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ChampsAgain18

Women's Hockey

Knights Open Defense of National Title This Weekend in Minnesota

Winners of three NCAA National Championships in the past five years, the Clarkson University Women's Hockey team will open its 16th season of Division I play this weekend when the Golden Knights travel to Minnesota to face off against Bemidji State University in a two-game series. Two-time defending National Champion Clarkson begins its quest for a third consecutive title when it battles the Beavers, of the WCHA, on Friday at Sanford Center in a 7:00 p.m. EST non-league contest. The teams will meet again on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. EST.

Coming off back-to-back National Championships, Clarkson will confront a challenging task to make it three in a row in 2018-19. The Golden Knights know the bullseye will be on their back every night this season as their opponents will strive to deny the Green and the Gold from becoming the first women's hockey program to win three straight NCAA titles since Minnesota Duluth claimed the championships in the inaugural years of the Division I Tournament (2001-2003).

PDF of Bemidji State Weekend Series Notes
Video Stream
Live Stats
USCHO.com Poll
USA Today Poll

• Ranked number one in both the USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine polls, the Golden Knights return 17 letterwinners from last year's team that skated to a 36-4-1 overall record and won the program's third national title in five years. The Knights, who claimed the program's fourth ECAC Hockey Regular Season Championship last year, with a 19-3 league mark, are picked to win the conference again this season by the preseason coaches' poll.
• The Golden Knights are 9-4-2 in their first 15 season openers. Last season in Boston, the Green and Gold tied and defeated Northeastern (1-1ot, 5-1). 
• Clarkson went 3-0 in 2017-18 against teams from the WCHA, including a sweep of Bemidji State (2-0, 5-4) at Cheel Arena in early October. 
• Senior forward Cassidy Vinkle (Belleville, ONT) will serve as the Green and Gold's captain, while defenders, senior Josiane Pozzebon (Bourget, ONT) and Ella Shelton (Ingersoll, ONT) will act as assistant captains. 
• Senior left wing Loren Gabel (Kitchener, ONT), sophomore right wing Elizabeth Giguere (Quebec City, QUE) and Shelton, were named to ECAC Hockey's preseason team.
• Clarkson has also added a pair of all-star graduate-student transfers in forward T.T. Cianfarano (Oswego, NY) from Quiinipiac and Kassidy Sauve (Whitby, ONT) from Ohio State to go along with four standout freshmen to bolster the lineup.
• Ranked fourth in the nation in scoring last year, Clarkson should once again be one of the most potent offensive teams in the country with nine forwards returning from a group that help the Knights average 3.85 goals per game. Clarkson's top four scorers up front are back, including the most prolific line in college hockey – Gabel, junior center Michaela Pejzlova (Pardubice, Czech Republic) and Giguere.
• Two of the best defenders in ECAC Hockey, Pozzebon and Shelton will lead Clarkson's efforts on the blueline.  Both Pozzebon and Shelton participated in the Canadian National Women's Hockey team tryout camp in September for Four Nations Cup and Women's World Championship events in 2018-19.
• The Knights' all-time winningest goaltender, Shea Tiley, has graduated, but Clarkson should still be strong in the crease with an All-American transfer – Sauve, a standout freshman – Marie-Pier Coulombe (Carignan, QUE) and a promising sophomore – Kia Castonguay (Ipswich, MA) battling for playing time.
• The Green and Gold bring a 10-game winning streak into the new season. Clarkson's last loss was a 2-0 setback at Princeton on February 9. The Knights' last suffered a defeat in non-league play on November 10, losing 3-2 at Vermont of Hockey East.
• Clarkson has two natives of Minnesota on the roster - junior defenseman Taylor Turnquist (Blaine) and freshman forward Morgan Helgeson (Lake Elmo).
• The Knights will play 17 regular season games at Cheel Arena, beginning with a two-game set against Robert Morris of College Hockey America on October 5-6. 
• Clarkson will hold its third NCAA National Championship Banner Day ceremony in five years when the Green and Gold raise the 2018 Banner to go alongside the 2014 and 2017 Banners on Saturday, October 20 prior to the 3:00 p.m. non-league game against St. Lawrence.

The Series:
The Golden Knights have played the Beavers only twice before the upcoming season. Clarkson and Bemidji State played two games last year in the Knights' home opening weekend at Cheel Arena. In the first game, Clarkson shut out the Beavers 2-0 behind goals from then freshmen Elizabeth Giguere, and Avery Mitchell. The Golden Knights shut the door defensively allowing only 15 shots through to the net. In the second game, Bemidji State was able to find some of their offensive touch scoring two power-play goals, but ultimately fell short 5-4 against the Knights, who saw goals scored by five different players en route to the win.

Scouting Bemidji State
Bemidji State finished off their 2017-18 campaign 16-19-3 overall and 9-13-2 in WCHA play. The Beavers earned 30 points and finished 5th in the loaded WCHA. Bemidji State fielded a fairly young roster last season and as a result, is returning multiple key contributors for this season. The Beavers have three of their leading scorers returning for the 2018-19 season. Haley Mack was the leading point-getter a season ago scoring 11 goals and adding 14 assists. Bemidji State also returns senior assistant captain Emily Berglund and Clair DeGeorge who had 24 and 23 points respectively last year. The Beavers return two very promising goaltenders in Lauren Bench and Kerigan Dowhy. The Golden Knights saw Bench last season in their 5-4 win. Bench played 19 of the team's 38 games last season and finished with an 8-9-0 record. Bench had a 2.71 goals against average and a .903 save percentage. Kerigan Dowhy played a bigger role for the Beavers as the 2017-18 season rolled along. Dowhy saw most of her playing time after the Christmas break and played strong down the stretch. She finished the season with a 5-2-1 record in nine games with a 1.82 goals against average and a .936 save percentage, and looks to play a bigger role in the upcoming season for the Beavers.

 
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Players Mentioned

Shea Tiley

#35 Shea Tiley

G
5' 10"
Senior
Kia Castonguay

#29 Kia Castonguay

G
5' 5"
Sophomore
Loren Gabel

#19 Loren Gabel

F
5' 4"
Senior
Elizabeth Giguere

#7 Elizabeth Giguere

F
5' 10"
Sophomore
Avery Mitchell

#4 Avery Mitchell

D
5' 4"
Sophomore
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
Taylor Turnquist

#17 Taylor Turnquist

D
5' 5"
Junior
Cassidy Vinkle

#22 Cassidy Vinkle

F
5' 7"
Senior

Players Mentioned

Shea Tiley

#35 Shea Tiley

5' 10"
Senior
G
Kia Castonguay

#29 Kia Castonguay

5' 5"
Sophomore
G
Loren Gabel

#19 Loren Gabel

5' 4"
Senior
F
Elizabeth Giguere

#7 Elizabeth Giguere

5' 10"
Sophomore
F
Avery Mitchell

#4 Avery Mitchell

5' 4"
Sophomore
D
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
Taylor Turnquist

#17 Taylor Turnquist

5' 5"
Junior
D
Cassidy Vinkle

#22 Cassidy Vinkle

5' 7"
Senior
F