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Women's Hockey February 1, 2017

Clarkson Tries to Stay On Top At Dartmouth and Harvard

photo by Jim Meagher

PDF of weekly release

With eight games left in the season, the third-ranked Clarkson University Women's Hockey team has already clinched a spot in the conference playoffs. The Golden Knights will try to stay atop the standings this weekend with road games against Dartmouth and Harvard.

Led by ninth-year head coach Matt Desrosiers and assistant coaches Britni Smith and Tony Maci, Clarkson is 20-4-4 overall this season and 14-1-1 in conference. Clarkson leads St. Lawrence by two points in the conference standings and is the fourth team in the country to reach the 20 win plateau.

Clarkson has the second highest scoring offense in the country, averaging 3.68 goals per game and 4.50 goals per conference game. The offense is led by co-captain Cayley Mercer and assistant captain Genevieve Bannon. Mercer has 19 in her last 10 games, with at least one point in all 10 games. She leads the team with 40 points on 19 goals and 21 assists. Bannon is not far behind her with 34 points on 10 goals and 24 assists. The 287 combined points between the pair, trail only Jamie Lee Rattray '14 and Carly Mercer's '14 combined 331 for most among a pair of Clarkson classmates.

Mercer had a pair of goals in both the 4-2 win over Rensselaer and the 3-1 victory at Union last weekend. Bannon also had a pair of assists against the Engineers and a single helper against the Dutchwomen. Loren Gabel also had a big game against Rensselaer with two goals of her own. Co-captain Savannah Harmon was the fourth Golden Knight with multiple points against Rensselaer with two assists, before following that up with two more helpers against Union. Harmon now has a career high 24 points on the season and is first in the nation in points among defensemen.

Clarkson owes a lot of its success in conference this season to its performances in the third period. In their 16 conference games, the Green and Gold have scored 32 goals in the third period, while allowing just nine goals. The 32 goals scored leads the league and is more than five other teams have scored in total, while the nine goals allowed is second in the conference. Overall, Clarkson is 20-3-3 this season when tied or winning heading into the final frame. Bannon leads the nation with 17 third period points in conference games, while Mercer is third with 14.

Clarkson has gotten great production from its underclassmen. In their first collegiate seasons, Michaela Pejzlova and Ella Shelton have contributed right away. Pejzlova currently has 25 points on nine goals and 16 assists and can become the first Clarkson rookie to tally 30 points since Erin Ambrose '16 had 36 in the 2012-13 season. Pejzlova is currently tied for third in the country in points among freshmen while Shelton is tied for 13th with 17 points of her own. The sophomore class has also stepped up this season, with 38 goals and 50 assists between its six members this year. Rhyen McGill is fifth in the country among sophomores with 24 points while Gabel is tied for 13th with 19. Tied for 17th is Cassidy Vinkle, who already has 18 points, eight more than in her rookie campaign.

Dartmouth is 5-17-0 overall this season and 3-13-0 in ECAC Hockey. The Big Green were picked to finish 10th in the conference preseason poll and are currently in a tie for 10th right now, seven points back of the eighth and final playoff spot. Just two players for Dartmouth have broken the double digit points barrier, with Kennedy Ottenbreit at 11 points on seven goals and four assists and Eleni Tebano with 10 of her own through four goals and six assists. Dartmouth has scored just 15 goals in 16 conference games, the lowest total in ECAC Hockey. The Big Green also struggle when playing from behind, which they do often. Dartmouth has scored the first goal of the game just four times this season, but is a perfect 4-0-0 when doing so. However, when going down 1-0, Dartmouth has been able to come back and win once, losing the other 17 times. Clarkson has an all-time record of 17-10-5 overall against the Big Green. Clarkson defeated Dartmouth 6-1 at home on October 29th of this year, which extended Clarkson's unbeaten streak against Dartmouth to 15 games. Bannon had a big game in the home win, with a goal and three assists and now has 15 points in 11 career games against Dartmouth. Shea Tiley has a perfect 6-0-1 record in goal against Dartmouth, with a goals against average of 0.85.

Harvard is in the midst of an abnormally down year with a 3-16-3 record this season. The Crimson were picked to finish fifth in the conference preseason poll, but sit in ninth with a 3-10-3 ECAC Hockey record. The Crimson have just three players with double digit points. Sydney Daniels and Lexie Laing lead the team with 12 points each while Kat Hughes has 11. Molly Tissenbaum (0-9-1), Brianna Laing (3-5-0), and Beth Larcom (0-2-2) have all split time in goal for Harvard this season. Harvard has struggled on the power-play this season, converting just 10 of 75 opportunities. Harvard is the only ECAC Hockey team that Clarkson has an all-time losing record against, with the Golden Knights just 11-18-4 against the Crimson. However, Clarkson is unbeaten in six straight matchups, including a 4-0 win earlier this season. Tiley has a 3-0-2 record against Harvard with three shutouts and a 0.77 goals against average.  

 Clarkson will first take on Dartmouth at 5:00 pm on Friday night, before traveling to Cambridge for a 3:00 pm game on Saturday against Harvard.
 
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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
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
Michaela Pejzlova

#10 Michaela Pejzlova

F
5' 7"
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
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
Michaela Pejzlova

#10 Michaela Pejzlova

5' 7"
Freshman
F