Undefeated to start the year and riding a lengthy winning streak carried over from last year's championship season, the Clarkson University Women's Hockey team celebrates a big weekend in the North Country as it takes on archrival St. Lawrence in a two-game, non-league, home-and-home series. 

On Friday, the Golden Knights face off against the Saints in a 3:30 p.m. game at Appleton Arena in Canton and then return to Cheel Arena on Saturday for National Championship Banner Raising Day. Prior to the 3:00 p.m. start to the game, Clarkson will raise its third NCAA Championship Banner to the Cheel Arena rafters, honoring the 2018 title, to go alongside those signifying the Golden Knights' 2014 and 2017 National Championships.

Guided by 10th-year head coach Matt Desrosiers and assistant coaches Britni Smith and Tony Maci, the Golden Knights are ranked first in the national polls with a 4-0-0 record. 

PDF of St. Lawrence Weekend Series Notes
Video Stream
USCHO.com Poll
USA Today Poll
Coaches Corner with Mike Vaillancourt

• The two-time defending National Champions have won their last 14 games since losing 2-0 at Princeton on February 9. Clarkson's last loss in Cheel came on November 17 with a 3-2 overtime setback to Quinnipiac.
• The Green and Gold are 205-64-30 all-time at Cheel for a .735 winning percentage on their home ice. The Knights went 19-2 last year in Potsdam with both losses coming in overtime.
• Clarkson took a break from NCAA play last weekend with an exhibition game against the University of Montreal. The Knights skated past the Carabins 6-3. 
• In its last official action, Clarkson swept Robert Morris in the season-opening weekend at Cheel Arena, winning 4-2 and 4-3 on October 5-6.
• Clarkson is tied for second in Division I in scoring, averaging 4.50 goals per game and are14th defensively, allowing 2.25 a game. The Knights are fourth in the country on the power play, clicking at 30% (3-10) and 25th on the penalty-kill at 75% (12-16).
• Assistant captain Ella Shelton paces the Clarkson offense with a team-high eight points from the blueline, including seven assists. Shelton is tied for first in Division I in points per game, averaging 2.00.
• Senior Loren Gabel, who was a Top 3 Finalist for the 2018 Patty Kazmaier Award, is one goal shy of tying Cayley Mercer's '17  Clarkson record for career goals. Through 126 games, Gabel has tallied 79 goals and 71 assists for 150 points, tying her for third on the Knights' all-time points list. She has tallied three goals and three assists through the first four games this season. 
• T.T. Cianfarano, a graduate transfer from Quinnipiac University, also has six points on the season with two goals and four assists. Cianfarano was the 2016 ECAC Hockey Player of the Year in her sophomore season at Quinnipiac.
• One of three players with five points, junior center Michaela Pejzlova is closing in on century mark with 39 goals and 53 assists for 92 points in 82 career games.
• After an all-star career at Ohio State, Kassidy Sauve has made an impressive showing with the Green and Gold. The graduate student has played every minute of NCAA action through the first four games and posts a .925 save percentage and a 2.25 goals against average. 
• Senior forward Cassidy Vinkle will serve as the Green and Gold's captain, while defenders, senior Josiane Pozzebon and Shelton will act as assistant captains. 
• Three current or former Clarkson players are included in the 23-player roster that the Canadian women's national team will be sending to the 4 Nations Cup in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, next month. Loren Gabel, as well as recently graduated goalie Shea Tiley '18, will make their first national team appearances in the event, which takes place Nov. 6-10. Also on the roster is former Golden Knight defenseman Renata Fast '16, who played for Canada in the 2018 Winter Olympics. All three Clarkson players will be evaluated at the tournament and be in contention for spots in the 2019 IIHF Women's World Championship event from April 4-14 in Espoo, Finland.

The Series:
Entering this weekend's non-conference matchup, Route 11 rivals Clarkson and St. Lawrence have faced off 51 times since 2004. Clarkson leads the all-time series with a record of 26-18-7 and has outscored the Saints 138-95. The first game of the series will be played at Appleton Arena where the Golden Knights are 10-15-1 all-time against St. Lawrence. 

The following night the series will shift to Cheel Arena for Banner Raising night. Clarkson has been dominant at Cheel going 16-3-6 against the Saints. The dominance at home has held for the last eight years as the Knights have not lost to the Saints at home since the 2009-10 campaign. The last home loss for Clarkson came during the ECAC Quarterfinals in Game 2 when the Knights fell 2-1. Clarkson would go on to win the following night to secure the series. The Golden Knights have a six-game winning streak against the Saints, including a five-game sweep last season. This is the longest streak for either team in this series. 

Clarkson's last loss to St. Lawrence was in the 2016-17 season, losing 2-1 at Appleton in October. The current Golden Knights senior class holds a 9-1-3 record over the Saints. Michaela Pejzlova leads all Clarkson players with 13 points (6 -7) in eight games. Elizabeth Giguere proved to be a nightmare for the Saints during her freshman campaign, scoring five goals and assisting on six others for 11 points. Giguere made a splash on Banner Raising night last season against the Saints scoring a power play goal and tallying four assists in the 6-1 win. 

Scouting St. Lawrence
The Saints skate into the weekend with a 2-3-1 record after a tough road matchup with Boston College. Entering last week #10 in the national polls, St. Lawrence fell 2-1 in overtime on consecutive nights in Chestnut Hill. This was the 4th and 5th consecutive overtimes this season for the Saints. 

The overtime streak started on September 29th, after shutting out Robert Morris 2-0 on Friday, St. Lawrence fell 3-2 in overtime to the Colonials. The following week, St. Lawrence tied the University of New Hampshire 1-1 on Friday and won 1-0 in the extra session the following night.  Clarkson does not want this streak to continue as the Saints have not lost in overtime to the Knights and are 2-0-6 in extra session games with the Knights. The Saints offense is led by senior forward Justine Reyes who has two goals and two assists in six games. Reyes has been a steady presence for the St. Lawrence offense during her career, Reyes was tied for the team lead last season with 40 points on 17 goals and 23 assists. In five games against the Knights last season, Reyes had two assists, both coming in the ECAC Semifinal at Cheel. Senior Rachael Smith also has two goals on the year, sharing the team lead. The Saints have once again turned to seniors Grace Harrison and Sonjia Shelly to share starting duties for the team. Both goaltenders have started three games this season and have each won a game. Grace Harrison has a 1-1-1 record with a 0.97 goals against average and a .965 save percentage. Sonjia Shelly is 1-2 so far with a 1.58 GAA and a .934 SP. In five matchups last year, the Saints juggled the two goaltenders alternating starting duties every game with Clarkson. Shelly played on Friday in both of the regular season series, while Harrison played on Saturday in both series. Shelly got the nod to start in the ECAC Semifinal with Clarkson last year.