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Women's Hockey February 8, 2017

#4 Clarkson Hosts #10 Princeton and #9 Quinnipiac

Clarkson's Class of 2017 -(l-r): Corie Jacobson, Jessica Gillham, McKenzie Johnson, Cayley Mercer, Genevieve Bannon

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Just four games remain in the regular season for the fourth-ranked Clarkson University Women's Hockey team with the Golden Knights leading the ECAC Hockey Standings by just a single point. Clarkson will try to stay a step ahead with home games against tenth-ranked Princeton and ninth-ranked Quinnipiac.

Led by ninth-year head coach Matt Desrosiers and assistant coaches Britni Smith and Tony Maci, Clarkson has a 21-4-5 overall record and a 15-1-2 conference mark. Clarkson has a chance to win at least a share of its third ECAC Hockey Regular Season title in the last four seasons.

NOTE: Due to weather related issues for Women's Hockey teams traveling to the North Country this weekend, Clarkson University's game against Princeton and Quinnipiac at Cheel Arena have been moved back a day. The Golden Knights will now face off against the Tigers on Saturday at 6:00 p.m. and host the Bobcats on Sunday, starting at 3:00 p.m.
 
Saturday's game against Princeton will see the Golden Knights honor their five player senior class on Senior Day. Clarkson's Class of 2017 has led the Green and Gold to some of their most successful seasons during their four-year careers. Co-captain Cayley Mercer, assistant captain Genevieve Bannon, Corie Jacobson, Jessica Gillham, and McKenzie Johnson have been a part of four 20-win seasons and 106 wins total. They have already clinched their fourth home-ice appearance in the ECAC Hockey playoffs as well as winning one ECAC Hockey Regular Season title, sharing a second title, and are in the driver's seat to win a third. Clarkson has qualified for the NCAA Tournament in their first three seasons, with Frozen Four appearances in 2014 and 2016 and winning Clarkson's sole national championship in 2014!

Mercer and Bannon are the top two leading scorers for the second straight year. Mercer has a chance to lead Clarkson in points for the third straight season, with her 44 points already just six shy of her career high of 50. Bannon meanwhile, has 36 points which is just two less than her career high. Mercer is now second all-time in Clarkson history with 160 career points while Bannon is sixth, and trails Erin Ambrose '16 by four points for fifth place.

In the 3-0 win against Dartmouth, Bannon notched two goals, while co-captain Savannah Harmon also added a goal. The next day, Clarkson tied Harvard 2-2 on a late goal by Rhyen McGill, with Mercer grabbing the other goal. It was the 12th straight game with at least one point for Mercer. The shutout against the Big Green was the 20th of Shea Tiley's career, in just 100 career games. Tiley is now tied with Lauren Dahm '11 and Kira Hurley '07 for second all-time in shutouts at Clarkson and nine behind Erica Howe '14 for the most all-time.

Clarkson will have its toughest stretch of the season to close out the regular season. Clarkson will host #10 Princeton and #9 Quinnipiac, before traveling to Colgate, who is receiving votes in both polls, and #7 Cornell. Clarkson is 4-3-2 against ranked teams this season, including wins against Princeton, Quinnipiac, and Colgate earlier this season. However, Clarkson will be looking for revenge after falling to Cornell earlier in the year.

Princeton comes into the weekend holding onto the fourth and final home ice slot in the ECAC Hockey tournament. The Tigers are 15-7-3 overall and 11-5-2 in conference. Princeton started just 2-3-1 in conference, but went 9-2-1 since then. The Tigers earned a huge 3-0 road win against Quinnipiac last Tuesday to earn the tiebreaker against the Bobcats as the two have identical conference records, but Princeton followed that up with a 3-1 home loss to seventh-place Yale. The Tigers were able to bounce back with a 6-1 win over Brown with leading scorer Karlie Lund getting the game-winning goal. Lund now has 38 points on 20 goals and 18 assists, with 29 of those points coming in conference games. Alysia DaSilva and Steph Neatby have split time in goal, but Neatby has been the stronger netminder with an 8-2-1 record and a 1.33 goals against average.  Clarkson has an all-time record of 14-12-2 against the Tigers and is unbeaten in the last seven match-ups with a 6-0-1 record. Mercer has enjoyed success against Princeton, scoring a goal and adding five assists in seven career games.

Quinnipiac has taken a step back after winning the 2016 ECAC Hockey regular season and conference tournament titles. The Bobcats currently sit in a tie for fourth in the conference with a 11-5-2 record, but need to jump Princeton to earn home ice in the ECAC Hockey quarterfinals, to go with an 18-7-5 overall record. Quinnipiac is just 8-4-3 at home this season after going 18-1-4 in friendly confines last year. Taylor Cianfarano is again leading Quinnipiac in scoring, but has just 24 points this year after 52 in her sophomore season. Clarkson has a 20-10-4 record against Quinnipiac all-time, including a 4-1 road win this year. That gives Clarkson a two-game winning streak against the Bobcats after Clarkson beat Quinnipiac 1-0 in the 2016 NCAA Quarterfinals. That win snapped a six game winless streak for Clarkson against Quinnipiac, the longest ever such streak.

 
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Players Mentioned

Erin Ambrose

#23 Erin Ambrose

D
5' 5"
Senior
Genevieve Bannon

#9 Genevieve Bannon

F
5' 8"
Senior
Jessica Gillham

#7 Jessica Gillham

F
5' 7"
Senior
Savannah Harmon

#14 Savannah Harmon

D
5' 3"
Junior
Corie Jacobson

#2 Corie Jacobson

D
5' 6"
Senior
McKenzie Johnson

#33 McKenzie Johnson

G
5' 7"
Senior
Rhyen McGill

#25 Rhyen McGill

F
5' 8"
Sophomore
Cayley Mercer

#18 Cayley Mercer

F
5' 8"
Senior
Shea Tiley

#35 Shea Tiley

G
5' 10"
Junior

Players Mentioned

Erin Ambrose

#23 Erin Ambrose

5' 5"
Senior
D
Genevieve Bannon

#9 Genevieve Bannon

5' 8"
Senior
F
Jessica Gillham

#7 Jessica Gillham

5' 7"
Senior
F
Savannah Harmon

#14 Savannah Harmon

5' 3"
Junior
D
Corie Jacobson

#2 Corie Jacobson

5' 6"
Senior
D
McKenzie Johnson

#33 McKenzie Johnson

5' 7"
Senior
G
Rhyen McGill

#25 Rhyen McGill

5' 8"
Sophomore
F
Cayley Mercer

#18 Cayley Mercer

5' 8"
Senior
F
Shea Tiley

#35 Shea Tiley

5' 10"
Junior
G