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Owners of the longest current winning streak in the country at five straight, including three consecutive victories against Top-10 ranked teams, the Clarkson University Women’s Hockey team will look to continue its roll as it takes to the road for the month of November.
Guided by second-year co-head coaches Shannon and Matt Desrosiers, the Golden Knights are off to the best start in the program’s seven-year history and are regarded as one of the top teams in Division I. The Green and Gold, led by senior captain Britney Selina (Thornhill, ONT) and senior assistant captain Carlee Eusepi (Oakville, ONT), are ranked second in the nation in the latest USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine polls, post a 9-1-1 overall record and stand atop the ECAC Hockey standings with a 3-0-0 league mark.
Clarkson, 8-0-1 at Cheel Arena, will now play six in a row on the road and 12 of their next 14 games away from Potsdam beginning with this weekend’s trip to New England. The Knights’ will be hard-pressed to keep their winning ways intact as they take on tradition league and national powers Harvard and Dartmouth on their home ice. The Green and Gold faceoff against the defending ECAC Hockey champion Crimson at Bright Hockey Center in Cambridge at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, and then battle the Big Green, 2009 conference tournament winner on Saturday in a 4:00 p.m. contest at Thompson Arena, in Hanover, NH. Both teams are recieving votes in the national polls.
During their early-season success, the Knights have strung together impressive offensive displays and stingy defensive efforts. Last Tuesday, Clarkson completed a string off three consecutive wins over some of the nation’s elite by skating past archrival St. Lawrence 4-1 in its league opener. The previous weekend, the Knights overwhelmed Hockey East powerhouses UNH (6-2) and Boston University (7-2). This past weekend, Clarkson battled two stubborn conference foes in a pair of tight defensive games, but prevailed, shutting out Brown (1-0) and Yale (2-0).
Numerous Knights have come to the forefront this season with Clarkson players claiming ECAC Hockey Player of the Week accolades five times. Sophomore Kali Gillanders (Kyle, SASK) was the latest to earn the honor after scoring her first two goals of the season, game-winners in the victories over St. Lawrence and Brown.
Four players are recording double figures in the points column for Clarkson, which boasts the fifth-best offense in the country, averaging 3.45 goals per game. Senior Dominique Thibault (L’Original, ONT) leads the way with 15 points on seven goals and eight assists. The Knights’ all-time leading scorer, Selina follows with 14 points, including a team-high nine assists. Junior Melissa Waldie (Newmarket, ONT) chips in 13 points (7-6) and leads the team in power-play markers with four. Sophomore Juana Baribeau (Amos, QUE) has 12 points, including a team-high eight goals.
A three-time winner of ECAC Hockey Goaltender of the Week, junior Lauren Dahm (Baldwinsville, NY) backbones the Clarkson defense, which ranks second in the country in goals allowed (1.18). She boasts the second-best GAA in the country (1.08) and the third-best save percentage (.943), along with a Division I high four shutouts.
Harvard, which opens a five-game home stand on Friday, owns a 1-1 overall and league record after splitting a series on the road in central NY this past weekend. The Crimson defeated Colgate 2-1 on Friday, but lost at Cornell 4-3 on Saturday.
Dartmouth is 0-1-1 after losing 3-0 at Cornell on Friday before tying Colgate 5-5 on Saturday.
