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Clarkson University Athletics

Golden Knights Try to Extend 18-Game Unbeaten Streak

By: January 18, 2017
WHOC17-3

Women's Hockey | 1/18/2017 9:38:00 AM

photo by Connor Koehler

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Currently riding an 18-game unbeaten streak, the third-ranked Clarkson University Women's Hockey team will welcome Cornell and Colgate to Cheel Arena this weekend to complete a four-game home stand.

Led by ninth-year head coach Matt Desrosiers and assistant coaches Britni Smith and Tony Maci, the Golden Knights have a 17-3-4 overall record and an 11-0-1 ECAC Hockey record that puts them in first place in the conference. The current 18-game unbeaten streak is the longest in the nation with Clarkson going 15-0-3 in that span.
 
With two wins this weekend, Clarkson will win its 299th and 300th games in program history. Should the Green and Gold reach the 300 win plateau this weekend, they will have done it in 511 games, with a record of 300-154-57. Clarkson has a winning percentage of 63% and has finished above .500 in 12 of 14 seasons, including this season, with Clarkson already assured of at least a .500 finish.

The senior class of co-captain Cayley Mercer, assistant captain Genevieve Bannon, Jessica Gillham Corie Jacobson and McKenzie Johnson have played a part in 102 of those wins, which is currently the third highest total for a single class, trailing just the 2015 senior class (105 wins) and the 2016 class (113). The senior class also has a chance to earn a school record third ECAC Hockey regular season championship after winning it in the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons. Mercer and Bannon are also making history on the Clarkson scoring leaderboards. Mercer passed Britney Selina '10 last weekend for third place all-time at Clarkson with 149 career points. Mercer is now just one point behind her older sister Carly Mercer '14 for second place. Bannon moved into sixth place with 125 career points of her own.

For the second time this season, Cassidy Vinkle scored a hat trick against Brown, with Clarkson again defeating the Bears 8-1. Clarkson also knocked off Yale 4-2 over the weekend. Vinkle was not the only Clarkson player with a big game against the Bears or Bulldogs. Bannon and Loren Gabel both had two goals and an assist against Brown, while Mercer, co-captain Savannah Harmon, and Rhyen McGill all had a pair of assists with Mercer adding a goal. Mercer and Michaela Pejzlova each had a goal and an assist against Yale while Bannon notched a pair of helpers.

In conference, Clarkson has scored 5.17 goals per game, the best rate in ECAC Hockey. Mercer and Bannon are second in the conference in points while Pejzlova and McGill are sixth and seventh respectively. Pejzlova is first in the conference in points among rookies and Ella Shelton is fourth. Shelton and Harmon are also tied for third in the conference in points among defensemen. Bannon is tied for first in power-play goals and just behind her is Gabel who is tied for third with three.  

Colgate enters the weekend with a 15-6-3 overall record and a 6-5-1 ECAC Hockey mark, putting the Raiders in sixth place. The Raiders started the season 12-0-1, but is just 3-6-2 since then. Colgate dropped two home conference games last weekend, falling to Quinnipiac 2-0 and Princeton 5-1. The Raiders followed that up with a 2-1 loss to Cornell. Jessie Eldridge leads the Raiders with 29 points overall and 12 points in conference games. Colgate has been especially strong on the penalty kill, with a 94.1% kill rate ranking fourth in the nation. The last time the two teams met was in the 2016 ECAC Hockey Semifinals with Clarkson earning a 5-2 win with Mercer notching a team high three assists and Clarkson scoring two power-play goals.

After a season where it finished seventh in ECAC Hockey, the Cornell Big Red has bounced back and currently sits in fifth place with an 8-2-2 conference record and a 12-5-2 overall record. The Big Red are on a five-game unbeaten streak, including a 2-1 win over Colgate. Hanna Bunton and Kristin O'Neill have led the way in conference play, scoring 13 and 10 points respectively against ECAC Hockey foes. The last time Clarkson and Cornell met was in the 2016 ECAC Quarterfinals. Clarkson took a two game sweep through 2-0 and 5-2 home wins. It snapped a two year streak where Cornell had knocked Clarkson out of the ECAC playoffs on Clarkson's home ice.

Clarkson will first take on tenth-ranked Cornell at 6:00 pm on Friday night before taking on Colgate on 3:00 pm on Saturday afternoon.
 
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Players Mentioned

Genevieve Bannon

#9 Genevieve Bannon

F
5' 8"
Senior
Loren Gabel

#19 Loren Gabel

F
5' 4"
Sophomore
Jessica Gillham

#7 Jessica Gillham

F
5' 7"
Senior
Savannah Harmon

#14 Savannah Harmon

D
5' 3"
Junior
Corie Jacobson

#2 Corie Jacobson

D
5' 6"
Senior
McKenzie Johnson

#33 McKenzie Johnson

G
5' 7"
Senior
Rhyen McGill

#25 Rhyen McGill

F
5' 8"
Sophomore
Cayley Mercer

#18 Cayley Mercer

F
5' 8"
Senior
Cassidy Vinkle

#22 Cassidy Vinkle

F
5' 7"
Sophomore
Ella Shelton

#11 Ella Shelton

D
5' 8"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Genevieve Bannon

#9 Genevieve Bannon

5' 8"
Senior
F
Loren Gabel

#19 Loren Gabel

5' 4"
Sophomore
F
Jessica Gillham

#7 Jessica Gillham

5' 7"
Senior
F
Savannah Harmon

#14 Savannah Harmon

5' 3"
Junior
D
Corie Jacobson

#2 Corie Jacobson

5' 6"
Senior
D
McKenzie Johnson

#33 McKenzie Johnson

5' 7"
Senior
G
Rhyen McGill

#25 Rhyen McGill

5' 8"
Sophomore
F
Cayley Mercer

#18 Cayley Mercer

5' 8"
Senior
F
Cassidy Vinkle

#22 Cassidy Vinkle

5' 7"
Sophomore
F
Ella Shelton

#11 Ella Shelton

5' 8"
Freshman
D