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Traveling to play a weekend series outside the North Country for the first time this season, the Clarkson University Women’s Hockey team will look to continue the strong play that has helped the Golden Knights get off to a solid start to the 2011-12 campaign. Guided by fourth-year co-head coaches Matt and Shannon Desrosiers, and assistant coach Matt Kelly, Clarkson will visit New York’s Capital District region this weekend to play ECAC Hockey foes Union and Rensselaer.
The Knights will look to extend their perfect 16-0 mark against Union on Friday when they face off against the Dutchwomen in a 7:00 p.m. game at Messa Rink in Schenectady. On Saturday, the Green and Gold battle Rensselaer in a 4:00 p.m. contest at Houston Field House in Troy. Clarkson skated to a pair of 2-1 victories over the Engineers last season.
Led by senior captain Katelyn Ptolemy (Dinsmore, SASK) and assistant captain Danielle Boudreau (Whitby, ONT), the Knights own a 4-2-4 overall record and a 0-1-1 ECAC Hockey mark. With ECAC Hockey Goaltender of the Month, sophomore Erica Howe (Ottawa, ONT) backstopping Clarkson’s defensive effort and ECAC Hockey Player of the Month, sophomore Jamie Lee Rattray (Kanta, ONT) powering the Knights’ offense, Clarkson has been a formidable foe early in the season. The Knights are receiving votes in this week’s national polls.
The Knights opened ECAC play this past weekend at Cheel Arena against two traditional conference powers, but despite two complete efforts, the Green and Gold were only able to come away with one point. Clarkson battled back with two, third-period goals to gain a 2-2 tie against 10th-ranked Dartmouth on Friday. Against Harvard on Saturday, the Knights took the Crimson to the limit, but the visitors gained a hard-fought win on the road with a 2-1 overtime victory, snapping Clarkson’s seven-game unbeaten (4-0-3) streak.
Twice named ECAC Player of the Week in October, Howe has played every second in the Clarkson goal and boasts a .912 save percentage and 2.22 goals against average along with one shutout. She posted 27 saves in both games this past weekend.
Recording at least one point in eight of the first 10 games, Rattray leads the Knights in scoring with 15 points, including 10 assists. Sophomore Carly Mercer (Exeter, ONT) follows with 10 points and shares the goal-scoring lead with Rattray with five tallies. Mercer, named to this week’s ECAC Honor Roll, has a team-high five goals on Clarkson’s power play, which is ranked sixth in the country clicking at 25.6% (11-43). Junior Danielle Skirrow (Trenton, ONT) follows with eight points (4-4), including three power-play markers.The Knights’ penalty kill is ranked 10th in the nation at 88.1% (37-42).
Union posts a 2-7 overall record and a 0-2 mark in ECAC Hockey after losing two games at home this past weekend. The Dutchwomen suffered a tough 2-1 loss to Princeton on Friday and then fell 5-1 to Quinnipiac on Saturday. Union picked up non-league wins over Sacred Heart (9-2) and Syracuse (4-3ot) earlier in the season.
Winless in its last six games (0-5-1) heading into Friday’s game against St. Lawrence, Rensselaer is 2-5-3 overall and 0-1-1 in conference play. The Engineers were shut out by Quinnipiac, 2-0, at Houston Field House on Friday, but gained a league point with Saturday’s 1-1 tie against Princeton. Saturday’s game against Clarkson closes out a six-game home stand for RPI.
