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Clarkson University Athletics

#3 Clarkson Travels to Rensselaer and Union

By: January 25, 2017
Pozzebon6-3

Women's Hockey | 1/25/2017 9:19:00 AM

photo by Connor Koehler

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Although its 18-game unbeaten streak came to an end last weekend, the third-ranked Clarkson University Women's Hockey team still sits atop the ECAC Hockey standings and will try to stay there this weekend as the Golden Knights travel to take on Rensselaer and Union.

Led by ninth-year head coach Matt Desrosiers and assistant coaches Britni Smith and Tony Maci, Clarkson is 18-4-4 overall this season and has a 12-1-1 ECAC Hockey record. The Golden Knights are one win away from their 300th win in program history, with Clarkson currently holding an all-time record of 299-155-57.
 
Clarkson's 18 game unbeaten run came to an end last Friday when Cornell was able to steal a 2-1 win in Cheel Arena. The Green and Gold were able to bounce back on Saturday afternoon when they held off Colgate for a 2-1 win of their own. The loss to Cornell was only the third time this season that Clarkson has failed to score multiple goals, with Clarkson losing all three of those games. On the flip side, the win over Colgate was the fourteenth time this season that Clarkson has given up one goal or less, all victories.

All three of Clarkson's goals last weekend came through its two leading scorers, co-captain Cayley Mercer (Senior/Exeter/ONT) and assistant captain Genevieve Bannon (Senior/Candiac, QUE). In Friday's loss, Mercer and Bannon both had assists on Josiane Pozzebon's (Sophomore/Bourget, ONT) goal. The assist for Mercer represented her 150th career point, making her only the third Clarkson player to reach that milestone, as well as tying her older sister, Carly Mercer '14, for second all-time at Clarkson. Mercer moved into sole possession of second place on Saturday when she scored both of Clarkson's goals. Bannon added assists on each of Mercer's goals, with co-captain Savannah Harmon (Junior/Downers Grove, IL) also picking up an assist.

Mercer leads the team with 36 points on 15 goals and 21 assists while Bannon is not far behind her with 31 points of her own. Three other players have crossed the 20 point mark, led by Michaela Pejzlova (Freshman/Pardubice, Czech Republic) at 24 points, Rhyen McGill (Sophomore/Whitby, ONT) at 23, and Harmon at 20. Overall, Clarkson has 11 players with at least 10 points, creating a high powered offense that averages 3.69 goals per game, good for second in the nation. The Golden Knights increase their scoring average to 4.64 goals per game in conference, the best mark in ECAC Hockey. Clarkson's defense has also been solid this year, allowing only 1.69 goals per game, tied for the fifth best rate in the country and only 1.43 in ECAC Hockey games, third best in the conference.

Rensselaer has a 9-15-2 overall record this season and a 6-7-1 ECAC Hockey mark. The Engineers are currently in seventh place in the conference, after being picked eighth in the coaches' preseason poll. Rensselaer started 2017 with three straight conference wins, but has gone just 1-1-1 since, with the most recent game being a 2-1 home win over Union. The Engineers struggle to score goals, as 47 goals overall and 27 in conference play are both the lowest totals for any of the eight teams currently in postseason spots. The 47 goals Rensselaer has allowed in conference play is also the third highest total. Eight of those goals came in an 8-3 demolition courtesy of Clarkson back on November 12th. Clarkson is 18-5-2 all-time against Rensselaer, including two wins in a row by the combined score of 17-4. In that 8-3 victory, Clarkson had 14 players pick up at least one point and had seven different goalscorers.

Union has struggled so far to a 4-21-1 overall record and a 1-12-1 conference mark. The Dutchwomen are in the basement of the conference, with an offense that has scored only 14 times in 14 conference games, the worst total in the league. However, Union has already made progress from last season, where the Dutchwomen failed to win a game. Union has a very young team, with eight freshmen seeing action as skaters and all three of its goaltenders participating in their first collegiate seasons. After starting 2017 with three straight losses, Union knocked off Harvard for its conference win since December 6th, 2014, and then followed that up with a 2-2 tie against Rensselaer. Clarkson has dominated the all-time series between the two teams, with a record of 26-1-0 and outscoring the Dutchwomen 122-13. The first time the two teams met this season, Clarkson earned a 5-1 home victory as five different skaters scored for the Golden Knights.  

Clarkson will travel to Troy, NY for a 6:00 pm game against Rensselaer on Friday night. The Golden Knights will then close out the weekend against Union on Saturday with a 3:00 pm game.
 
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Players Mentioned

Genevieve Bannon

#9 Genevieve Bannon

F
5' 8"
Senior
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
Michaela Pejzlova

#10 Michaela Pejzlova

F
5' 7"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Genevieve Bannon

#9 Genevieve Bannon

5' 8"
Senior
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
Michaela Pejzlova

#10 Michaela Pejzlova

5' 7"
Freshman
F