CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Clarkson Women's Hockey will look to carry its strong October play into conference competition when the Golden Knights face Harvard today at 4 p.m. at Bright-Landry Hockey Center.

Clarkson enters its ECAC Hockey opener with an 8-2-0 record and six consecutive victories. Friday's matchup begins a two-game road weekend that continues Saturday at Dartmouth. 

The Golden Knights have combined consistent scoring with stingy defensive play during their winning streak, outscoring opponents 28-4. Clarkson has surrendered one goal or fewer in each of those six games, including shutout victories over St. Lawrence and Franklin Pierce.  That momentum continued last weekend at Cheel Arena, where Clarkson swept Providence with 5-1 and 6-1 victories. The Golden Knights have scored at least five goals in each of their last three outings, producing 18 goals while allowing just two.

Today's contest marks the start of league play, but the Knights will have to get through these next few weeks without the services of Sara Manness and Aneta Senkova, who are both off to the Women's World Championships in Denmark.  After opening October with two losses at UConn, Clarkson rebounded with a 4-0 victory at St. Lawrence before winning five straight home games. The trip to Cambridge marks the Golden Knights' first road appearance since that shutout in Canton.

Against Harvard, Clarkson will aim to establish offensive-zone pressure early while maintaining the defensive discipline that has fueled its recent success. Sustaining possession, creating traffic around the net and limiting transition opportunities will be central to the Golden Knights' pursuit of their first conference victory.

The start of ECAC play adds significance to a weekend that opens a stretch of four consecutive conference road games. Following Harvard and Dartmouth, Clarkson visits RPI and Union next weekend before returning to Cheel Arena.

Friday's game will be available on ESPN+. The Golden Knights complete the weekend Saturday with a 3 p.m. matchup against Dartmouth at Thompson Arena.