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Women's Hockey

Clarkson Faces Off Vs. Syracuse in Home-And-Home Series

A home-and-home series vs. Syracuse University this weekend closes out the non-league, opening portion of the schedule for the Clarkson University Women's Hockey team. The Golden Knights, guided by 11th-year head Coach Matt Desrosiers and assistants Britni Smith and Tony Maci play the Orange in Central NY on Friday at 6:00 p.m. and then host Syracuse on Saturday in a 3:00 p.m. game at Cheel Arena. 

The two-time defending National Champions, who saw a 14-game winning streak end this past weekend, stand at 5-1 overall. The Knights lost 4-3 in overtime at St. Lawrence last Friday, but came back with a convincing 4-0 victory over the Saints on Saturday's 2018 National Championship Banner-Raising Day at Cheel.

PDF of Syracuse Weekend Series Notes
Video Stream - Friday game at Syracuse
Video Stream - Saturday game at Cheel Arena
USCHO.com Poll
USA Today Poll
Coaches Corner with Mike Vaillancourt

• Although the Knights suffered their first lost since February 9 with the overtime setback at St. Lawrence on Friday, the Green and Gold still own a lengthy winning streak on their home ice with 17 consecutive victories at Cheel Arena. Clarkson, which is 3-0 in Potsdam this season, last suffered a loss at home on November 17 with a 3-2 overtime defeat to Quinnipiac.
• The Green and Gold are 207-64-30 all-time at Cheel for a .737 winning percentage on their home ice. The Knights went 19-2 last year in Potsdam with both losses coming in overtime.
• Clarkson's last loss to a non-ECAC Hockey member school was a 3-2 setback at Vermont on November 10.
• Clarkson has scored at least four goals in every victory this season and is ranked third in the nation in offense, averaging 4.17 goals per game.
• Forwards, senior Loren Gabel and sophomore Elizabeth Giguere, and junior defenseman Ella Shelton are ranked among the top 10 in the country in offense, with each averaging 1.67 points per game.
• On Saturday, Gabel rewrote a chapter of the Golden Knights record book, as she became the all-time leading goal scorer in the program's 16-year history. On Clarkson's 2018 National Championship Banner Raising Day, Gabel opened the scoring against St. Lawrence with her 81st career goal to break the previous mark held by Cayley Mercer '17. Along with the game-winner, a power-play marker with just 8.2 seconds remaining in the first period in the 4-0 victory over the Saints, she also recorded two assists. The Kitchener, Ont. native also scored on Friday against the Saints. Gabel, who ranks third on Clarkson's all-time points list, has tallied five goals and five assists in six games this season. She has 154 career points (81-73) through 128 games, trailing only Cayley Mercer (178 points) and Jamie Lee Rattray '14 (181) for most points by a Golden Knight. Gabel was named ECAC Hockey Player of the Week.
• Assistant captain Shelton paces the Clarkson offense with 10 points from the blueline, including a team-high nine assists. Shelton leads Division I defensemen in points per game (1.67).
• ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Year and an All-America last season, Giguere shows no signs of slowing down in her sophomore campaign. She leads Clarkson in goals with six and adds four assists for 10 points. The right wing tallied three goals and two assists in the weekend series against St. Lawrence. Averaging almost two points a game in her short time with the Green and Gold, Giguere has totaled 81 points on 33 goals and 48 assists through 47 career games.
• One of two Knights with seven points, junior center Michaela Pejzlova is closing in on the century mark with 39 goals and 55 assists for 94 points in 84 career games.
• Freshman Morgan Helgeson made a big impression in her first action against Clarkson's archrival St. Lawrence with a goal in both games in the weekend, non-league series against the Saints. Her third goal of the season helped the Knights defeat St. Lawrence 4-0 on Clarkson's 2018 National Championship banner-raising day at Cheel Arena.
• Kassidy Sauve, the graduate All-American transfer from Ohio State recorded her first shutout as a Golden Knight, blanking St. Lawrence behind 22 saves on Saturday. She had 13 stops in the third period. Sauve, who posts a .924 save percentage and a 2.16 goals against average through the first six games, recorded 22 shutouts in her career with the Buckeyes. 
• 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. 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:
The Golden Knights and the Orange have played twice a year since the 2010 season, in their first matchup. Clarkson has dominated the series with a 14-1-1 record over Syracuse. The lone loss to the Orange came in November of 2010 at Cheel Arena. Since that game Clarkson is 13-0-1 and has shut out Syracuse three times. The Knights and Orange tied 2-2 in Syracuse during the 2016-17 campaign, to break up a 10-game Clarkson winning streak. The Orange would then fall at Cheel the following night 4-1. Of all the current Knights, Rhyen McGill leads the way with six points against Syracuse on two goals and four assists. However, with McGill out, Clarkson will turn to Loren Gabel, Michaela Pejzlova, and Elizabeth Giguere who each have four points in games against the Orange. Gabel and Pejzlova have both scored twice and tallied two assists, while Giguere has scored once and added three assists.

Scouting Syracuse:
Syracuse enters the non-conference weekend 2-4 overall record, 2-2 in CHA play. The Orange currently sits in second place in the CHA and has scored 13 goals in conference games, the most of any team. Syracuse has also surrendered the most goals so far, allowing 12 in those games. Syracuse began the season with a very tough three-game stretch, facing #6 Boston College (5-1 loss) on the road, and an early two-game series against Mercyhurst, (loss 4-2, 1-0) which went to the NCAA tournament a year ago. Syracuse then embarked on a three-game road stretch against Lindenwood (won 5-4 OT, 6-3) and #7 Cornell, losing 4-1 in Ithaca on Tuesday.
 
The Orange offense has been very balanced thus far with Jessica DiGirolamo, Lauren Bellefontaine, and Emma Polaski each scoring a team-high three goals. DiGirolamo has also tallied three assists for a team-high six points in only five games. Ady Cohen and Maddi Welch have shared the net evenly so far this season. Each goaltender has started three games and have played at least 178 minutes each. The Golden Knights got the chance to face  Cohen last season after Cohen relieved Abby Miller who gave up three goals in the first period of the 5-0 Clarkson win. Cohen went on to make 23 saves on 25 shots in two periods of action. Each goaltender is 1-2 on the young season.  Cohen has given up eight goals and has a 2.64 goals against average to go with a .889 save percentage. Welch has given up 12 goals and owns a 4.02 goals against average with a .852 save percentage.
 
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Players Mentioned

Shea Tiley

#35 Shea Tiley

G
5' 10"
Senior
Loren Gabel

#19 Loren Gabel

F
5' 4"
Senior
Elizabeth Giguere

#7 Elizabeth Giguere

F
5' 10"
Sophomore
Rhyen McGill

#25 Rhyen McGill

F
5' 8"
Senior
Michaela Pejzlova

#10 Michaela Pejzlova

F
5' 6"
Junior
Josiane Pozzebon

#28 Josiane Pozzebon

D
5' 4"
Senior
Ella Shelton

#11 Ella Shelton

D
5' 8"
Junior
Cassidy Vinkle

#22 Cassidy Vinkle

F
5' 7"
Senior
Morgan Helgeson

#14 Morgan Helgeson

F
5' 6"
Freshman
Kassidy Sauvé

#32 Kassidy Sauvé

G
5' 9"
Graduate Student

Players Mentioned

Shea Tiley

#35 Shea Tiley

5' 10"
Senior
G
Loren Gabel

#19 Loren Gabel

5' 4"
Senior
F
Elizabeth Giguere

#7 Elizabeth Giguere

5' 10"
Sophomore
F
Rhyen McGill

#25 Rhyen McGill

5' 8"
Senior
F
Michaela Pejzlova

#10 Michaela Pejzlova

5' 6"
Junior
F
Josiane Pozzebon

#28 Josiane Pozzebon

5' 4"
Senior
D
Ella Shelton

#11 Ella Shelton

5' 8"
Junior
D
Cassidy Vinkle

#22 Cassidy Vinkle

5' 7"
Senior
F
Morgan Helgeson

#14 Morgan Helgeson

5' 6"
Freshman
F
Kassidy Sauvé

#32 Kassidy Sauvé

5' 9"
Graduate Student
G