Coming off the second Frozen Four appearance in three years, the fifth-ranked Clarkson University Women's Hockey team will open the 2016-17 season by hosting Penn State in a weekend series at Cheel Arena.
Clarkson finished the 2015-16 season with a 30-5-5 record, with the season ending in a 3-2 overtime loss to Boston College in the Frozen Four. The biggest challenge for Clarkson will be replacing the four graduated seniors. Erin Ambrose, Shannon MacAulay, Olivia Howe, and Renata Fast left Clarkson with a combined 393 points in 583 games and all four made All-ECAC teams in their respective careers.
Led by ninth-year head coach Matt Desrosiers and assistant coaches Britni Smith and Tony Maci, Clarkson returns its two top scorers and six of the top ten as well as both goaltenders. Captain Cayley Mercer returns after scoring 50 points to lead Clarkson in scoring for the second straight year. Assistant captain Genevieve Bannon also is on board again for Clarkson after a 38 point season and Bannon is now just three points away from 100 in her career. Sophomores Loren Gabel, Rhyen McGill, and Kelly Mariani all return after solid freshman campaigns with assistant captain Lauren Lefler also returning after a career high in points.
Joining Mercer as captain is Savannah Harmon who will be a leader on the blueline. Behind her will be goaltender Shea Tiley who in just two seasons, has already racked up 51 wins, good for second all-time at Clarkson. Corie Jacobson, Josiane Pozzebon, and Emma Keenan round out the returning defensemen while McKenzie Johnson is the second returning goaltender.
Five newcomers join the Golden Knights this season as well. Katherine Beaumier and Michaela Pejzlova will vye for playing time up front, while Ella Shelton and Taylor Turnquist will round out a solid defensive unit. Jenna Brenneman adds dept in the Clarkson crease.
Penn State was 12-19-6 in the 2015-16 season and the Nittany Lions made it to the College Hockey America Semifinal where they fell to Syracuse. This will be the first time Clarkson has ever taken on Penn State. Penn State returns its top two scorers in Amy Peterson (29 points) and Laura Bowman (25 points). The Nittany Lions also return goaltender Hannah Ehresmann who appeared in 15 games last season. Penn State has played one exhibition game to prepare for the season, defeating Guelph 4-1. Four different skaters scored for Penn State as the Nittany Lions jumped out to a 4-0 lead before Guelph scored a consolation goal.
The two teams will meet on both Friday and Saturday. Friday's will start at 6:00 pm while on Saturday, the game will start at 3:00 pm.
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