboard in penalty minutes, as the Colonials average 13.1 penalty minutes, which is third. With Robert Morris riding a seven game unbeaten streak, either Clarkson's streak of 10 straight, which is tied for the second longest active streak, or the Colonials' fourth longest streak will end on Friday night. Clarkson has an all-time record of 4-1-0 against Robert Morris, but the teams have not met since 2007.

Vermont enters the game with a 3-5-4 overall record and is tied for sixth in Hockey East with a 2-2-3 conference record. Eve-Audrey Picard has made an instant impact for the Catamonts as she already has three power-play goals and nine points overall in her debut season. Madison Litchfield has been one of the best goaltenders in the country, with her 1.46 goals against average and her .945 save percentage ranking sixth in the country. Clarkson has an all-time record of 17-1-3 against Vermont, and is unbeaten in the last seven meetings with a 5-0-2 record in that span. The two teams met last year, the first meetings since 2012. Clarkson came away with a 5-0 road win and then a 3-0 home triumph.

St. Cloud State has a 5-8-1 overall record and is 4-7-1 in the WCHA, which puts them in fifth place. The Huskies are heading into the weekend coming off a 3-0 win over Bemidji State. Janine Alder earned the starting role in goal in her freshman season and is tenth in the country in save percentage at .937. St. Cloud State has struggled to score, averaging 1.79 goals per game which ties them for 26th. The Huskies are also 24th in the nation, allowing 2.79 goals per game.

Clarkson will take on Robert Morris at 7:00 pm on Friday night.  
 
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Players Mentioned

Erin Ambrose

#23 Erin Ambrose

D
5' 5"
Senior
Genevieve Bannon

#9 Genevieve Bannon

F
5' 8"
Senior
Loren Gabel

#19 Loren Gabel

F
5' 4"
Sophomore
Savannah Harmon

#14 Savannah Harmon

D
5' 3"
Junior
Kelly Mariani

#26 Kelly Mariani

F
5' 3"
Sophomore
Rhyen McGill

#25 Rhyen McGill

F
5' 8"
Sophomore
Cayley Mercer

#18 Cayley Mercer

F
5' 8"
Senior
Shea Tiley

#35 Shea Tiley

G
5' 10"
Junior
Cassidy Vinkle

#22 Cassidy Vinkle

F
5' 7"
Sophomore
Ella Shelton

#11 Ella Shelton

D
5' 8"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Erin Ambrose

#23 Erin Ambrose

5' 5"
Senior
D
Genevieve Bannon

#9 Genevieve Bannon

5' 8"
Senior
F
Loren Gabel

#19 Loren Gabel

5' 4"
Sophomore
F
Savannah Harmon

#14 Savannah Harmon

5' 3"
Junior
D
Kelly Mariani

#26 Kelly Mariani

5' 3"
Sophomore
F
Rhyen McGill

#25 Rhyen McGill

5' 8"
Sophomore
F
Cayley Mercer

#18 Cayley Mercer

5' 8"
Senior
F
Shea Tiley

#35 Shea Tiley

5' 10"
Junior
G
Cassidy Vinkle

#22 Cassidy Vinkle

5' 7"
Sophomore
F
Ella Shelton

#11 Ella Shelton

5' 8"
Freshman
D