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Searching for answers in hopes of turning a disappointing season around, the Clarkson University Hockey team takes to the road for four straight games, beginning with this weekend’s trip to Central NY. The Golden Knights, guided by seventh-year head coach George Roll, associate coach Greg Drechsel and newly hired assistant coach Chris Rogles ’93, will look to generate some momentum as the regular season begins to wind down as they face off against Colgate and Cornell for the second time in three weeks.
On Friday, Clarkson battles Colgate in a 7:00 p.m. contest at Starr Rink in Hamilton, NY, in a game to be televised live by Time Warner Cable. The Green and Gold travel to Ithaca on Saturday to take on nationally-ranked Cornell in a 7:00 p.m. game at Lynah Rink.
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With 10 games remaining on the schedule, Clarkson owns a 5-16-3 overall record and is in 12th place in ECAC Hockey with a 1-9-2 league mark. A recently completed six-game home stand at Cheel Arena did not go as planned as the Knights went just 1-4-1, including 0-4 in conference action, to start the New Year in Potsdam. Clarkson dropped a pair of 3-2 decisions over the weekend, falling to Yale and Brown to see their current winless skid reach five games (0-4-1).
The Green and Gold put in a solid effort against 5th/6th-ranked Yale this past Friday and received a 41-save effort from sophomore goaltender Paul Karpowich (Thunder Bay, ONT). However, the Bulldogs benefited from a lucky break early in the first with a deflected goal off a Clarkson stick, and struck twice on the power play to pull out the one-goal victory.
A slow start was the downfall for the Knights on Saturday night as Brown used a three-goal spurt in the first period and then held off Clarkson over the final 40 minutes to snap a seven-game losing stretch to the Green and Gold.
Clarkson is 1-7-2 on opponents’ home ice this season. The Knights’ lone win on the road was a 3-2 victory at Dartmouth on November 20, which is also their only ECAC Hockey triumph.
Colgate stands at .500 with a 9-9-5 overall record and is in a three-way tie for sixth place in the conference standings with a 6-4-1 league mark. The Raiders, guided by 17th-year head coach Don Vaughan, are on a three-game unbeaten streak (2-0-1), which began with a 6-2 victory at Clarkson on January 16. This past weekend, Colgate posted a 4-1 win and a 3-3 tie in non-league action against Robert Morris in Hamilton. The Raiders’ last loss was a 4-0 setback at St. Lawrence on January 15. Colgate is 5-2-3 at Starr Rink.
Ranked 8th in the latest national polls, Cornell posts a 10-5-3 overall record and is challenging for first place in ECAC Hockey with a 7-2-2 league slate, good for a three-way tie for second. Guided by 15th-year head coach Mike Schafer, The Big Red are coming off a well-played weekend series with fourth-ranked North Dakota at Lynah Rink. Cornell won Friday’s game 1-0, but the Fighting Sioux came back and took Saturday’s contest 3-1. Cornell, which hosts St. Lawrence on Friday, is 6-2 in Ithaca this season.
The Series:
Clarkson leads the Raiders in their all-time series, which began during the 1927-28 campaign, 80-43-14. Colgate, however, is unbeaten against the Green and Gold over the last five meetings (4-0-1). The Raiders defeated Clarkson 6-2 at Cheel Arena on January 16, and took three of four points from the Knights last season with a 3-3 tie in Hamilton (12/6/08) and a 3-1 win in Potsdam (1/30/09). The two New York State rivals have battled to five ties over the past eight regular-season meetings. Clarkson’s last win in the series was a 1-0 triumph in Game 1 of the ECAC Hockey quarterfinal series at Cheel Arena on March 14, 2008. The Knights, who are 25-21-5 all-time at Starr Rink, last won in Hamilton on February 3, 2007 (2-1), which was their last regular-season victory in the series. Matt Beca paces the Knights’ offense against the Raiders with seven points (1-6) through 10 games. Richie LaVeau has started two games in goal against the Raiders with a .840 save percentage, a 4.03 goals against average and an 0-2 record. Paul Karpowich is 0-0-1 with a .909 save percentage and a 2.77 GAA against the Raiders. George Roll is 5-6-6 against Colgate, while Raiders’ head coach Don Vaughan is 13-19-9 in the series.
The lone ECAC Hockey team to hold an advantage over Clarkson in its all-time series, Cornell is the Knights’ oldest current rival having first played during the 1922-23 campaign with the teams battling to a 0-0 tie in Ithaca. The Big Red leads the rivalry against the Knights 53-49-12. Cornell holds a current three-game unbeaten streak (2-0-1) in the series, including a 3-1 victory at Cheel Arena on January 15. Last season, the Big Red defeated Clarkson 4-1 in Ithaca on December 5, 2008 and skated to a 0-0 tie in Potsdam on January 31. Clarkson took two from the Big Red during the 2007-08 campaign, winning 4-2 at Lynah Rink (1/20/08) and 4-1 at Cheel Arena (2/8/08), for its first conference sweep in the rivalry since the 1998-99 campaign. Matt Beca is Clarkson’s leading scorer against Cornell with three points, including two goals through eight games. Paul Karpowich has played three games against the Big Red, posting a .897 save percentage, a 2.28 goals against average and a 0-2-1 record. George Roll is 5-12-4 against Cornell, while the Big Red’s Mike Schafer owns a 25-12-4 record against the Knights.
Knight Notes:
Three starting defensemen, sophomore Mark Borowiecki (Kanata, ONT), junior Dan Reed (Walworth, NY) and freshman Andrew Himelson (Monroe, NY) did not play this past weekend because of injuries. Borowiecki is expected back for this weekend’s games at Colgate and Cornell, but Reed and Himelson will remain out of the lineup … Two forwards senior Tim Marks (Brownville, NY) and sophomore Corey Tamblyn (Bobcaygeon, ONT), were moved back to the defense over the weekend to help fill the holes on the blueline … The Knights’ leading scorer Matt Beca posted his sixth multiple-point game of the season with a goal and assist against Brown. A Clarkson assistant captain, Beca has 24 points this season, including a team-high 13 goals. He has 109 career points (44-65) through 136 games … Junior Brandon DeFazio (Oakville, ONT), the Knights’ other assistant captain, had his third multiple-point game of the season, and first since late October, with one goal and one assist on Saturday against the Bears. DeFazio is third on the team in scoring with 17 points (7-10) and shares the power-play goal scoring lead with four man-advantage markers … Sophomore Jake Morley (Ogdensburg, NY) posted his first multiple-point game as a Golden Knights with a goal and an assist against Yale … Clarkson’s leading freshman scorer, Adam Pawlick (Utica, NY) also tallied a goal and an assist on Friday against the Bulldogs. He has scored six goals and one assist on the season, and shares the lead in power-play goals with DeFazio with four … Playing in his third game back since suffering an injury in the fourth game of the season, freshman Pete Massar (Williston, VT), who centered the Knights’ top line over the weekend, picked up his first collegiate point, an assist, on Saturday … Rookie blueliner Nik Pokulok (Vaudreuil-Dorion, QUE) also recorded an assist on Saturday, and has three for the season … Paul Karpowich kept Clarkson in Friday’s game against highly-rated Yale, recording his fourth, 40-plus save effort of the season, making 41 stops, including several point-blank saves in the third period. Unfortunately, he could not continue his pace on Saturday against Brown as the Bears scored three times on their first 13 shots to chase Karpowich from the game just 16 minutes in … Sophomore Richie LaVeau (Arlington Heights, IL) played the remainder of the game and shut down the visitors, turning aside all 18 shots he faced … Clarkson is unbeaten in its last 58 games (54-0-4) when leading through two periods, unfortunately the Knights have not played with a two-period lead since, holding a 3-1 advantage over St. Lawrence in a 3-1 non-league victory on October 24.
