PDF of weekly release
With three consecutive wins at Cheel Arena, the Clarkson University Hockey team will look to carry over its strong play at home to the road when it travels to WCHA foe Minnesota-Duluth for a pair of 8:00 p.m. EST games this Friday and Saturday at the Duluth Entertainment & Convention Center (DECC).
Guided by seventh-year head coach George Roll, associate coach Greg Drechsel and assistant coach Jean-Francois Houle, the Golden Knights stand at 3-2 overall after a convincing 4-1 victory over archrival St. Lawrence before 3,843 North Country fans in Potsdam this past Saturday.
After opening the season on October 9-10 with a pair of losses at Michigan State (6-1, 4-3), the Green and Gold began their current winning streak with a 4-3 victory over Niagara and a 5-3 triumph over RIT at Cheel on October 16-17.
Against St. Lawrence, Clarkson combined a fast start, solid goaltending, strong specialty teams play, and balanced offensive contribution to earn their 110th all-time win over its archrival. Sophomore Paul Karpowich (Thunder Bay, ONT) turned in a 30-save effort and four different Knights scored goals to highlight the victory. Clarkson, which jumped out to a 3-1 first-period lead, received goals from junior captain Scott Freeman (Whitby, ONT) and junior defenseman Bryan Rufenach (Cameron, ONT), and sophomores Julien Cayer (Longueuil, QUE) and Nick Tremblay (Candiac, QUE). Clarkson excelled in specialty teams play, posting its best effort on the power play in almost three years going 3-of-9 with the man-advantage, while killing off six of seven St. Lawrence power-play chances.
The Knights continue play on the road following this weekend’s games when it opens ECAC Hockey play at Quinnipiac and Princeton on November 6-7.
Minnesota-Duluth enters the weekend with a 3-2-1 overall record and stands at 2-1-1 in the WCHA. The Bulldogs, guided by 10th-year head coach Scott Sandelin, saw a three-game unbeaten streak (2-0-1) come to an end when they lost 4-2 at St. Cloud State on Saturday. On Friday, Minnesota-Duluth skated to a 3-3 tie against the Huskies. The Bulldogs are 3-1 at the DECC this season having defeated Lake Superior (4-3) and Minnesota State (5-2, 3-2). UMD’s lone loss at home was a 3-1 setback to Northern Michigan on October 11.
Quotes From the Coach:
"I think the biggest thing for us is just how hard we have worked," stated George Roll on the key to the Knights’ recent success. "We are competing hard and that was a big point of emphasis coming into the season. Our play on specialty teams has gone very well in the past three games. Again, I think that is a reflection on how hard we are working. When you work hard, compete for loose pucks, drive to the net, create screens, and pick up rebounds in front, you tend to get goals and that is what we are doing right now."
On this weekend’s series at Minnesota-Duluth, Roll remarked, "Watching them on tape, they have some very dynamic forwards and they are solid on the blueline and in net. It is going to be a tough series for us. We have to go in there and play the way we have over the last three games. We have been able to take care of home ice so far this year, now we have to get it done on the road. We have to play with that same type of enthusiasm and intensity that we have shown at home and compete hard against a very good hockey team."
The Series:
Clarkson and Minnesota-Duluth are tied in their brief series history with each program claiming two victories. The teams last played 12 seasons ago with the Bulldogs skating to a 5-2 win in the opening round of the 1997 Syracuse Invitational Tournament on December 27. In its only appearance at the Duluth Entertainment & Convention Center, the Knights were edged by UMD in the 1984 NCAA Tournament total-goal first round series. Clarkson lost the first game 6-2 and won the second game 6-3, but fell one-goal short for the weekend (9-8). The Knights won the first meeting, shutting out the Bulldogs 6-0 in first round of the Hartford Tournament in Connecticut on January 3, 1981.
Knight Notes:
This past Saturday, the Knights gained their 110th all-time victory against archrival St. Lawrence, winning a non-league contest 4-1 before the fifth largest crowd ever (3,843) at 19-year-old Cheel Arena. The top 10 attendances at Clarkson involve St. Lawrence as the opponent. The Knights and Saints meet again at Cheel for an ECAC Hockey game on December 5 … Clarkson has drawn over 3,100 fans at the 3,000-seat arena in each of its first three home games … The Knights scored three power-play goals in a game for the first time in almost three years when they went 3-of-9 with the man-advantage against St. Lawrence. The last time Clarkson scored more than two goals on the power play in a game was in a 4-1 victory at Yale on December 1, 2006 (4-of-9) … Paul Karpowich was named ECAC Hockey Goaltender of the Week. He made 30 saves, including 13 in the third period, and was the Knights’ best penalty-killer, making 11 stops on St. Lawrence power play chances as the visitors went just 1-of-7 with the man advantage this past Saturday … Sophomore Louke Oakley (Whitby, ONT) paces the Knights’ offense in the early going with seven points on one goal and six assists. He tallied nine points (3-6) in 34 games as a rookie … Junior assistant captain Brandon DeFazio (Oakville, ONT) shares the playmaking lead with Oakley, recording six assists … One of four Knights with five points, Scott Freeman has a four-game point scoring streak, along with Oakley and DeFazio. Freeman has two goals, including a power-play marker against SLU, and three assists … Bryan Rufenach leads the scoring from the blueline with two goals and three assists. He tallied a power-play marker and one assists in the win over the Saints … Nick Tremblay scored his first goal of the year, a power-play tally, and one assist on Saturday, and also has five points (1-4) … Senior assistant captain Matt Beca (Mississauga, ONT) saw his season-opening goal-scoring streak stopped at five when he was held off the scoresheet on Saturday … Julien Cayer connected for his first collegiate game-winning score with his first goal of the season in the victory over the Saints … Clarkson is 54-0-4 in its last 58 games when holding the lead through two periods … The Knights are 3-6-3 against WCHA teams during George Roll’s first six years as head coach.
Can't make it to the game? Follow the Golden Knights over the Internet at
Clarkson Hockey Broadcast Central
with live video, internet radio broadcast and live in-game scoring.
