With a successful start on the road, the two-time defending NCAA National Champion Clarkson University opens the home portion of its schedule this weekend, hosting Robert Morris at Cheel Arena. The Golden Knights, guided by 11th-year Head Coach Matt Desrosiers and assistants Britni Smith and Tony Maci, will face off against the Colonials on Friday at 6:00 p.m. and again on Saturday at 3:00 p.m.
Clarkson displayed its high-powered offense in the two-game sweep over Bemidji State in Minnesota this past weekend, skating by the Beaver 5-1 on Friday and posting a 5-3 victory on Saturday.

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• Clarkson will play 17 regular season games at Cheel and one exhibition contest at home this season.
• Clarkson is 12-2-1 in its first 15 home-openers and has won the first game at Cheel the past seven seasons. The Green and Gold are 203-64-30 all-time at Cheel for a .734 winning percentage on their home ice. The Knights went 19-2 last year in Potsdam with both losses coming in overtime.
• Ranked No.1 in both national polls, the Knights have won their last 12 games since losing 2-0 at Princeton on February 9. Clarkson's last loss in Cheel came on November 17 with a 3-2 overtime setback to Quinnipiac.
• Clarkson received a balanced offensive effort in the wins at Bemedji State with eight players accounting for the 10 goals. 
• Kelly Mariani, who was the only Knight to score a goal in both game at Bemidji State, was named ECAC Hockey Player of the Week. Mariani, a senior right wing, scored the opening goal in both games tallied one assist. 
• Kassidy Sauve made an impressive debut in goal for the Knights after an all-star career at Ohio State. The graduate student combined for 61 saves in the two-game road sweep to finish with a .938 save percentage. She turned aside 29 shots in Friday's win, allowing only a Bemidji State power-play goal, and followed with 32 saves, including 16 first-period stops, in Saturday's victory.
• Junior center Michaela Pejzlova also scored two goals over the weekend with both tallies coming in Friday's victory.  She is closing in on century mark with 39 goals and 51 assists for 90 points in 80 career games.
• The other standout graduate transfer on the Clarkson roster, T.T. Cianfarano put up four points on the weekend with a goal and three assists. Cianfarano was the 2016 ECAC Hockey Player of the Year in her sophomore season at Quinnipiac.
• With the graduation loss of two-time All-American Savannah Harmon, Clarkson will be looking for someone to fill her offensive role on the blueline. Junior assistant captain Ella Shelton looks to be ready to take on the challenge after recording two points in each game against Bemidji State, finishing with one goal and three assists. 
• Senior Loren Gabel, who was a Top 3 Finalist for the 2018 Patty Kazmaier Award, tallied three points over the weekend, including the game-winning goal in Saturday's victory for her 15th career game-winner. She led the Knights with eight last season. Jamie Lee Rattray '14 holds the Clarkson record with 20 career game-winners. Gabel ranks sixth on the Green and Gold's all-time scoring list with 147 points (77-70) in 124 games. She is three goals shy of tying Cayley Mercer '17 for most career goals and is 34 points shy of tying Rattray's career point mark.
• Senior forward Cassidy Vinkle will serve as the Green and Gold's captain, while defenders, senior Josiane Pozzebon and Shelton will act as assistant captains. 
• Vinkle and Pozzebon were both key contributors in the sweep of Bemidji State. Vinkle scored a goal and an assist in Friday's win and added an assist on Saturday. Pozzebon recorded an assist Friday and a goal Saturday.
• After a record-shattering 71-point freshman campaign, sophomore right wing Elizabeth Giguere continued her scoring touch over the weekend with a goal and an assist in Saturday's victory,
• Junior defenseman Taylor Turnquist enjoyed a productive weekend, setting up three goals from the blueline.
• The Knights went 5-0-0 against College Hokcey America (CHA) competition last season.
• Clarkson will hold its third NCAA National Championship Banner Day ceremony in five years when the Green and Gold raise the 2018 Banner to go alongside the 2014 and 2017 Banners on Saturday, October 20 prior to the 3:00 p.m. non-league game against St. Lawrence.

The Series:
The Golden Knights have seen plenty of success in their history against Robert Morris. Clarkson has faced off against the Colonials six times and owns a 4-1-1 record in those contests. The Golden Knights have won all three matchups played at Cheel Arena, although the last home game was played on November 11, 2006.The last time the Knights and the Colonials met was during the 2016-2017 season when the two played to a 3-3 draw at the Windjammer Classic in Vermont. Clarkson would end up winning the shootout 2-1 in five rounds. Nine current Knights skated in that contest totaling two goals and three assists for five points. The Golden Knights have only allowed seven goals in their six meetings, and have shut the Colonials out on three occasions. 

Scouting Robert Morris
Robert Morris comes into this year's campaign with lots of confidence after a first-place CHA finish last season. Robert Morris finished with a conference record of 14-3-3, good enough for 31 points and the top seed in the CHA tournament. The Colonials finished their season with a 21-8-4 overall finish after falling to CHA rival Mercyhurst by a score of 5-3 in the conference final. Robert Morris, who was the #9 team in the nation prior to the loss, did not receive a bid to the NCAA Tournament as a result giving Mercyhurst the automatic bid, and a chance to play the Golden Knights at Cheel Arena, which the Golden Knights won 2-1 in overtime. Robert Morris will be looking to bounce back and get back to the NCAA Tournament which they last reached in the 2016-17 season. This past weekend the Colonials opened their season at home, splitting a series against St. Lawrence losing 2-0 and winning 3-2 in overtime. Jaycee Gebhard led the Colonials with two points on two assists over the weekend. Kirsten Welsh, Emily Curlett, and Mackenzie Krasowski provided the three goals on Saturday. Gebhard and Welsh who were second and third in scoring last season will lead the offensive effort after losing their top scorer a year ago. After graduating their top goalie a season ago, Senior Lauren Bailey looks to get the majority of the time in goal for Robert Morris. Bailey only saw four starts and six games in total last season. posting a 1-2 record with a 3.74 goals against average and a .857 save percentage. Bailey is off to a much better start so far this year and enters the weekend 1-1 with a .900 SP and a 1.99 GAA.