After traveling over the Atlantic Ocean to participate in the Friendship Series in Belfast, Northern Ireland against Northeastern in the first NCAA women's hockey game played outside North America, Clarkson University returns to the States to resume ECAC Hockey action.

Guided by 11th-year Head Coach Matt Desrosiers and assistants Britni Smith and Tony Maci, the Golden Knights are back on the road, albeit a much shorter journey than last weekend's international affair, as they travel to NY's Capital District. Clarkson will face off against Rensselaer in Troy on Friday at 6:00 p.m. in Houston Field House. On Saturday, the Green and Gold will go up against Union in Schenectady in a 3:00 p.m. game from Messa Rink.

Ranked sixth in the national polls, the two-time defending NCAA Champions own a 14-5-1 overall record. Clarkson is in fifth place in the ECAC Hockey standings with a 5-3 league mark. The Knights are 12 points behind league-leader Princeton, but have four games in hand on the Tigers.

Clarkson at Rensselaer-Union Weekend release
ECAC Hockey Standings
USCHO.com Poll
USA Today Poll
NCAA Pairwise Rankings
Coaches Corner with Mike Vaillancourt, B99.3 radio 


• Against Northeastern at SSE Arena in Belfast, Clarkson had to settle for a 3-3 tie on Saturday after the No. 3 Huskies scored three goals in a 35-second span late in the second period to erase a 2-0 deficit.  On Sunday, the Knights fell 3-1 after Northeastern scored a pair of goals in the third period to break a 1-1 tie. 
• The Golden Knights own a 24-5-2 all-time record against Rensselaer. Clarkson has won the last eight matchups against RPI, including a 3-0 win at Cheel on November 3. The Green and Gold have lost only once in the last 21 matchups between the teams and are 9-2-2 all-time against the Engineers in Troy, NY.
• Clarkson leads Union 29-1-0 in their all-time series. The Knights have won 14 in a row against the Dutchwomen, including a 5-1 victory in Potsdam on November 2. The lone Clarkson loss (2-1) came in Schenectady on November 4, 2011. The Green and Gold have recorded 17 shutouts against the Dutchwomen and have allowed one goal or less in 26 of the 30 matchups.
• Clarkson boasts one of the most potent offenses in the country and is tied for fourth in the NCAA for scoring offense, averaging 3.70 goals per game.
• Headlining the Green and Gold attack are three of the top 10 scorers in Division I. Senior left wing Loren Gabel leads the nation with 1.89 points per game. Sophomore right wing Elizabeth Giguere follows closely behind, ranking third with 1.85 ppg. Junior center Michaela Pejzlova is ninth nationally, averaging 1.45 ppg.
• Averaging almost two points per game, Gabel has tallied 16 goals and 18 assists for 34 points through 18 games. She tallied a goal in both games against Northeastern, including the first ever NCAA women's goal outside of North America. Gabel is tied with Cayley Mercer'17 for second on the Knights' all-time scoring charts with 178 career points through 140 games, including a Clarkson record 92 goals. She is within four points of becoming Clarkson's all-time scoring leader. The 2018 Top Three Patty Kazmaier Finalist trails only Jamie Lee Rattray '14 (181 points) on the Green and Gold's scoring charts.
• Giguere leads the country in points with 37 through 20 games, recording 14 goals and an NCAA best 23 assists. Giguere, who reached Clarkson's Century Club faster than any other Golden Knight, has 108 career points (41-67) in just 61 games. The 2018 All-American has three power-play tallies, two shorthanded goals and connected for one game-winner this season. 
• Pejzlova is ninth in the nation for points per game with 12 goals and 17 assists for 29 points in 20 contests. She has accumulated 116 career points in 96 games and is one goal away from reaching 50 career scores.
• Graduate transfer T.T. Cianfarano has been a nice addition to the Clarkson lineup, rounding out the Knights' 20-point scorers with 10 goals and 10 assists. She has tallied a team-high four game-winners to go along with three power-play markers and one shorthanded goal. Cianfarano was ECAC Hockey Player of the Year in her sophomore campaign (2015-16) at Quinnipiac, where she ranked as one of the Bobcats' all-time leading scorers, averaging nearly a point per game with 58 goals and 52 assists through 109 games.
• Junior Ella Shelton leads the Green and Gold in scoring from the blueline with 16 points, including 14 assists, ranking sixth in the country for points per game (0.80) among defensemen.
• Backstopping Clarkson's 19th-ranked defense, Kassidy Sauve posts a .926 save percentage and a 1.94 goals against average en route to a 12-4-1 record and three shutouts (tied for 9th in the nation) through 17 starts. A graduate transfer form Ohio State, where she gained All-American accolades, Sauve has been named ECAC Hockey Goaltender of the Week three times (10/1, 11/26, 12/10) this season and was named the league's Goaltender of the Month for December.
• Freshman Morgan Helgeson leads the Green and Gold rookies in scoring with  four goals, with three of them coming against St. Lawrence.
• Senior defenseman Emma Keenan leads the Knights in blocked shots, 38.
• Clarkson has outscored the opponents 36-13 in the second period.
• Clarkson went 9-2-1 against non-league foes.
• The Knights are 9-0 at Cheel Arena, 5-4 on opponents' home ice and 0-1-1 at neutral site showings. 
• Clarkson's power play is ranked 8th in the nation, clicking at 21% (13-62).
• The Knights have not been as sharp shorthanded, killing off 84.7% (61-72) of opponents' man-advantage chances (18th in the NCAA). Clarkson, however, has been prefect in its last four games, killing off all 15 of the opponents' power plays.
• Senior forward Cassidy Vinkle will serve as the Green and Gold's captain, while defenders, senior Josiane Pozzebon and Shelton will act as assistant captains. 

Vs. RPI: The Golden Knights own a 24-5-2 all-time record against the Engineers, having won eight straight games, including a 3-0 victory at Cheel on November 3. The Green and Gold have lost only once in the last 21 match ups between the teams, with the single loss coming on the road in the fall of 2015. Clarkson is 9-2-2 all-time against the Engineers in Troy, NY. In just eight games against RPI, Loren Gabel has put up 13 points on six goals and seven assists. T.T. Cianfarano was the star in the first meeting, scoring the opening goal of the game and assisting on the team's other two goals in the 3-0 win. Kassidy Sauve pitched a 12-save shutout in the first match up.  

Vs. Union: Clarkson has dominated the all-time series against Union with a 29-1-0 record and 14 consecutive victories over the Dutchwomen. Clarkson's lone defeat, 2-1, came in Schenectady on November 4, 2011. The Green Gold have allowed one goal or less in 26 of the 30 games versus the Dutchwomen, including 17 shutouts. Loren Gabel leads the way offensively against the Dutchwomen with a team-high nine points on four goals and five assists. In the first meeting this season, T.T. Cianfarano shined by scoring two goals, including the game-winner, and recorded two assists for a four-point night. Marie Pier Coulombe allowed one goal on 13 shots in the November meeting, making four saves in each of the three periods.

Scouting RPI: The Engineers own a 7-9-4 overall record and a 4-4-0 mark in the ECAC, good for a sixth-place tie in the conference. The Engineers have struggled offensively this year, averaging only 1.05 goals per game. A combination of great goaltending, defense, and a stingy penalty kill has provided for the Engineers' success. RPI has been much better at home than on the road, posting a 5-2-3 record and a 3-1-0 home record in ECAC play. RPI will be on short rest after playing this past Tuesday against Syracuse, a game which they won, 2-1. RPI is led offensively by juniors Blake Orosz and Sabrina Repaci, with each player collecting 13 points. Senior goaltender Lovisa Selander is enjoying an excellent season for the Engineers; her 5-8-4 record belies her overall performance (.946 save percentage, 1.88 goals against average). 

Scouting Union: The Dutchwomen currently sit at 2-16-2 overall and are 0-7-1 in the ECAC. With only 1.15 goals per game, Union has also struggled to find the back of the net. This past weekend, Union finished up its non-conference schedule in Bemidji, MN, dropping a pair of games 3-0 and 6-2 to Bemidji State. Arianna Kosakowski leads the offensive effort with a team-high eight points on four goals and four assists. Union has split time in goal between Amelia Murray and Coco Francis.