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Fresh off a weekend sweep to open the home portion of the 2009-10 schedule, the Clarkson University Hockey team will look to continue its strong play at Cheel Arena as it hosts archrival St. Lawrence University in a non-league game on Saturday, beginning at 7:00 p.m.

Guided by seventh-year head coach George Roll, associate coach Greg Drechsel and assistant coach Jean-Francois Houle, the Golden Knights stand at 2-2 overall. The Green and Gold began their 19th season at Cheel with two hard-fought victories, defeating Niagara 4-3 in overtime on Friday, and skating by RIT 5-3 on Saturday. 

Twelve different players recorded points in Clarkson’s nine-goal weekend, and a pair of goaltenders put in two solid outings as the Knights posted their first weekend sweep since January 23-24.

Senior Matt Beca (Mississauga, ONT) highlighted Clarkson’s impressive offensive showing with three goals to extend his season-opening goal-scoring streak. The assistant captain, who was named ECAC Hockey Player of the Week, connected for the Knights’ first game-winning goal of the season with 43.4 seconds left in overtime in the victory over Niagara. He followed the next night with his seventh career two-goal outing in the win over RIT. With five goals through the first four games, Beca is tied for second in the nation in goal scoring.

Looking to close out his collegiate career on a high note, Tim Marks (Brownville, NY) began his senior campaign with a pair of goals, including the game-winner on Saturday. Freshman Adam Pawlick (Utica, NY) made a memorable debut in his first games before the Cheel Arena faithful, scoring a goal in both victories. Clarkson captain Scott Freeman (Whitby, ONT) netted his first career shorthanded tally in the victory on Saturday. The Knights’ leading offensive threat from the blueline, junior defenseman Bryan Rufenach (Cameron, ONT) also scored over the weekend. Sophomore Louke Oakley (Whitby, ONT), who is tied with junior Brandon DeFazio (Oakville, ONT) as Clarkson’s top playmaker, set up four goals in the sweep. DeFazio, an assistant captain, recorded three assists in the wins.

Sophomore Richie LaVeau (Arlington Heights, IL) was impressive in his first game of the season, backboning the Green and Gold to Friday’s overtime triumph with a 34-save effort against Niagara. Not to be outdone, classmate Paul Karpowich (Thunder Bay, ONT) was on top of his game on Saturday, making 42 saves against RIT, one shy of his career-high.

Clarkson, which lost two games at Michigan State (6-1, 4-3) to open the season, will play at defending WCHA Tournament Champion Minnesota-Duluth on October 30-31 before beginning ECAC Hockey action on November 6 at Quinnipiac.

St. Lawrence makes the 11-mile trip down Route 11 to Potsdam with plenty of momentum riding a three-game winning streak. Guided by long-time head coach Joe Marsh, now in his 25th year behind the Saints’ bench, St. Lawrence owns a 3-1 record. This past weekend at Appleton Arena, the Saints knocked off RIT on Friday and then rallied from a 3-0 deficit against Niagara on Saturday to earn a 4-3 victory, scoring the deciding goal with 14.5 seconds left on the clock. St. Lawrence opened the season at the IceBreaker Tournament in Omaha NE on October 9-10, losing to nationally-ranked UMass-Lowell 3-0, before bouncing back with a 5-2 victory over Army.

Clarkson and St. Lawrence will meet again on December 4-5 in a home-and-home ECAC Hockey weekend series, playing in Canton on Friday and in Potsdam on Saturday. 

Quotes From the Coach:
"I thought we did a much better job offensively," stated George Roll about the Knights’ play this past weekend combared to the opening games out at Michigan State. "We were better at getting to the net and finishing. We did a very good job of creating Grade "A" scoring chances. Unlike at Michigan State, where we didn’t finish, we did finish this weekend. A big thing for us coming into the season was improving our offensive output, and I think for the most part in the early going we have done that." 

On the play of Matt Beca, Roll remarked, "Obviously he is off to a very good start, but it is not all about his offensive numbers. He is doing a great job of controlling pucks down low and making plays. He is doing a lot of little things well." 

On the upcoming game against St. Lawrence, Roll stated, "It is a non-league game, but it is still St. Lawrence. Whether it is a league or non-league game against St. Lawrence it is still a rivalry game and I am sure it will be pretty intense. We expect our team to be ready for a solid effort from them. I am sure the place (Cheel) will be packed. The fan support and the student section were outstanding this past weekend. It should be a great game. Both teams swept this past weekend and are riding some momentum coming into it. We are looking forward to the challenge." 

The Series:
The Golden Knights hold an overwhelming 109-61-7 series lead against the Saints, which began with a 1-0 Clarkson victory during the 1925-26 season. The rivalry has been even in the 2000s, however, with the North Country neighbors skating to a 12-12-1 mark during the first decade of the millennium. St. Lawrence holds a 5-4-1 edge over the last 10 meetings.

Clarkson snapped out of a four-game winless funk against their archrivals with 3-1 victory in Potsdam on February 7 in their last meeting. The previous night, the teams skated to a 3-3 tie in Canton. The Saints also took two non-league games from Clarkson last season, winning 5-1 and 2-1 in a home-and-home series in early January. The Knights hold a 17-5-1 advantage over St. Lawrence at Cheel Arena.

Matt Beca leads the Green and Gold in scoring against the Saints with 10 points on six goals and four assists through nine games. Paul Karpowich posts a .895 save percentage, a 2.96 goals against average and a 1-2 record through 142 minutes of play against SLU. Through two games in the series, Richie LaVeau holds a 0-0-1 mark on a .940 save percentage and a 2.37 GAA. George Roll is 7-8-1 against St. Lawrence, while Joe Marsh owns a 25-37-2 mark against Clarkson.

Knight Notes:
Clarkson is 11-6-2 in its first game of the season at Cheel Arena … The Knights are 53-0-4 in their last 57 games when holding a lead through two periods … Clarkson is 0-2 when out shooting opponents and 2-0 when the opponents hold the edge in shots … The Knights are 4-0-5 in their last nine overtime games. They went 3-1-7 last year with the only extra-session loss coming against Canisius (4-3) on November 28 … Matt Beca was named ECAC Hockey Player of the Week after his three-goal weekend. With five goals through the first four games, he is tied for second in the nation in goals scored. Beca’s productive start is the best by a Golden Knight since the 1991-92 campaign when Steve Dubinsky ‘93 opened that season with seven goals in the first four games. Beca is closing in on the century mark with 90 career points on 36 goals and 54 assists through 116 games. … Louke Oakley is tied for the Knights’ scoring lead with one goal and four assists. In 34 games last season he recorded nine points (3-6) … Oakley and Brandon DeFazio share the team lead in assists (4) and plus/minus (+3) … After sitting out the games at Michigan State, Tim Marks made a big impact this weekend with a goal in each game, including the deciding score in Saturday’s victory over RIT. He snapped a 33-game goal-scoring drought with his goal on Friday against Niagara, with his only goal coming last year in the season opener (at RIT on October 17) … Freshman Adam Pawlick (Utica, NY) is the only other Knight with multiple goals after scoring one in both games over the weekend … Standout sophomore defenseman Mark Borowiecki (Kanata, ONT) has a goal and an assist this season, matching his offensive output through 33 games of his rookie campaign ... Richie LaVeau’s 34-save effort in the overtime win against Niagara was his third 30-plus career game … Paul Karpowich posted 42 stops in Saturday’s victory over RIT, one shy of his career-best.