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Clarkson University Athletics

Knights Continue Women's Hockey Home Stand Against UCONN

By: Nov. 12, 2015
GabelAction15
Loren Gabel, the Knights' top freshman scorer, has helped Clarkson post 11 wins and gain a 4th-place ranking in the national polls - photo by Jim Meagher

Women's Hockey | 11/11/2015 8:19:00 PM

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Although the Clarkson Women's Hockey team can no longer count itself amongst the ranks of the unbeaten, the Golden Knights are still ranked fourth in the nation. Clarkson will try to live up to that lofty rating this weekend with a pair of games against the Connecticut Huskies in Cheel Arena.

The Knights host the Huskies at 7:00 p.m. on Friday and at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday. Following Saturday's game Clarkson will hold its annual "Skate With a Knight".
 
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Led by eighth-year head coach Matt Desrosiers and second year assistant coaches Britni Smith and Meghan Duggan, the Green and Gold have an 11-1-2 record overall and are 1-1-2 in ECAC Hockey games. Clarkson is currently in seventh in the ECAC Hockey standings, but its .857 overall winning percentage is fourth in the nation.

• USCHO.com Poll
• USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll

On Tuesday night, Clarkson opened a seven game home-stand with a 5-1 victory over Syracuse. Junior Genevieve Bannon got Clarkson on the scoreboard before senior captain Shannon MacAulay scored the game-winning goal on a power-play. Senior assistant captain Olivia Howe and Erin Ambrose as well as freshman Loren Gabel added goal as Clarkson built a 5-0 lead. Sophomore goaltender Shea Tiley was 31 seconds away from her fifth shutout of the season when Syracuse was able to score a power-play goal. Tiley finished with 20 saves for the Golden Knights.

Clarkson was boosted by the return of senior assistant captain Renata Fast, who missed the previous four games while playing for Team Canada in the 4 Nations Cup. It was the first game that Fast and Ambrose have both been in the lineup, as Ambrose missed the first eight games of the season with an injury. The return of the senior defensemen paid immediate dividends as Fast had an assist on MacAulay's power-play goal while Ambrose scored her first goal of the season. Ambrose now has four points in five games while Fast has seven points this season.

Junior assistant captain Cayley Mercer tied a career-high with three assists against the Orange. Mercer now has a team-high 22 points on 12 goals and 10 assists. The reigning ECAC Hockey Player of the Month is 11th in the country in points per game and is ninth in goals per game. She is closing in on 100 points in her Clarkson career, needing just 12 more to become the tenth member of the 100-point club. She will join her sister, Carley Mercer who finished with 150 points in her Clarkson career.

Tiley picked up her fourth shutout of the season and 13th of her career against Union last Friday. Tiley played in her 50th game as a Golden Knight against Clarkson, just the fourth goaltender in Clarkson history to reach that mark. Her 33 wins in that span are also the fourth-most and has the lowest goals against average among those who have appeared in at least 10 games in their career.  

MacAulay, Howe, and Bannon are all not far behind Mercer in career points. Howe and MacAulay are at 79 and 78 career points respectively while Bannon has notched 74 points. MacAulay has a team-high 40 career goals while Howe's 48 and Bannon's 47 assists are only eclipsed by Mercer's 49 and Ambrose's 86.

The six first year skaters for Clarkson have accounted for 20 goals and 17 assists this season, which is 28% of the team's scoring, trailing only the 30% provided by the junior class. Gabel leads the way with 11 points on seven goals and four assists, and classmate Kelly Mariani is right behind her with ten points on five goals and five assists. With Cassidy Vinkle's assist against Syracuse, all six freshmen have at least one point in their debut season. Josiane Pozzebon is also third on the team in plus/minus with a +13 while Emma Keenan leads the team with 18 blocked shots.  

Although Clarkson is just 1-1-2 in conference, which puts it in seventh place, defensively the Golden Knights lead the league. Clarkson is allowing just 1.25 goals per game in conference match-ups. Clarkson also leads the conference with 10.5 penalty minutes per game, including a season-high 16 in its only loss to Rensselaer.  

Connecticut has a 4-4-2 overall record this season and is 1-4-0 in Hockey East games. Last weekend, the Huskies opened with a 1-0 home win over Merrimack, before falling to visiting New Hampshire 2-1. Overall, UCONN holds a 2-2-0 record away from Frietas Ice Forum. Clarkson has an all-time record of 2-1-1 against the Huskies, including a 2-1 overtime win last year at Storrs. MacAulay had both Clarkson goals that day, including the overtime winner.  Senior goaltender Elaine Chuli made 51 saves for UCONN that day, one of four times she has broken the 50 save mark.  
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Players Mentioned

Erin Ambrose

#23 Erin Ambrose

D
5' 5"
Senior
Genevieve Bannon

#9 Genevieve Bannon

F
5' 8"
Junior
Renata Fast

#12 Renata Fast

D
5' 7"
Senior
Olivia Howe

#16 Olivia Howe

F
5' 10"
Senior
Shannon MacAulay

#4 Shannon MacAulay

F
5' 11"
Senior
Cayley Mercer

#18 Cayley Mercer

F
5' 8"
Junior
Shea Tiley

#35 Shea Tiley

G
5' 10"
Sophomore
Loren Gabel

#19 Loren Gabel

F
5' 4"
Freshman
Emma Keenan

#21 Emma Keenan

D
5' 7"
Freshman
Cassidy Vinkle

#22 Cassidy Vinkle

F
5' 7"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Erin Ambrose

#23 Erin Ambrose

5' 5"
Senior
D
Genevieve Bannon

#9 Genevieve Bannon

5' 8"
Junior
F
Renata Fast

#12 Renata Fast

5' 7"
Senior
D
Olivia Howe

#16 Olivia Howe

5' 10"
Senior
F
Shannon MacAulay

#4 Shannon MacAulay

5' 11"
Senior
F
Cayley Mercer

#18 Cayley Mercer

5' 8"
Junior
F
Shea Tiley

#35 Shea Tiley

5' 10"
Sophomore
G
Loren Gabel

#19 Loren Gabel

5' 4"
Freshman
F
Emma Keenan

#21 Emma Keenan

5' 7"
Freshman
D
Cassidy Vinkle

#22 Cassidy Vinkle

5' 7"
Freshman
F