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photo by Jim Meagher

Clarkson Women Look to Secure Top 4 ECAC Hockey Finish

2/20/2020 8:06:00 AM

Needing just one point to secure a top four spot in the ECAC Hockey standings for the ninth consecutive year, Clarkson closes out the regular season at Harvard and Dartmouth this weekend. The Golden Knights own a 12-4-4 league record and are in fourth place in the conference, one point behind the third-place Crimson and four points in front of fifth-place Yale. Clarkson plays Harvard in Cambridge, MA, on Friday at 6:00 p.m. and travels to Hanover, NH on Saturday for a 3:00 p.m. face off against the Big Green. 

The Green and Gold can finish anywhere from second to fifth in the final standings. With a top four finish, Clarkson would host a first-round ECAC playoff series (best-of-three) next weekend at Cheel Arena. 

Guided by 12th-year Head Coach Matt Desrosiers and assistant coaches Britni Smith and Tony Maci, Clarkson is ranked seventh in the national polls and has reached the 20-win mark for the ninth consecutive season with a 21-5-6 overall record. 
 
• The Knights need just one point to lock up their ninth consecutive top four finish in the ECAC Hockey standings. Through its first 15 seasons of  league play Clarkson has placed in the top 4 of the 12-team conference 11 times. Clarkson has an all-time ECAC record of 218-86-36.
• Junior right wing Elizabeth Giguere has amassed 201 career points on 83 goals and 118 assists through just 113 games. Named a Top 10 Patty Kazmaier Finalist, for the second consecutive year, Giguere has 57 points this season and a nation-high 30 goals. She is 13 points away from breaking Loren Gabel's all-time Clarkson mark of  213 points. 
• Sophomore goaltender Marie-Pier Coulombe has emerged as a top goaltender and ranks third in the nation is save percentage (.948) and goals against average (1.21). She has started the last 22 games and owns a 19-5-5 record with six shutouts. 
• This past weekend the Knights split a pair of 2-1 games in Potsdam, losing to 10th-ranked Quinnipiac before knocking off 5th-ranked Princeton.
• The Knights have not lost to the Crimson at Bright-Landry Hockey Center since the 2011-12 campaign and are on a 12-game (9-0-3) unbeaten streak in their series. Clarkson saw an 18-game (17-0-1) unbeaten stretch end against Dartmouth last February as the Big Green earned a 3-2 overtime win at Thompson Arena.
• Clarkson has compiled 400 victories in its 17th year as a Division I program. The Knights boast a 400-172-67 all-time record for a .678 winning precentage since the 2003-04 campaign and three National Championships (2014, 2017, 2018).
• Clarkson is ranked third nationally in defense, allowing only 1.47 gpg, and 11th offensively, 3.12 gpg.
• The Knights are 19-0-1 when leading through two periods.
• Clarkson is 16-1-3 when scoring first.
• The Knights have outscored their opponents 32-16 in the first period, 37-19 in the middle frame and 30-12 over the final 20 minutes of regulation.
• The Knights are 16-0-1 when scoring three-or-more goals.
• Clarkson's Captain, senior defenseman Ella Shelton is fourth in the nation and second in the ECAC in ppg from the blueline with nine goals and 20 assists through 28 games. She is only the third Golden Knight rear guard to reach the century mark and has 104 career points (26-78) through 148 games. 
• Clarkson's second-leading scorer, Gabrielle David is tied for second in the nation for points by a freshman with 33 and is tied for first in rookie assists with 21.
• Kayla Friesen has made her mark on the Clarkson program as a senior transfer from St. Cloud State. She is the Knights' third-leading scorer with 30 points on 10 goals and 20 assists.
• Clarkson's three rookie defensemen have played a solid role in the Knights' stingy  defensive effort and have contributed offensively. Lauren Bernard has played in all  32 games, recording 12 points (2-10) and a +21. Stephanie Markowski has 11 assists and a +14 through 31 games. Emily Wisnewski has skated in 30 games and tallied four points (1-3) and a +4.
• Clarkson has suffered a significant amount of injuries this season, and last weekend the Knights were without the services of players who have accounted for over 400 combined points in their careers.

Series Harvard: Harvard leads the all-time series 18-16-5 over Clarkson, but is in danger of losing their grip on the series in the next few years. After dominating the Golden Knights from 2004-2011 (16-5-2), the Crimson have dropped 11 of the next 16 to the Green and Gold. Clarkson is currently on a 12-game unbeaten streak (9-0-3) against Harvard. The last time the Knights lost in Cambridge was during the 2011-12 season when Clarkson fell 2-1 in a November matchup. Ella Shelton has brought some valuable offense to the table against Harvard scoring three goals and tallying four assists for seven points. Elizabeth Giguere has one goal and five assists for six points to help pace the Knights' attack. Marie-Pier Coulombe played the Crimson for the first time earlier this season stopping all 29 shots she faced to secure the shutout and the 4-0 win. 

Series Dartmouth: Since 2011 Clarkson has dominated the series against Dartmouth and is 22-11-5 over the Big Green all time. During the 2011-12 season Clarkson broke a three-game winless streak on the road against Dartmouth and went on to rattle off an 11-game winning streak and an 18-game unbeaten streak (17-0-1). That lengthy streak was broken last season in Hanover as the Big Green took down the Golden Knights 3-2 in overtime. Clarkson got back on the horse this year beating Dartmouth 5-1 in January. Elizabeth Giguere has been electric when playing the Big Green scoring six goals and tallying nine assists for 15 points in only five games. Marie-Pier Coulombe saw her first action against Dartmouth in January stopping 28 of 29 shots en route to the home win.

Scouting Harvard: With a top-4 spot firmly in hand Harvard, will be jockeying for position in the ECAC with Princeton and Clarkson this weekend. Harvard is 15-11-1 on the year and is 14-5-1 in conference play. The Crimson sit in the third spot in the ECAC one point ahead of Clarkson and two points behind Princeton for second place. Harvard has been great against the lesser teams on their schedule, but has been kept out of the country's upper echelon after going 2-6-1 against Top-10 opponents. The Crimson were 6-3-1 when playing in Cambridge this season. Harvard's resurgence over the last two years has been powered by their 2022 class which boasts their top-3 scorers and starting goaltender. Sophomores Kristin Della Rovere (32), Dominique Petrie (31), and Anne Bloomer (21) each have 20+ points for the Crimson attack. Della Rovere is Harvard's most dangerous scorer with a team-high 18 goals. Sophomore Lindsay Reed has been good in net for Harvard, starting 16 games amassing an 8-7-1 record with a 3.00 goals against average and a .915 save percentage. Becky Dutton has proven to be more than serviceable in relief of Reed going 5-1-0 this year with a 1.57 goals against average and a .944 save percentage. 

Scouting Dartmouth: Dartmouth is 7-17-3 this year and is playing spoiler this weekend after being eliminated from postseason play. The Big Green are 4-13-3 in ECAC action and are in 10th place. Dartmouth entered the second half of the season needing a run to secure a top-8 spot in the conference but dropped nine straight league games to torpedo their chances. The Big Green are playing with a bit more confidence after beating Union (2-0), and RPI (4-1) this past weekend. Dartmouth is a very young team that's losing just three seniors. The Big Green are led offensively by a pair of freshmen in Catherine Trevors and CC Bowlby. Trevors and Bowlby each have 10 goals on the year which is a mark no Dartmouth player has reached since the 2016-17 season. Trevors' 18 points is the most by a Big Green skater since the 2015-16 season. Fellow freshman Hannah Humphreys is the team starting goalie and has gone 4-12-3 between the pipes with a .884 save percentage and a 3.23 goals against average. 
 
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