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With a disappointing month of January behind it, the Clarkson University Hockey team will look to turn its season around and gain some momentum for the playoffs over the final eight games of the regular season. The Golden Knights close out a four-game road trip this weekend in New York’s Capital District region with ECAC Hockey games at Union and Rensselaer.
Guided by seventh-year head coach George Roll, associate coach Greg Drechsel and new assistant coach Chris Rogles ’93, the Green and Gold play the Dutchmen in a 7:00 p.m. game at Achilles Rink in Schenectady on Friday. The Union game will be televised by Time Warner Cable and be shown live on the NHL Network. On Saturday, Clarkson faces off against the Engineers at Houston Field House in Troy beginning at 7:00 p.m.
During the opening month of the New Year, the Knights went 1-7-1. Clarkson has lost six straight and is winless in its last seven games. This past weekend in Central NY, the Knights lost 6-1 at Colgate and 5-3 at Cornell. Clarkson owns a 5-18-3 overall record and is in 12th place in the conference standings with a 1-11-2 ECAC Hockey mark. Clarkson’s last victory was a 3-1 non-league over Alabama-Huntsville on January 8 at Cheel Arena. The Knights’ lone league victory was a 3-2 triumph at Dartmouth on November 20. The Green and Gold also gained conference points with a 2-2 tie at Harvard (11/21) and a 3-3 draw at St. Lawrence (12/4).
Senior Matt Beca (Mississauga, ONT) leads Clarkson in scoring with 25 points, including a team-high 13 goals. He has amassed 110 career points (44-66) through 138 games. Beca's Career at Crossroads (CBCSPORTS.ca 1/29).
The Knights are averaging 2.38 goals per game.
Sophomore Paul Karpowich (Thunder Bay, ONT) has seen the bulk of the action in the Clarkson crease. Through 20 starts, he posts a .889 save percentage, a 3.74 goals against average and a 4-13-3 record. Classmate Richie LaVeau (Arlington Heights, IL) has seen time in nine games, including six starts, and holds a .898 save percentage, a 3.14 GAA and a 1-5 record. Clarkson is allowing 3.77 goals per game. The Knights are 1-9-2 on opponents’ home ice.
Union, guided by seventh-year head coach Nate Leaman, owns a 13-7-6 overall record and is tied for second in ECAC Hockey with a 7-3-4 league slate. On the verge of being ranked among the Top 10 teams in the nation in early January, the Dutchmen have slumped of late and are winless in their last four games (0-3-1). Union snapped a three-game losing skid with a 2-2 tie at Brown on Saturday. On Friday, the Dutchmen were edged by Yale 4-3 in New Haven, CT. Union, which last won on January 16 with a 3-1 victory at home over Rensselaer, is 5-4-3 at Achilles Rink this season.
Rensselaer, which hosts St. Lawrence on Friday, takes a 14-12-2 overall record and a 7-6-1 (tied for 5th place) ECAC Hockey mark into the weekend. Guided by fourth-year head coach Seth Appert, the Engineers are coming off an impressive 4-0 victory over Top-10 ranked Yale in New Haven this past Saturday. Last Friday, the Engineers fell 4-3 in overtime to Brown in Providence, RI. Rensselaer is 7-5-1 at Houston Field House this season.
The Series:
Clarkson leads the all-time series against Union, which began with a 5-1 Dutchmen win in Schenectady on January 23, 1925, 27-14-5. Union, however, is on its longest winning streak in the rivalry with four straight victories. The Dutchmen, who are 6-3-1 over the last 10 meetings, defeated the Knights 5-1 in Potsdam on November 14, 2009. The Knights’ last win in the series was a 4-3 overtime victory in Potsdam on January 23, but Union won the 2008-09 regular season finale 2-1 on February 28 in Schenectady and then swept Clarkson in the playoffs, winning 5-3 and 7-2 at Achilles Center last year. Clarkson is 12-10-4 all-time at Achilles Center with its last victory coming on March 6, 2005 (4-3ot).
Bryan Rufenach (2-3) and Matt Beca (1-4) lead the Green and Gold in scoring against the Dutchmen with five points. Paul Karpowich has played 154 minutes through three games against the Dutchmen and posts a .890 save percentage, a 3.51 GAA and an 0-2 record. Through 141 minutes in three games, Richie LaVeau is 1-2 against Union with a .863 save percentage and a 4.26 GAA. George Roll owns a 10-9-1 mark against the Dutchmen, while Union coach Nate Leaman is 9-10-1 against the Knights.
In a heated rivalry which dates back to the 1924-25 campaign, Clarkson leads the overall series against Rensselaer 80-42-8. The Engineers snapped a six-game winless stretch against the Knights (0-5-1) with a 5-2 victory in Potsdam on November 13. Last year, Clarkson won 4-3 in overtime at Cheel Arena on January 24 and 4-2 at Houston Field House on February 27. The Knights have won three straight in Troy. Rensselaer’s last win at home was a 4-3 victory on January 14, 2006.
Matt Beca has a team-high nine points (4-5) against RPI through seven games. Paul Karpowich is 2-1 against RPI with a .870 save percentage and a 3.46 GAA. Richie LaVeau has played 24 minutes against RPI and turned aside all seven shots he has faced. George Roll is 5-6-2 against Rensselaer. Engineers’ head coach Seth Appert is 1-5-1 in the series.
Knight Notes:
Clarkson returned one injured player to the lineup this weekend with sophomore Mark Borowiecki (Kanata, ONT) back patrolling the blueline after a two-game absence, but the Knights suffered two injuries up front over the weekend with junior Lauri Tuohimaa (Helsinki, Finland) and sophomore David Cayer (Longueuil, QUE) going down … They join defensemen junior Dan Reed (Walworth, NY) and sophomore Andrew Himelson (Monroe, NY) on the Green and Gold’s injured list. Reed, who has been out the past four games, and Himelson, who has missed the previous six games, are listed as uncertain for this weekend. Cayer will miss the Union and Rensselaer games while Tuohimaa is listed as doubtful for the weekend series … Nine Knights have missed a total of 40 games through the team’s first 26 games this season ... The Knights scored two shorthanded goals in a game for the first time since March 1, 2008 when senior Tim Marks (Brownville, NY) and sophomore Corey Tamblyn (Bobcaygeon, ONT) tallied on the penalty kill at Cornell on Saturday … Mark’s goal was his third of the season and first since netting the game-winner in 5-3 victory over RIT on October 17 … After recording just one assist as a freshman last season, Tamblyn, who also recorded an assist at Cornell, has scored four goals and four assists this season. He has two power-play tallies and one shorthanded marker … Clarkson snapped a nine-game stretch of allowing the game’s first goal, when freshman Adam Pawlick (Utica, NY) opened the scoring at Cornell. Pawlick leads Clarkson’s Class of 2013 with seven goals and eight points … 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 ... Clarkson Hockey players have been reading storybooks at local elementary schools throughout January and into February.
