Wrapping up a successful first half of the season, Clarkson Women's Hockey will play its final games of the 2019 portion of the schedule this weekend as it host ECAC Hockey rivals Rensselaer and Union at Cheel Arena. The Golden Knights face off against the Engineers on Friday at 6:00 p.m. and then take on the Dutchwomen at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday.

The Clarkson Men's and Women's Hockey teams will be holding a Potsdam Snack Pack donation program at Cheel Arena this weekend

Guided by 12th-year Head Coach Matt Desrosiers and assistants Britni Smith and Tony Maci, Clarkson is ranked 7th in the national polls with a 12-2-4 overall record and is 9-1-4 since mid-October. Led by senior Captain Ella Shelton and Assistant Captains, senior Taylor Turnquist and junior Meaghan Hector, the Green and Gold are in fourth place in the ECAC Hockey standings with a 3-1-2 league mark. 

This past weekend, Clarkson won the Windjammer Classic in Burlington, VT with non-league victories over Minnesota State (4-0) and Penn State (3-1). 

• Clarkson vs RPI/Union Weekend Release
• ECAC Hockey 
• USCHO.com Poll
• USA Today Poll
• Coaches Corner with Mike Vaillancourt, B99.3 radio 

• Offensively and defensively, the Green and Gold have been strong in 5-on-5 situations. Clarkson is ranked seventh in the nation defensively, allowing just 1.67 goals per game, while scoring 3.22 GPG (Tied 10th). 
• The Knights are striving for improved performace in special teams plays. Clarkson is ranked 17th on the penalty kill (85.1%, 63-74) and 19th on the power play (18.1%, 15-83).
• Clarkson plays ECAC Hockey competiton from here on out, returning to action on January 10-11 by opening the New Year in New England at Yale and Brown.
• The Knights are 5-0-2 at Cheel, 5-2-2 on the road and 2-0-0 at neutral sites.
• Two-time All-American Elizabeth Giguere shows no signs of slowing down in her junior campaign. The right wing is the nation's leading goal scorer with 18 tallies and ranks seventh in the country in points per game (1.67) with 30 points through 18 contests. Giguere was named ECAC Hockey Player of the Week after an MVP effort at the Windjammer Classic where she scored three of Clarkson's seven goals over the weekend to lead the Green and Gold to the tournament title. Working on a current 13-game point streak (15-9-24), ECAC Hockey's Player of the Month for November, has amassed 174 points (71-103) through just 99 games as the Knights' fourth all-time leading scorer.
• Sophomore Marie-Pier Coulombe ranks among the nation's best goaltenders with a 1.26 GAA (4th) and a .945 save percentage (4th) en route to an 10-2-3 record, the most wins by any ECAC Hockey goaltender. She is is tied for fourth in the country for shutouts with three.
• Left wing Gabrielle David is second in scoring among the nation's rookies with 22 points including a NCAA-high 16 assists for freshmen.  She is tied for the best plus/minus (+15) among rookies.
• Senior center Kayla Friesen has tallied four points (1-3) over the last three games and three goals and six assists over the past seven games. The transfer from St. Cloud State has 16 points (7-9) through 13 games.
• Ella Shelton has four assists over her past three games on the blueline and 14 points (2-12) in 14 games. She is moving closer to the century mark with 89 career points (19-70) through 134 games.

Series RPI: Clarkson has dominated the all-time series with a record of 26-5-2 against RPI and is currently on a 10-game winning streak against the Engineers. If not for a 2-1 loss during the 2015-16 season the Golden Knights would be on a 23-game winning streak as Clarkson is 22-1-0 in its last 23 games. Clarkson has not lost at home to RPI since the 2009-10 season where the Engineers skated to a 3-1 win as part of a 4-game unbeaten streak against the Green and Gold. Clarkson has scored 125 goals against RPI and has never been shut out, while RPI has scored 51 times and has been shut out four times. Clarkson and RPI played in Troy earlier this year with the two teams combining for nine goals in the 5-4 Golden Knight win, with Clarkson scoring twice to sneak by with the one-goal win. Michaela Pejzlova, who had two assists in the first game this year, has a team-high 12 points on six goals and six assists against the Engineers. Gabrielle David scored twice and tallied an assist in her first action against RPI. Amanda Zeglen started the game against RPI and played the first 35 minutes, making 11 saves on 14 shots. The coaching staff decided to put Marie-Pier Coulombe in for the last 25 minutes of the contest and she made four saves on five shots.  

Series Union: Clarkson has been nearly perfect against Union with a 31-1-0 record all-time against the Dutchwomen. The lone hiccup came in 2011 when Union skated to a 2-1 win in Schenectady. Following the first game this year, Clarkson is now on a 16-game winning streak against the Dutchwomen. The Golden Knights have scored 152 goals against Union, averaging 4.75 goals per game. The Dutchwomen have only scored 19 goals against Clarkson and have been shut out in 19 of the 32 meetings. In the first matchup this season, the Green and Gold shut out Union 4-0 in Schenectady, with the Knights scoring twice in both the the second and third periods. Michaela Pejzlova (5-8-13), Elizabeth Giguere (5-7-12), and Ella Shelton (1-9-10) have each scored double-digit points against the Dutchwomen. Marie-Pier Coulombe has now played three times against Union and has a .981 save percentage and a 0.333 goals against average, allowing only one goal and posting two shutouts.  

Scouting RPI: Coming into the weekend, RPI has yet to earn its first win of the season and sits at 0-16-1 overall. The Engineers are 0-6-0 in ECAC play and are in 12th place as a result. RPI is tied with Brown for the last in the nation in scoring with 13 goals this season (0.76), although Brown has played in six fewer games. The Engineers have been shut out eight times so far and have scored more than one goal on only two occasions. Their season-high in goals scored came against the then fifth-ranked Golden Knights, where they scored four goals, making that game 30.8% of their scoring output for the year. Blake Orosz continues to be the go-to scorer for the Engineers with a team-high four goals and six points. Ena Nystrom and Amanda Rampado continue to carry the torch for RPI to keep the team in games, combining for a .924 save percentage. Nystrom has a .926 save percentage, which is 16th best in the country, and a 3.25 goals against average. Nystrom has made 450 saves this year in 12 games (37.5 per game) which is just a hair behind Bella McKee, who has made a nation leading 466 saves for Union in 14 games (33.29 per game). Rampado has a .923 save percentage and a 3.04 goals against average when in place of Nystrom.  

Scouting Union: Union enters the weekend with a 2-11-2 record, but has played well in ECAC games, reaching eighth place so far with a 2-3-0 mark. The Dutchwomen earned both of their wins in mid-November, beating Brown 4-1 on the road and taking down Quinnipiac 4-2 at home. Union was less stellar in its other three conference games, losing by a combined 16-2 against the likes of Clarkson (4-0), Yale (5-0), and Princeton (7-2). The Dutchwomen have struggled offensively to the tune of 1.33 goals per game. Union is led on the attack by sophomore Grace Heiting, who has a team-high seven points on three goals and four assists, while senior Katelynn Russ leads the squad with four goals. Freshman Bella McKee has made a big impact in her first year as a collegian. McKee has just a 2-8-2 record, but she has been great under the circumstances overall. McKee has carried a heavy workload as she is the only goaltender in the country to face at least 500 shots.  McKee leads the nation in saves with 466 and her .921 save percentage ranks 22nd in the country. She also owns a 3.02 goals against average.