photo by Jim Meagher
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After a 33 day layoff, the third-ranked Clarkson University Women's Hockey team will open 2017 by hosting Yale and Brown in Cheel Arena this weekend. Yale will be in town for a 6:00 pm game on Friday night, while Clarkson will play Brown at 3:00 pm on Saturday afternoon.
Led by ninth-year head coach Matt Desrosiers and assistant coaches Britni Smith and Tony Maci, the Golden Knights finished 2016 with a 15-3-4 overall record, with a 9-0-1 ECAC Hockey record putting them in first place. Clarkson is unbeaten in 16 straight games, the longest active streak in the nation, with the Green and Gold going 13-0-3 in that span.
Clarkson has been explosive on the offensive end, as the Golden Knights average 3.68 goals per game, the third best rate in the country. Clarkson ups that average to 5.00 goals per game in conference matchups, the best mark in ECAC Hockey. Clarkson has four players with more than 20 points so far this season, led by co-captain Cayley Mercer's 28 points. Assistant captain Genevieve Bannon is second on the team with 23 points of her own, while freshman Michaela Pejzlova and sophomore Rhyen McGill have 21 apiece. Mercer now has 144 career points, which is fourth all-time at Clarkson. Mercer trails Britney Selina '10 by four points and her sister, Carly Mercer '14 by six points. Bannon has 120 career points, trailing Melissa Waldie '11 by one point for fifth place in Clarkson history.
Pejzlova has had a great start to her season and has earned ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Month in both October and November. However, Pejzlova's streak was broken by her teammate Ella Shelton, as Shelton was named ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Month for December. Pejzlova is first in ECAC Hockey in points among rookies, while Shelton is tied for fourth and Taylor Turnquist is 16th. Shelton is also tied for third in points among defensemen. Joining her in third place is co-captain Savannah Harmon, who is fifth on the team with 17 points. Also on the list is Josiane Pozzebon, who is tied for 12th in the conference.
Pozzebon is also tied for the team lead in power-play goals with four. She is tied with Bannon and Loren Gabel, and the trio are tied for tenth in the country. Just behind them is McGill who has three extra man goals. Bannon and Mercer lead the team with three game-winning goals apiece, tying the pair for fifth in the country.
Yale enters the weekend with a 5-9-3 overall record and a 3-6-1 ECAC Hockey record. The Bulldogs are clinging to the eighth and final conference playoff spot. Yale has already played two games in 2017, beating Union 2-0 on the road before losing at Rensselaer 2-1 in overtime. Krista Yip-Chuck and Eden Murray lead the team with 21 points each, while Phoebe Staenz has a team-high 11 goals. Yale hosted Clarkson earlier this season, with the Golden Knights coming away with a 4-1 win. Bannon notched two goals and an assist in the win and now has nine points in seven career games against the Bulldogs. Shea Tiley also notched her fourth win in five tries against Yale and has a 1.51 goals against average in the matchups.
Brown is 4-13-0 overall and 2-8-0 in conference. The Bears are tied for ninth in ECAC Hockey. Brown opened the season with three wins in its first five games, but then suffered an eleven game losing streak. The Bears were able to break the streak on January 7th, when they earned a 4-3 road win at Union. Brown is at the bottom of many categories in ECAC Hockey, ranking twelfth in goals allowed per game (4.40), power-play (5.3%), and penalty kill (62.7%) while sitting tenth in goals scored per game (1.20). Clarkson matched up with Brown in the first half of the season and earned an 8-1 win.
Cassidy Vinkle led the way with her first career hat trick and now has six points in three games against Brown.
Shea Tiley has a perfect 5-0-0 career record against Brown and has a 0.29 goals against average.
