ECAC Hockey action returned in earnest for Clarkson University this past weekend with a convincing sweep on the road over RPI and Union. The Golden Knights will now look to build off of their success in NY's Capital District as they strive to gain league points and make a run for their third consecutive conference regular-season title.

Clarkson is tied for third place in the ECAC Hockey standings with a 7-3 conference mark. With 12 games remaining on the schedule, the Green and Gold are 11 points out of first place, but have four games in hand on league-leader Princeton.  The Knights are ranked sixth in the national polls with a 16-5-1 overall record.

Guided by 11th-year Head Coach Matt Desrosiers and assistants Britni Smith and Tony Maci, Clarkson begins a four-game home stand at Cheel Arena this weekend. The Knights host  Yale on Friday at 6:00 p.m. and Brown on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. (originally scheduled for 3pm - changed to severe winter storm warning) in their first ECAC Hockey home weekend since early November.

Clarkson vs Yale-Brown Weekend release
ECAC Hockey Standings
USCHO.com Poll
USA Today Poll
NCAA Pairwise Rankings
Coaches Corner with Mike Vaillancourt, B99.3 radio 
 

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• After this weekend, the Knights play six games at home and four on the road to close out the regular season. Clarkson, which hosts Harvard and Dartmouth on January 25-26, enters this weekend a perfect 9-0-0 at Cheel. The Knights are 7-4 on opponents' home ice.
• After dropping the first game against the Bulldogs this season, the Golden Knights have a 23-6-1 all-time mark vs Yale. Clarkson entered the season on an eight-game win streak against the Bulldogs, which was broken in a 5-1 loss in New Haven, CT on November 17. Clarkson has lost back-to-back games to the Bulldogs only once in its history, during the 2004-05 season
• The Knights have been very successful against Brown, boasting a 23-4-3 in 30 previous contests. In this season's earlier matchup at Brown, Clarkson jumped out to a five-goal lead in the second period en route to a 9-1 win in Providence on November 16. 
• In its first ECAC Hockey games since early December, Clarkson hit on all cylinders this past weekend scoring 11 goals in two games while all three goaltenders played, combining for 44 saves on 45 shots.
• The Knights got goals from five different players in Friday's 5-1 win at RPI. Kassidy Sauve (10) and Kia Castonguay (8) teamed up for 18 saves in the Green and Gold's ninth consecutive victory over the Engineers.
• Freshman Marie-Pier Coulombe posted 26 saves in Saturday's 6-0 win at Union for the Knights' 18th shutout in 32 games against the Dutchwomen. Loren Gabel tied the Clarkson record for most career points (181) by recording her sixth hat trick as a Golden Knight.
• Boasting three of the top five scorers in the country, Clarkson is averaging 3.86 goals per game, ranking third offensively in the nation.
• Defensively, the Green and Gold are ranked 10th nationally, allowing a paltry 1.95 goals per game.
• Clarkson's scoring margin is 1.91, fourth best in Division I.
• Gabel is tied with 2014 Patty Kazmaier winner Jamie Lee Rattray '14 for most points at Clarkson. A Top 3 Finalist for the Kazmaier Award last season, Gabel has amassed a school-record 95 goals to go along with 86 assists in 142 career games. The senior left wing is second in the nation in scoring, averaging 1.85 points per game on 19 goals and 18 assists through 20 games this season.
• Elizabeth Giguere leads the country in points with 40 through 22 games, recording 15 goals and tied as the NCAA leading playmaker with 25 assists. Giguere, who reached Clarkson's Century Club faster than any other Golden Knight, has 111 career points (42-69) in just 63 games. The 2018 All-American has three power-play tallies, three shorthanded goals and connected for one game-winner this season. 
• Michaela Pejzlova is fifth in the nation for points per game with 14 goals and 21 assists for 35 points in 22 contests. She matched a game career high for points with two goals and three assists in Saturday's win at Union. Pejzlova has accumulated 122 career points on 51 goals and 71 assists in 100 games. 
• T.T. Cianfarano has been a nice addition to the Clarkson lineup, and rounds out the Knights forwards with 20-or-more points. She has tallied 12 goals and 11 assists.  The graduate transfer has scored a team-high four game-winners and chipped in three power-play markers along with a shorthanded tally.  Cianfarano was ECAC Hockey Player of the Year in her sophomore campaign (2015-16) at Quinnipiac, where she ranked as one of the Bobcats' all-time leading scorers, averaging nearly a point per game with 58 goals and 52 assists through 109 games.
• Junior Ella Shelton leads the Green and Gold in scoring from the blueline with 17 points, including 15 assists, ranking eighth in the country for points per game (0.80) among defensemen.
• Backstopping Clarkson's 10th-ranked defense, Sauve posts a .927 save percentage and a 1.88 goals against average en route to a 13-4-1 record and three shutouts (tied for 9th in the nation) through 18 starts. A graduate transfer form Ohio State, where she gained All-American accolades, Sauve has been named ECAC Hockey Goaltender of the Week three times (10/1, 11/26, 12/10) this season and was named the league's Goaltender of the Month for December.
• Freshman Morgan Helgeson leads the Green and Gold rookies in scoring with  four goals, with three of them coming against St. Lawrence.
• Senior defenseman Emma Keenan leads the Knights in blocked shots, 44. She enjoyed a four-point weekend (1-3), including a career-high three assist game in the win at RPI.
• Clarkson has outscored the opponents 43-13 in the second period.

Vs. Yale:  After dropping the first game against the Bulldogs this season, the Golden Knights have a 23-6-1 all-time mark vs Yale. Clarkson entered the season on an eight-game win streak against the Bulldogs, which was broken in a 5-1 loss in New Haven, CT on November 17. Clarkson has lost back-to-back games to the Bulldogs only once in its history. During the 2004-05 season the Green and Gold lost 2-1 and 2-0. Since that season the Knights have responded to defeats against the Bulldogs by going 5-0 in the ensuing matchup. Clarkson has lost to Yale just twice at Cheel Arena, owning a 13-2-0 record in Potsdam. Clarkson and Yale played three games at Cheel a season ago, including two ECAC Quarterfinal matchups. The Knights came out on top in each of the three games, holding the Bulldogs to one goal in all three contests. Loren Gabel and Michaela Pejzlova lead the offensive effort against Yale. Gabel has amassed 14 points over her career against the Bulldogs, recording six goals and eight assists. Pejzlova has scored four goals and has assisted on seven others for 11 points. 

Vs. Brown: The Knights have been very successful against Brown, boasting a 23-4-3 in 30 previous contests. In this season's earlier matchup at Brown, Clarkson jumped out to a five goal lead in the second period en route to a 9-1 win in Providence on November 16. Tia Stoddard had a career day, scoring two goals and assisting on two more for a four-point day. Clarkson has been nearly unbeatable at Cheel against Brown going 12-1-1 in 14 games. Loren Gabel is averaging a little over two points per game against the Bears, scoring 11 goals and adding four assists in only seven contests. Kia Castonguay earned her first win as a Golden Knight in the first matchup this season, turning away 17 of Brown's 18 shots on goal. 

Scouting Yale: Since its surprising victory over Clarkson in November, Yale has struggled to get into the win column. The Bulldogs went on a five-game losing streak following the matchup and are 3-6 since. Yale sits at 5-12-0 overall and 4-6-0 in the ECAC, slotting them in ninth place. Yale played a home and home this past weekend against their travel partner, Brown, with the Bulldogs winning both (5-2, 4-1). Through 17 games this season, Yale has played just five on the road, going 2-3 in those games. 

Scouting Brown: The Bears started off the season strong with five wins it their first seven games, including wins over Colgate and Cornell on back-to-back nights, but the team has struggled mightily since that sweep. Since beating Cornell, the Bears have gone on a nine-game winless skid (0-8-1). Brown has a record of 5-11-1 and is 2-7-1 in conference play, placing them in 10th place in the ECAC prior to Friday's game at St. Lawrence.