Skip To Main Content

Scoreboard

Clarkson University Athletics

#3 Clarkson Closes Out Regular Season at Colgate and Cornell

By: February 15, 2017
GabelPri17

Women's Hockey | 2/14/2017 10:52:00 AM

photo by Jim Meagher

pdf of weekly release

Just one weekend remains in the regular season and the third-ranked Clarkson University Women's Hockey team has clinched at least a share of the ECAC Hockey Regular Season title for the third time in the past four seasons. The Golden Knights will try to improve their NCAA Tournament resume by traveling to Central NY to face Colgate and Cornell.
 
Led by ninth-year head coach Matt Desrosiers and assistant coaches Britni Smith and Tony Maci, Clarkson has a 23-4-5 overall record and a 17-1-2 ECAC Hockey mark. The Green and Gold will host an ECAC Hockey Quarterfinal-round series for the sixth straight year when the league playoffs begin on February 24.
 
 
Throughout the year, Clarkson has been led by its seniors and that was no different last weekend as the five seniors played their final regular season home games. On Saturday, Clarkson defeated Princeton 3-1. Co-captain Cayley Mercer had a goal and two assists in the win while assistant captain Genevieve Bannon tied her career high with three assists. Clarkson's two leading scorers were joined on their line by Loren Gabel. The combination proved fruitful as Gabel notched two goals, including the game-winner. On Sunday, Clarkson beat Quinnipiac in a tightly contested 1-0 game. It was Jessica Gillham who scored the lone goal of the game, It is the sixth goal of the year for Gillham, which along with her nine assists and 15 points, are all career highs.
 
After giving up a goal just 11 seconds into the game against Princeton, Clarkson goaltender Shea Tiley clamped down and did not allow a goal for the rest of the weekend. The 1-0 shutout of Quinnipiac was the 21st shutout of Tiley's career, breaking a three-way tie for second place all-time at Clarkson. Tiley is now eighth in the country in goals against average at 1.62 and is 13th in save percentage at .929.   Tiley was named ECAC Hockey Goaltender of the Week.
 
Mercer and Bannon are the two top scorers in ECAC Hockey games. Mercer has 47 points overall, with 36 of those in conference on 16 goals and 20 assists. Bannon has 39 points overall and 11 goals and 22 assists in conference. Bannon is just one point behind former teammate Erin Ambrose '16 for fifth all-time at Clarkson. Beyond Mercer and Bannon, four other players have at least 20 points while two more are at 18.
 
Colgate comes into the weekend with a chance to earn home ice in the ECAC Hockey Quarterfinals. The Raiders currently sit in fourth place in the conference with a 13-6-1 record and a 22-7-3 overall mark. Colgate is on six game winning streak since the last time the Raiders faced off with Clarkson. However, in that run, Colgate has beaten the bottom six teams in the conference. Colgate has been strong at home, going 11-2-2 in friendly confines against 11-5-1 on the road and rarely allow a comeback as the Raiders are 15-0-1 when leading after two periods. Offensively, Colgate is led by sophomores Jessie Eldridge and Shae Labbe, who have 37 and 29 points respectively. Clarkson is 17-8-4 all-time against Colgate, including a 2-1 home win earlier this season. Mercer scored both goals in that game, with Bannon adding a pair of assists.

Cornell has turned its season around in the second half of the year and is now assured home ice in the ECAC Hockey Quarterfinals. Cornell is currently in third place in the conference with a 13-3-4 record and is 17-6-4 overall. The Big Red started just 2-2-0 in conference, but have lost just once since. Since the loss to St. Lawrence, Cornell is 4-0-2. Hanna Bunton leads the team with 26 points while Kristin O'Neill is not far behind her with 18 of her own. Paula Voorheis and Marlene Boissonnault have split time in goal, with Boissonnault leading in record (10-1-1 to 7-5-3) and goals against average (1.49 to 1.59), but Voorheis has the better save percentage (.943% to .927%). Clarkson has an all-time record of 15-13-4 against the Big Red. Cornell dealt the Golden Knights their only conference loss of the year earlier this season. That game finished 2-1 in favor of the Big Red as Cornell scored the game-winning goal with just 1:16 remaining. Josiane Pozzebon scored Clarkson's lone goal, giving her five points in five career games against Cornell, while Mercer and Bannon each had an assist.
 
Clarkson will first travel to Colgate for a 6:00 pm game on Friday, before heading to Cornell for a 3:00 pm game on Saturday.
 
Print Friendly Version

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
Jessica Gillham

#7 Jessica Gillham

F
5' 7"
Senior
Cayley Mercer

#18 Cayley Mercer

F
5' 8"
Senior
Josiane Pozzebon

#28 Josiane Pozzebon

D
5' 5"
Sophomore
Shea Tiley

#35 Shea Tiley

G
5' 10"
Junior

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
Jessica Gillham

#7 Jessica Gillham

5' 7"
Senior
F
Cayley Mercer

#18 Cayley Mercer

5' 8"
Senior
F
Josiane Pozzebon

#28 Josiane Pozzebon

5' 5"
Sophomore
D
Shea Tiley

#35 Shea Tiley

5' 10"
Junior
G