Another chance for postseason success awaits the Clarkson University Hockey team as the Golden Knights get set to battle for the national title. ECAC Hockey Regular Season Champion, Clarkson was one of the 16 teams selected to participate in the 2008 NCAA Tournament, which begins with regional play this weekend.
Guided by fifth-year head coach George Roll, associate coach Greg Drechsel and assistant coach Jean-Francois Houle, the Knights were seeded third in the East Regional, which will be played at the Times Union Center in Albany, NY on March 28-29. The Green and Gold will faceoff against #2-seed St. Cloud State at 4:00 p.m. on Friday in the first round of the regional. Top-seeded Michigan will play #4-seed Niagara in the other East Regional first-round contest at 7:30 p.m. The winners will meet in Saturday’s regional championship game, beginning at 7:00 p.m.
Led by senior captain Nick Dodge (Oakville, ONT) and senior assistant captains Grant Clitsome (Gloucester, ONT) and Steve Zalewski (New Hartford, NY), Clarkson owns a 21-12-4 overall record and is ranked 10th/11th in the national polls. The Knights claimed the program’s 10th ECAC Hockey Regular Season title with a 15-4-3 league mark.
Off for the past week, the Knights did not get a chance to defend their 2007 ECAC Hockey Championship Tournament title in Albany this past weekend after being knocked off by Colgate in the quarterfinal round of the conference playoffs.
Clarkson lost the best-of-three-game series to Colgate 2-1 at Cheel Arena with the eighth-seeded Raiders winning the deciding third game on March 16, 3-2 in double overtime, ending the fifth longest game in Clarkson history after 87:36 of play.
The Knights won the first game of the series 1-0 as Zalewski scored on the power play late in the first period. Senior David Leggio (Williamsville, NY) posted 19 saves for his fifth shutout of the season. Colgate won the second game 4-3, scoring the deciding goal early in the third period.
Sophomore Matt Beca (Mississauga, ONT) paces a balanced Clarkson offense, which is averaging 2.86 goals per game. Ten Golden Knights are recording double figures in the points column, including seven with over 20 points. Beca, a third-team ECAC All-Star, leads the way with 34 points on 10 goals and a team-high 24 assists. A first-team ECAC All-Star, Zalewski follows with 33 points, including a team-high 21 goals. He led the league in goal scoring with 16 in conference action. Junior Chris D’Alvise (Mississauga, ONT) chips in 29 points (12-17) and the ECAC’s Best Defensive Forward, Dodge has scored 26 points (12-14). Dodge, who has a Clarkson career-record nine shorthanded goals, including four this year, headlines the Knights’ penalty-killing unit, which has scored an NCAA-leading 12 shorthanded markers this season. Clitsome, a first-team ECAC All-Star, leads the scoring from the Clarkson blueline with 21 points (5-16).
Leggio, named a second-team conference all-star, backbones the Green and Gold’s defensive effort, which is allowing 2.43 goals per game. Playing in 36 games, including 35 starts, Leggio posts a .918 save percentage and a 2.23 goals against average. He owns a 21-11-4 record, including five shutouts, the most whitewashes by a Clarkson goaltender in 36 seasons.
Quotes From the Coach:
"It took us a couple of days to get over the disappointment of not making it to Albany for our league championships," stated George Roll. "We gave the guys a couple of days off and they seemed refocused. We are certainly excited about the opportunity, especially when we thought the season was over. To get a second life is something we hope to take advantage of."
About playing St. Cloud, Roll remarked, "They are a very skilled team. Obviously they have some firepower up front and they are awfully good on the power play. They have had solid goaltending all year. They are a team, if you give them time and space, that will create problems for you. We have to be real sound defensively, stay disciplined, stay out of the box, and try and play the game 5-on-5. Both teams are very similar in the way we like to play the game. We are very familiar with them, as they are with us. We have to be prepared to play a quality team in St. Cloud."
About playing in Albany, Roll stated. "It is certainly nice to stay close to home. For us, the Times Union Center is a place we have familiarity with. We expect to have a good fan base there."
The Opponents:
The Huskies of St. Cloud State overcame a mid-season slump to earn their seventh trip to the NCAA Tournament. Guided by third-year head coach Bob Motzko, St. Cloud owns a 19-15-5 overall record and finish tied for fourth in the WCHA with a 12-12-4 conference slate. The Huskies enter Albany having posted an 8-2-2 mark since early February. Both losses over the past 12 games have been one-goal setbacks, including a 3-2 defeat to Minnesota in the quarterfinal round of the WCHA Final Five held in Minneapolis this past Thursday in their last game.
Hobey Baker Award finalist Ryan Lasch leads the St. Cloud offense with 53 points, including 25 goals. Jase Weslosky anchors the Huskies in goal with a .931 save percentage, a 2.12 GAA and a 16-12-2 record, including three shutouts through 32 games.
St. Cloud is looking for its initial NCAA postseason victory after going 0-7 in its first six years of tournament action. Last season, the Huskies, along with Clarkson, were in the East Regional in Rochester where they lost to Maine 4-1 in the first round.
The dominant program in the NCAA Tournament since national postseason play began in 1948, no team has made more Frozen Four appearances (22) or won more NCAA national titles (9) than Michigan. The Wolverines record in the NCAA Tournament is 44-23. Michigan’s last national championship came in 1998.
Guided by legendary head coach Red Berenson, now in his 24th-year behind the Wolverines bench, Michigan is making its 18th consecutive appearance in the national tourney. The Wolverines own a 31-5-4 overall record and finished first in the CCHA with a 20-4-4 league mark. Michigan has won four straight, capped off by a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Miami in the CCHA Tournament Championship game on Saturday in Detroit.
A pair of veteran forwards leads the Wolverines high-scoring offense, which is averaging close to four goals per game. Hobey Baker Award finalist Kevin Porter (28-28) and Chad Kolarik (28-20) pace the attack with 56 and 48 points, respectively. Billy Sauer mans the crease for Michigan, posting a .924 save percentage, a 1.97 GAA and a 28-4-3 record, including three shutouts, through 35 games.
Making its third showing on the national stage, the Niagara Purple Eagles are looking to even their record at 2-2 in the NCAA Tournament. In its inaugural NCAA postseason game, Niagara shocked #3-seed University of New Hampshire 4-1 in the 2000 tournament before falling to eventual national champion North Dakota by the same score. The Purple Eagles also played in the 2004 tourney where they fell to Boston College 5-2.
The College Hockey America Tournament Champions, Niagara owns a 22-10-4 overall record and finished second in its conference with a 12-6-2 mark. The Purple Eagles, guided by 7th-year head coach Dave Burkholder, have gone 11-2-3 since mid-January with both losses during that 16-game stretch coming by one goal. Niagara, which did not play last week, won its third straight game by defeating Bemidji State 3-2 in the CHA Tr. title contest on March 16 on its home ice at Dwyer Arena. Vince Rocco and Hogansburg, NY native Ted Cook lead the Niagara offense with 45 (14-31) and 38 (16-22) points respectively. Juliano Pagliero has played 30 games in the Niagara goal and posts a .929 save percentage, a 2.26 GAA and a 17-6-4 record.
The Series:
vs. St. Cloud
Clarkson and St. Cloud split a weekend series in Potsdam earlier this season with the Knights snapping a five–game losing skid to the Huskies by winning the Saturday night contest 3-2 at Cheel Arena on November 24. Captain Nick Dodge scored twice in the win as the Green and Gold overcame a 2-1 deficit midway through the second period. David Leggio made 30 saves. St. Cloud won the first game of the weekend, 4-1.
The Huskies lead the overall series, which began with a 5-4 Clarkson win on October 24, 1987, 5-3. St. Cloud won the only neutral site game between the two teams with a 5-1 victory in the Icebreaker Invitational at Orono, ME on October 12, 2001.
Dodge has a team-high three goals and four points in the series, while Leggio posts a .904 save percentage and a 2.63 goals against average in 205 minutes of action against St. Cloud. He owns a 1-2 record against the Huskies.
vs. Michigan
Clarkson and Michigan have not played each other in almost 50 years. The teams last met in the semifinal game of the 1962 NCAA Tournament with the Knights gaining a 5-4 victory in Utica, the only postseason meeting between the two national powers. The Wolverines took the first two games in the series against Clarkson, winning 6-3 in Potsdam on November 28, 1958, and again at Clarkson Arena on November 27, 1959.
vs. Niagara
The Knights lead the all-time series against Niagara 4-2-1. Clarkson won the last meeting, posting a 7-3 victory in Potsdam on October 6, 2006 for its second straight win in the series. Niagara skated to a 6-3 win at Dwyer Arena on October 7, 2005 for its last win over Clarkson. The Knights won the only neutral site matchup, opening the series with a 5-1 victory in the consolation game of the Syracuse Invitational on December 28, 1997. David Cayer has recorded a team-high five points, including four assists against the Purple Eagles. Nick Dodge leads Clarkson with three goals in the series. David Leggio posts a .882 save percentage, a 3.69 GAA and a 2-1 record through four games against Niagara.
Knight Notes:
Clarkson posts a 4-3 record (all postseason games) at the Times Union Center, including a 1-2 mark in NCAA East Regional games. The Knights’ last NCAA Tournament game in Albany was a 3-1 loss to Colorado College in the first round of the 1998 East Regional. Clarkson’s last win in the national tournament came in the first round of the 1996 East Regional when it defeated Western Michigan 6-1. The Green and Gold lost that year’s quarterfinal game to Boston University 3-2. Clarkson won last year’s ECAC Hockey Championship Tournament at the Times Union Center … After skating on the team which compiled the most losses in the program’s 86-year history (23) as freshmen in 2004-05, Clarkson’s Class of 2008 has helped to lift the Knights back among the nation’s elite. Through their four-year careers, the six Clarkson seniors – Mike Arciero, David Cayer, Grant Clitsome, Nick Dodge, David Leggio and Steve Zalewski – have compiled a 77-61-3 overall record, led the team to back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since the 1997-98 and 1998-99 seasons, won an ECAC Hockey Tournament Championship and a conference regular season title along with making two consecutive showings in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the late 1990s … A second-team conference all-star, Leggio is the first Clarkson goaltender to record back-to-back 20-win seasons since the mid-1990s. He owns a 21-11-4 record this year and has posted the fourth most wins ever for the Knights with a 58-28-12 career mark. Leggio has five shutouts this season, the most by a Clarkson netminder since Wayne Gibbons set the school’s single-season mark with seven in 1961-62. He has eight career whitewashes with three coming in postseason play … Three Knights have reached the century mark this season with Dodge, Cayer and Zalewski putting up 100 career points this winter. The last time Clarkson had three 100-point scorers on the same roster was in 1995-96 when Todd White (124), Steve Palmer (134) and David Seitz (105) led the Knights’ offense … Dodge leads all current Golden Knights with 124 career points (52-72). He has 26 points (12-14) this season, including four power-play goals, four shorthanded markers and four game-winners. Dodge set the Clarkson career record for shorthanded goals with nine … Cayer has 108 career points (39-69), including 21 (9-12) this season ... The leading goal scorer in ECAC Hockey play this season with 16, Zalewski has 21 overall on the year, including a team-high seven on the power play. Clarkson is 11-2-3 when he scores a goal. A first-team league all-star, Zalewski has 33 points this season and 108 (58-50) in his career … Matt Beca paces the balanced Clarkson offense, which has 10 players recording double figures, including seven with more than 20 points. A third-team ECAC All-Star, Beca has 34 points on 10 goals and a team-high 24 assists. He has four shorthanded goals overall and led ECAC Hockey with three shorties in conference play … Clitsome, a First-Team ECAC All-Star, is one of three Knights with 21 points and leads the Clarkson scoring from the blueline with five goals and 16 assists. Clitsome boasts the best plus/minus among all ECAC Hockey players with a +23 rating … Scott Freeman leads the Clarkson rookies in scoring with 16 points (5-11) … The Knights have struggled on the power play for most of the season and tallied just once on the man advantage during the ECAC playoffs. Clarkson connected on its first opportunity against Colgate, but then went scoreless in its remaining 10 attempts against the Raiders in the quarterfinal round. The Knights are 24-171, 14% overall on the power play … On the penalty kill, Clarkson leads the nation in shorthanded goals with 12. The penalty kill is clicking at 83.8% (155-185) … The Knights are 14-0-1 when leading after two periods … Clarkson’s last three seasons have come to an end with overtime losses.
