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Clarkson University Athletics

CU Women's Hockey Closes Out 2016 Against Syracuse

By: December 7, 2016
SLU16c
The Knights take a 14-game unbeaten streak into their weekend series vs Syracuse - photo by Jim Meagher

Women's Hockey | 12/7/2016 9:20:00 AM

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After a hard fought weekend series against rival St. Lawrence, the fourth-ranked Clarkson University Women's Hockey team closes out 2016 with two games against Syracuse. The two teams will meet in Syracuse on Friday at 7:00 pm before returning to Potsdam for a 4:00 pm game on Saturday afternoon.
 
Led by ninth-year head coach Matt Desrosiers and assistant coaches Britni Smith and Tony Maci, the Golden Knights took three of four points against the Saints, including a win that represented the first loss of St. Lawrence's season. Clarkson now stands alone at the top of ECAC Hockey with a 9-0-1 conference record to go with a 14-3-3 overall mark.
 
After a 3-3 home tie on Thursday, Clarkson traveled to Canton on Saturday and left with a 4-1 win. Co-captains Cayley Mercer and Savannah Harmon as well a assistant captain Genevieve Bannon had a strong series. Harmon had a goal and an assist at home and then opened the scoring on the road. Mercer scored the first short-handed goal of the season for Clarkson to go with an assist on Thursday and followed it up with the game-winning goal and two assists on Saturday. Bannon was the high scorer on the weekend for Clarkson with four points on Saturday, thanks to a goal and three assists, with the senior forward grabbing an assist on Thursday. For her performances, Mercer was named ECAC Hockey Player of the Week. Mercer is now fourth in scoring all-time at Clarkson with 142 career points while Bannon is alone in seventh place with 119 points of her own.
 
Joining the upperclassmen in the scoring columns was freshmen Michaela Pejzlova and Ella Shelton. Pejzlova had an assist in the 3-3 tie before grabbing a goal and two more assists in the 4-1 victory. Pejzlova is third on the team with 20 points and is tied for fourth in the country in points per game among rookies. She leads ECAC Hockey in points per game among rookies with 15 points in conference matches. Just behind her in second is Shelton who has nine points against conference opponents. Shelton was named to the ECAC Hockey Weekly Honor Roll after a goal and an assist in the 3-3 tie. Shelton's goal was especially important as it came with just 30 seconds remaining in regulation with Clarkson trailing by a score.
 
While they did not record any points against the Saints, the sophomore class leads the team with 68 points amongst its six members. Rhyen McGill is fourth on the team with 19 points with Loren Gabel and Cassidy Vinkle notching 13 apiece. Gabel and Josiane Pozzebon are tied with Bannon for the team lead in power-play goals as each has scored four, while McGill is right behind with three of her own. Vinkle was named the Tournament MVP of the Windjammer Classic which Clarkson won earlier in the season.
 
Clarkson is currently on a 14 game unbeaten streak. It is the longest streak since an 18 game run between December 5th, 2015 and March 5th, 2016. The Golden Knights went 15-0-3 in that 18 game run and are 12-0-2 in their current streak. The Golden Knights have been led by their offense, which is averaging 3.75 goals per game overall and 5.00 in conference games. Those marks are second nationally, and first in ECAC Hockey. Once conference play has started, Clarkson has greatly improved its special teams play. Overall, Clarkson is converting 18.1% of power-plays and has a 86.0% rate on the penalty kill. Those marks jump to 32.5% and 93.3% respectively in conference. The Green and Gold lead the league in power-play percentage and are third in penalty kill.   

Syracuse comes into the weekend with a 5-7-4 overall record and is 4-2-2 in the CHA conference. The Orange tied conference foe RIT last weekend at home and then defeated the Tigers on the road 3-0. Syracuse has been strong defenseively, allowing just 1.75 goals per game, which is tied with Clarkson for eighth in the country. However, Syracuse is scoring just 2.06 goals per game. The Orange have four different players with double-digit points so far. Stephanie Grossi and Alysha Burriss both have 11 points while Heather Schwarz and Jessica Sibley are one back with 10 each. In goal, Abbey Miller has started 14 games for Syracuse. Miller is 11th in the country with a 1.76 goals against average and is tied for third with three shutouts.

Clarkson is 11-1-0 against the Orange, and the Golden Knights have beaten the Orange ten straight times. Bannon and Mercer have 12 and 10 career points in six games apiece against Syracuse, while Harmon has racked up five in four contests. Last season, Clarkson earned a 3-1 road win and a 5-1 home victory. In the 2014-15 season, Clarkson had 4-1 and 9-0 wins over Syracuse. Bannon had five points on three goals and two assists in the 9-0 win and another three assists in the 4-1 triumph. 
 
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Players Mentioned

Genevieve Bannon

#9 Genevieve Bannon

F
5' 8"
Senior
Loren Gabel

#19 Loren Gabel

F
5' 4"
Sophomore
Savannah Harmon

#14 Savannah Harmon

D
5' 3"
Junior
Rhyen McGill

#25 Rhyen McGill

F
5' 8"
Sophomore
Cayley Mercer

#18 Cayley Mercer

F
5' 8"
Senior
Josiane Pozzebon

#28 Josiane Pozzebon

D
5' 5"
Sophomore
Cassidy Vinkle

#22 Cassidy Vinkle

F
5' 7"
Sophomore
Ella Shelton

#11 Ella Shelton

D
5' 8"
Freshman
Michaela Pejzlova

#10 Michaela Pejzlova

F
5' 7"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Genevieve Bannon

#9 Genevieve Bannon

5' 8"
Senior
F
Loren Gabel

#19 Loren Gabel

5' 4"
Sophomore
F
Savannah Harmon

#14 Savannah Harmon

5' 3"
Junior
D
Rhyen McGill

#25 Rhyen McGill

5' 8"
Sophomore
F
Cayley Mercer

#18 Cayley Mercer

5' 8"
Senior
F
Josiane Pozzebon

#28 Josiane Pozzebon

5' 5"
Sophomore
D
Cassidy Vinkle

#22 Cassidy Vinkle

5' 7"
Sophomore
F
Ella Shelton

#11 Ella Shelton

5' 8"
Freshman
D
Michaela Pejzlova

#10 Michaela Pejzlova

5' 7"
Freshman
F