#2 Knights Start 4-Game Road Trip in New England

Within one victory of its seventh consecutive season with 20-or-more wins, the Clarkson University Women's Hockey team opens a four-game ECAC Hockey road trip this weekend playing in New England against Harvard and Dartmouth. Guided by 10th-year head coach Matt Desrosiers and assistants Britni Smith and Tony Maci, the Golden Knights face off against the Crimson in Cambridge, MA on Friday at 6:00 p.m. in a game to be broadcast on NESNPlus from Bright/Landry Hockey Center. On Saturday, the Knights meet up with the Big Green in Hanover, NH in a 3:00 p.m. contest at Thompson Arena.

Ranked second in the national polls, Clarkson is on the longest current winning streak in the country at eight games and owns a 19-3-1 overall record. The Green and Gold are tied with Colgate for first place in the ECAC Hockey standings with a 10-2- league mark.

Clarkson at Harvard-Dartmouth Game Notes (pdf)
USCHO.com Poll
USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll
NCAA Pairwise
ECAC Hockey Standings
B993's Mike Vaillancourt's Coaches Corner

• Clarkson is third in the country in both offense and defense, scoring 4.04 goals per game, while allowing only 1.26.
• Strong specialty teams' play has been a key factor in the Knights' success. Clarkson is first in the NCAA in combined specialty teams' play at 61.5% (115/187). The Knights' power play is third in the nation, clicking at 26.7% (23-86), while the shorthanded unit is second in the country at 91.1% (92-101). Clarkson has killed off 16 straight power plays.
• One of the top lines in the country powers the Clarkson offense. The trio of sophomore center Michaela Pejzlova, junior left wing Loren Gabel and freshman right wing Elizabeth Giguere has accounted for 45.6% of the Knights' scoring with 111 (50-61) of the team's 243 (93-150) points. Gabel, Giguere and Pejzlova are the top three scorers in ECAC Hockey both overall and in league play.
• Gabel is tied for the team lead in goals (17) and points (40), and leads the Knights in plus/minus at +31. She recently joined the Green and Gold's Century Club and is averaging over a point per game in her career with 57 goals and 52 assists for 109 points through 104 games. Gabel has twice been named ECAC Hockey Player of the Month (October, December).
• Through just 23 games, Giguere has already set the Clarkson record for points by a freshman with 40, and is Clarkson's leading playmer with 24 assists. She has recorded at least one point in all but one game this season. Giguere was named HCA National Rookie of the Month for December.
• Pejzlova has a 14-game point streak (13-9). She has 31 points, including 17 goals. Pejzlova is tied for fourth in the country in power-play markers with six.
• Senior Shea Tiley ranks among the NCAA's best in all the major goaltending categories. She posts a 1.29 goals against average (4th in the nation), a .939 save percentage (3rd), a .848 winning percentage (3rd) and is tied for the national lead in shutouts with eight.Tiley, who has started the last 36 games for the Green and Gold, is two victories shy of 100 career wins with a 98-23-14 all-time record, including 32 shutouts. She was named HCA National Player of the Month (December).
• Senior captain Savannah Harmon is Division I's third-leading scorer from the blueline with 22 points, including an NCAA-high 17 assists from a defenseman. She is only the second Clarkson defender to join the century club with 101 career points on 27 goals and 74 assists through 142 games.

The Series:
The Golden Knights are 11-18-5 all-time against Harvard. Clarkson is undefeated in its last seven games against Harvard (4-0-3). The last time the Golden Knights lost in Cambridge MA was on November 18, 2011 (2-1) The last two times the two teams faced off in Cambridge the game ended in a tie, the latest came last year on February 4, 2017, when they tied 2-2. Rhyen McGill and Loren Gabel lead the way for the Golden Knights against the Crimson. McGill has three goals and one assist in her career and Gabel has one goal and three assists. Shea Tiley has a 3-0-3 record against Harvard despite having a 0.97 GAA and a .957 save percentage.

Clarkson is 18-10-5 all-time against Dartmouth, however they have dominated the series in recent years. The Golden Knights are undefeated against the Big Green dating back to 2011 (14-0-2). The Golden Knights last road loss against Dartmouth came on February 27, 2011 when they fell 4-3 in overtime. Savannah Harmon has been the leading scorer against Dartmouth over her four years. Harmon has two goals and four assists for six points in eight games against the Big Green. Shea Tiley has an impressive 7-0-1 record against Dartmouth with three shutouts. Tiley has a .966 save percentage and a 0.74 GAA against the Big Green.

Scouting Harvard
The Crimson has an 8-8-1 record coming into the weekend series. Harvard is currently 6-5-1 in conference play and hold the 7th spot in the standings. Harvard has won most of its games on home ice and is 5-2-1 at Bright-Landry Hockey Center. The Crimson has a four-game losing streak after falling in road games against Union, Colgate, Cornell, and Boston College. Harvard is led by their young core, with three of their top scorers being freshmen and sophomores. Becca Gilmore leads the way with 17 points with five goals and 12 assists. Kat Hughes Leads the team in goal scoring with nine goals, she also has seven assists for 16 points. Beth Larcom has an 8-7-1 record to go along with a 2.79 GAA and a .903 save percentage.

Scouting Dartmouth
Dartmouth has had a hard time generating offense this year and has the least goals in the ECAC. The Big Green currently sits at 4-12-1 overall and are 2-9-1 in conference play,11th place. Dartmouth is 2-7 at home this season, with neither win coming from ECAC foes. Dartmouth comes into this game on a two-game losing streak after falling to Cornell and Colgate on the road last weekend. Hailey Noronha and Christina Rombaut lead the Big Green in points with 10 points apiece. Christie Honor has a 3-12-1 record and has a .910 save percentage and a 3.37 GAA.

Print Friendly Version

Scoreboard

Clarkson University Athletics

#2 Knights Start 4-Game Road Trip in New England