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With a winless stretch behind them and a lengthy road trip upcoming, the Golden Knights of the Clarkson University Hockey team will look to build upon the momentum from Saturday’s victory over Dartmouth as they skate in two non-league games this weekend.

Guided by first-year head coach Casey Jones and assistant coaches Phil Roy ’00 and Andy Jones, Clarkson enters the Thanksgiving Holiday with a 7-4-3 overall record and is tied for seventh in the ECAC Hockey standings with a 2-3-1 league mark. The Knights, led by senior captain Jake Morley (Ogdensburg, NY) and assistant captains, grad student Nick Tremblay (Candiac, QUE) and sophomore Ben Sexton (Kanata, ONT), take a break from conference play this weekend by opening a nine-game road trip. Clarkson plays Hockey East foe University of Maine in Portland, ME on Saturday at 7:00 .m. and at Atlantic Hockey’s Holy Cross in Worcester, MA on Sunday at 5:00 p.m.

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Playing in their final home games during the 2011 portion of the schedule the Green and Gold gained a spilt at Cheel Arena over the weekend. On Friday, Clarkson lost a tight 3-2 game to Harvard, but came back on Saturday to snap a four-game (0-3-1) winless drought with a convincing 4-0 triumph over Dartmouth.

Senior Paul Karpowich (Thunder Bay, ONT) made 37 saves and Morley recorded his first career two-goal game in the win over the Big Green. Sophomore Allan McPherson (Kinburn, ONT) and junior Adam Pawlick (Utica, NY) also scored in the win, helping the Green and Gold to their first victory since November 4. Dartmouth outshot the Knights 37-31, but Karpowich was on top of his game once again in the Clarkson crease making 16 first-period stops, seven saves in the middle stanza and 14 more in the final frame for his third shutout of the season and fifth career whitewash.

An inability to capitalize with the man advantage cost Clarkson against Harvard. The Green and Gold went 1-of-7 on the power play. Trailing 3-2 late in the game, the Knights had a five-minute major man-advantage opportunity in the final five minutes, but could not capitalize. Tremblay and sophomore Matt Zarbo (Grand Island, NY) scored goals while Karpowich posted 24 saves.

Clarkson and Maine will become familiar with each other as the first half of the season winds down. The Knights play the Black Bears twice on neutral ice over the next several weeks, beginning with Saturday’s game in Portland. Clarkson and Maine will also face off in the opening round of the Everblades College Classic in Florida on December 29.

Maine, which hosts the USA Under-18 team in an exhibition contest in Orono, ME on Wednesday, enters the week looking to break out of a five-game (0-4-1) winless skid. In its lone action this past weekend, the Black Bears squandered a 2-0 first-period advantage in a 2-2 tie on the road at UMass. Guided by head coach Tim Whitehead, the Black Bears’ last tasted victory with a sweep of Providence (5-4, 3-1) at Alfond Arena on October 28-29. Maine stands at 4-5-3 overall and is tied for eighth in Hockey East with a 3-5-1 league mark.

Holy Cross, guided by head coach Paul Pearl, takes a 4-6 overall record into Saturday’s game against Brown, which begins a five-game home stand for the Crusaders. Holy Cross suffered a sweep at RIT (2-0, 6-5) over the weekend to see its Atlantic Hockey mark fall to 3-4. The Crusaders, who have played eight of their first 10 games on the road, are 2-0 at the Hart Recreation Center.

The Series:
The last time, Maine and Clarkson faced off, the Black Bears earned a 5-3 victory in the opening round of the 2007 Florida College Classic on December 28 to increase their lead in the all-time series to 8-5-1. Clarkson and Maine began the rivalry on February 29, 1980 with the Knights gaining an 11-2 victory in Potsdam. The Black Bears own a 7-1-1 advantage over the past nine meetings, including three straight victories over the Green and Gold all on neutral ice. Clarkson picked up its last series win with a 3-2 triumph on January 12, 1996.

Sunday’s game will be the first-ever meeting between Clarkson and Holy Cross.

Knight Notes:
Clarkson’s upcoming nine-game road trip is the longest in the program’s history during the regular season since the 1938-39 campaign when the Green and Gold played 12 straight away from Potsdam … The Knights are 1-2-3 away from Cheel Arena this season … After posting two shutouts through his first 93 games, Paul Karpowich has backstopped the Knights to three whitewashes in the first 14 games this season. He is tied for second in the country with shutouts. Karpowich has started the last 37 games in the Clarkson goal and 104 during his career. Karpowich, who was named ECAC Hockey/Fischer Hockey Goaltender of the Month for October, is ranked among the Top 10 in two national goaltending categories. He boasts a .943 save percentage (2nd) and a 1.76 goals against average (6th). He was named to the ECAC weekly Honor Roll for the fifth time this season after combining for 61 saves on 64 shots over the weekend … With three freshmen, two sophomorea and two juniors on the blueline, Clarkson is allowing only 1.86 goals per game, sixth best in the NCAA ... Clarkson’s captain Jake Morley scored the game-winner and also tallied the Knights’ third goal in the win over Dartmouth for his first career multiple-goal game … Junior defenseman Nik Pokulok (Vaudreuil-Dorion, QUE) picked up his first points of the season with two assists in Saturday’s win … Senior center Corey Tamblyn (Bobcaygeon, ONT) also set up two goals in the victory … After missing the previous two games with an injury, Clarkson’s leading scorer Louke Oakley (Whitby, ONT) recorded an assist in each game over the weekend to increase his team point total to 14 (6-8). He has at least one point in 10 of his first 12 games … Matt Zarbo scored on the power play against Harvard for the Knights’ first goal on the man advantage in four games … Clarkson, which was 12-of -44 (27%) on the power play in the first eight non-league games, is just 2-of-27 (.07%) in the first six ECAC Hockey games … Ben Sexton, the Knights’ leader in power-play goals with three, has missed the past six games with an injury … Sophomore defenseman Chase Fuchs (Severna Park, MD) made his collegiate debut in Saturday’s shutout over Dartmouth. He played a solid role on the penalty-killing unit which held the Big Green scoreless on five power-play chances … Freshman defenseman James Howden (Edgeley, SASK) recorded his first collegiate point, an assist, in the win over Dartmouth … Sophomore defenseman David Pratt (Napanee, ONT) has left the team and is playing for the Wellington Dukes in the OJHL … Clarkson took the initial lead in a game for the first time since the 3-2 win at Bentley (10/28) when Morley opened the scoring against Dartmouth … The Knights are 6-0-1 when scoring first and 7-0-2 when leading through 40 minutes.

CLARKSON in the NCAA RANKINGS - (Nov. 20)

- TEAM -

Scoring Offense - T-27th (2.86)
Scoring Defense - 6th (1.86)
Scoring Margin - T-11th (1,00)
Power Play - T-20th (14-71, 19.7%)
Penalty Kill - 14th (69-79, 87.3%)
Penalty Minutes - 9th (16.9)

- Individual - Top 20 in NCAA

Shorthanded Goals - Tansey, Burton T-6th (1)
Game-Winning Goals - McPherson, Oakley T-3rd (3)

Save Percentage - Karpowich 3rd (.943%)
Goals Against Average - Karpowich 6th (1.76)
Shutouts - Karpowich T-2nd (3)