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Shelton19-11

Clarkson Opens 17th Season With Weekend Series Vs Syracuse

9/25/2019 9:57:00 AM

Winners of three NCAA National Championships in the past six years, the Clarkson University Women's Hockey team will open its 17th season of Division I play this weekend. The Golden Knights, guided by 12th-year Head Coach Matt Desrosiers and assistants Britni Smith and Tony Maci, take on Syracuse in a home-and-home series. Clarkson faces off against the Orange in Central NY on Friday at 6:00 p.m. then opens the 16-game home slate at Cheel Arena hosting their NYS rival on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. Following the game, Clarkson will hold its annual "Skate With a Knight". The Green and Gold graduated a gifted group from last year's team, which advanced to the NCAA Frozen Four for the fourth consecutive season to cap off a 30-8-2 season, but with 14 letterwinners, including nine with NCAA Championship rings, to lead the way Clarkson should once again be a force.

Among the departed seniors, 2019 Patty Kazmaier Award winner Loren Gabel, the Knights' all-time leading scorer will be missed. Several standouts are back, however, along with the addition of three talented transfers and six promising freshmen to provide Clarkson with a roster capable of challenging for ECAC Hockey and NCAA supremacy.

The nation's top offensive force from last year, junior Elizabeth Giguere and senior Michaela Pejzlova highlight a deep group of forwards. Seniors Ella Shelton and Taylor Turnquist anchor a solid blueline brigade, while three goaltenders, junior transfer Amanda Zeglen, sophomore Marie-Pier Coulombe and freshman Marie Dedert will backstop the Knights.

• Clarkson was chosen the preseason favorite in the ECAC Hockey Coaches Poll and is ranked third in the nation by the USCHO.com Preseason Poll.
• Giguere, a right wing, was named USCHO.com 2019 Player of the Year and was a Top 10 Finalist for the Kazmaier Award. Giguere totaled 73 points and was Division I's leading playmaker with 47 assists last season. Through just 81 career games, the two-time All-America has amassed 144 career points (53-91) and is on pace to shatter Gabel's record of 213 points before her tenure in Potsdam is complete.
• Centering the top line in the nation the past two seasons, Pejzlova has been a catalyst for the Green and Gold's offensive proficiency with 142 career points (56-86) in 118 games. The Third-Team ECAC All-Star was fifth in the nation in points last year, recording 19 goals and 36 assists.
• After sitting out last year recovering from an injury, Rhyen McGill will provide a big boost to the lineup in her senior campaign. Closing in on the century mark, McGill plays a well-rounded game with 42 goals and 42 assists along with a solid +56 plus/minus rating through her career.
• Senior transfers Caitrin Lonergan, a 2018 Top 10 Kazmaier Finalist at Boston College, and Kayla Friesen, a standout at St. Cloud, add to influx of talent up front.
• The cornerstone of the Green and Gold defense, Shelton, Clarkson's captain is one of the nation's better two-way defenders, providing standout play at both ends of the ice. The Second-Team ECAC All-Star paced Clarkson's offensive effort from the blueline with 25 points (6-19) in 2018-19 and is closing in on becoming only the third Clarkson defender all-time to reach the century mark with 75 career points (17-58) through her first three seasons.
• The Knights went 14-3-1 in non-league games last season and were perfect at Cheel with a 9-0-0 mark against teams outside ECAC Hockey competition.

The Series:
Since the 2010-11 season when the Golden Knights and the Orange faced off for the first time, Clarkson has won 16 out of 18 games (16-1-1). The Knights are currently on a five-game winning streak against Syracuse and have an unbeaten streak of 16 games (15-0-1) dating back to 2010. Clarkson and Syracuse have played a home-and-home series every season since 2010, often times traversing I-81 to play in consecutive days. The Golden Knights are undefeated at Tennity Ice Pavilion with a record of 8-0-1 and are 8-1-0 against the Orange at Cheel Arena. The lone Orange victory came in 2010 when Syracuse beat the Green and Gold 3-1 in Potsdam. Last season Clarkson defeated the Orange in the Salt City 6-2 behind a big day from the Knights' top line. Michaela Pejzlova dialed up a hat trick in the game and added two helpers. Elizabeth Giguere (1-3) and Loren Gabel (1-5) each scored a goal and had eight assists collectively. The following night was much closer as a last minute Orange goal sent the game into an overtime period at 3-3. The Knights would get a goal 1:20 into the extra session to skate off with the victory. Pejzlova (5-6-11) and line mate Giguere (3-7-10) lead the offensive effort and have each tallied double digit points in the series. 

Scouting Syracuse
Syracuse's 2018-19 season was one to remember as the team earned the CHA Championship and punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history. The Orange drew the proverbial short straw and had to take on #1 seed Wisconsin whom they lost to 6-1 and 9-1 earlier in the year. The Orange kept the game within reach in the first period before ultimately falling 4-0 to the Badgers. Syracuse finished the season with a 13-22-3 record overall and was 10-8-2 in CHA play. Syracuse enters the regular season with an unofficial win under their belt after defeating Montreal 4-1 in exhibition play on Sunday in Syracuse. The Orange had four different players score in the game with Lauren Bellefontaine tallying assists on two of the goals. The Orange will have a hole to fill offensively and on the blue line after losing leading scorer Allie Monroe (5-22-27) to graduation. Syracuse will look to their young core to provide added offense this season. Emma Polaski (11-10-21), Abby Moloughney (10-12-22), and Lauren Bellefontaine (7-13-20) each put up 20 points plus last season and will likely occupy the top line for the Orange.  Ady Cohen returns in goal for her senior season and will likely be Paul Flanagan's top option in net. Cohen was the backup a season ago but was the starter in three of the biggest games for the Orange last year. Cohen helped Syracuse beat Mercyhurst (4-3) in the CHA semifinal and Robert Morris (6-2) in the CHA championship to earn the NCAA tournament bid. The now senior goaltender faced 47 shots against Wisconsin and fought valiantly to keep the Orange in the game making 43 saves. Cohen went 5-7-1 in 13 starts last year with a 2.75 goals against average with a .893 save percentage.  
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