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Clarkson Women Strive for 4th ECAC Hockey Title This Weekend

3/4/2020 7:08:00 PM

Three-time defending ECAC Hockey Tournament Champion, Clarkson University is back at the league's showcase event looking for its fourth consecutive conference postseason title. Advancing to the semifinal round for the eighth straight season, the Golden Knights will battle Princeton, Harvard and host Cornell for the ECAC Hockey Tournament crown at Lynah Rink in Ithaca, NY on Saturday and Sunday.

The No. 3 seed in the tournament, Clarkson will face off against No. 2 seed Princeton in the second semifinal game on Saturday, slated for a 4:00 p.m. start. No. 1 seed Cornell will play fourth-seeded Harvard in Saturday's other semifinal game, starting at 1:00 p.m. The semifinal winners will meet on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. in the conference tournament championship game.

NCAA Women's Hockey Tournament Selection Show will be streamed on Sunday, March 8 at 9:00 p.m. on NCAA.com
 
• Guided by 12th-year Head Coach Matt Desrosiers and assistants Britni Smith and Tony Maci, Clarkson placed in the top 4 of the ECAC Hockey standings for the ninth consecutive season with a third-place 14-4-4 league mark.
• Ranked 7th in the national polls, the Green and Gold, led by senior Captain Ella Shelton and Assistant Captains, senior Taylor Turnquist and junior Meaghan Hector, have skated to their ninth straight 20-win campaign with a 25-5-6 overall record.
• Clarkson, which has qualified for the ECAC Hockey playoffs in every year it has been eligible, is 32-20 in 16 seasons of league postseason play. The Knights advance  to their 10th conference championship tournament after sweeping Colgate (2-1ot, 2-0) in quarterfinal action at Cheel this past weekend. 
• The Knights are 23-14 in the quarterfinal round having won 10 of their 16 series, including the past eight. Clarkson advances to its 10th conference championship tournament after sweeping Colgate (2-1ot, 2-0) in quarterfinal action at Cheel this past weekend. 
• The Knights are 6-3 in semifinal play and 3-3 in championship tilts.
• Clarkson has won 14 straight ECAC Hockey postseason games, outscoring its opponents 52-12 since losing the 2016 championship game to Quinnipiac. 1-0.
• The Knights are 2-2 in postseason action at Lynah Rink. Clarkson won its third ECAC Championship last year in Ithaca, defeating Colgate 2-0 and Cornell 4-1. The Knights lost the 2010 Championship game 4-3 to Cornell, and dropped a 2013 semifinal game 4-2 to Harvard.
• Clarkson owns a 20-14-2 advantage over Princeton with the teams splitting 2-1 games on their home ice this season. The Tigers winning at Hobey Baker Rink on November 22 and the Knights winning at Cheel Arena on February 15. Clarkson is 12-2-1 in the last 15 games of the series.
• Clarkson is 3-1 against Princeton in playoff action and has won the three postseason meetings. The Tigers won the first playoff game against the Green and Gold with a 1-0 victory in Game 1 of the 2008 quarterfinals at Cheel Arena, but the Knights came back to win the best-of-three game series with 3-2 ot and 2-1 triumphs. Clarkson won its only semifinal game against Princeton, 4-0 in Potsdam on March 4, 2017.
• A Patty Kazmaier Award Top 3 Finalist, Elizabeth Giguere is the leading goal scorer in NCAA Hockey with 36 tallies in 36 games. The junior right wing, who has seven more goals than any other player in Division I has posted 65 points.  A two-time All-American and USCHO.com Player of the Year last season, Giguere has amassed 209 career points on 89 goals and 120 assists through just 117 games. The Quebec City, Quebec native is just five points shy of breaking Clarkson's all-time points mark of 213, currently held by 2019 Patty Kazmaier Award winner, Loren Gabel '19.
Giguere, who leads the country in game-winning goals with 10, ranked first in the ECAC through 22 league games in goals (23), points (41) and game-winning goals (9). She was tied for fourth in assists (18). 
• Sophomore goaltender Marie-Pier Coulombe has continued the legacy of outstanding play in the Clarkson crease. After playing just 130 minutes in her freshman campaign last year, Coulombe has emerged as one of the top goaltenders in the country this season. The Carignan, QUE native ranks third in the nation in save percentage (.953) and goals against average (1.15) and is tied for fourth in shutouts with seven through 33 games. She has started the last 26 games and owns a 23-5-5 record with seven shutouts. Coulombe was named ECAC Hockey Goaltender of the Week for the fourth time this season and NCAA 3rd Star after turning aside 56 of the 57 shots she faced (28 saves in each win) in the quarterfinal sweep of Colgate. She was named conference Goaltender of the Month for February, backstopping the Knights to a 7-1-1 record. She led the league in saves (244), save percentage (.968) and GAA (.089) for the month. Coulombe allowed more than one goal in a game just twice (both two-goal outings) and played a part in three shutouts.
• Clarkson's second-leading scorer, Gabrielle David leads the nation's rookies in scoring with 38 points through 36 games, including a Division I best 24 assists among freshman. She was named ECAC Rookie of the Week for the third time this season. A center, David figured in on both Clarkson goals in the Game 2 victory over Colgate and was the only freshman in the league to score a game-winning goal in the quarterfinal round. The Drummondville, QUE native was also named ECAC Hockey Player of the Month for February. She tallied three goals and five assists through nine games, helping the Knights to a 7-1-1 record.
• The Knights are 2-0-0 in neutral site games, winning both games at the Windjammer Classic in Burlington Vermont on November 29-30. Clarkson defeated Minnesota State 4-0 and Penn State 3-1 at Gutterson Fieldhouse on the campus of the University of Vermont.
• Clarkson's Captain, senior defenseman Ella Shelton is fifth in the nation and second in the ECAC in scoring from the blueline with nine goals and 23 assists through 32 games. She is only the third Golden Knight rearguard to reach the century mark and has 107 career points (26-81) through 152 games. 
• Clarkson is ranked third nationally in defense, allowing only 1.39 gpg, and 12th offensively, 3.06 gpg.
• The Knights are 8th overall in combined special teams play (54.6%, 148-271). Clarkson is  7th on the penalty kill (89.1%, 123-138) and 11th on the power play (18.8%, 25-133).
• The Knights are 22-0-1 when leading through two periods.
• Clarkson is 19-1-3 when scoring first.
• The Knights have outscored their opponents 34-17 in the first period, 41-20 in the middle frame and 33-13 over the final 20 minutes of regulation.
• The Knights are 17-0-1 when scoring three-or-more goals and 25-1-1 when scoring at least twice.
• Brook McQuigge is Clarkson's second leading freshman scorer with 17 points (8-9).
• Clarkson's three rookie defensemen have played a solid role in the Knights' stingy  defensive effort and have contributed offensively. Lauren Bernard has played in all 36 games, recording 13 points (2-11) and a +24. Stephanie Markowski has 11 assists and a +17 through 35 games. Emily Wisnewski has skated in 34 games and tallied five points (1-4) and a +5. She recorded an assist on the opening goal of the playoffs.
• Clarkson's fourth-leading scorer Kayla Friesen has missed the past four games with an injury. The senior transfer from St. Cloud State has tallied 30 points (10-20) in 27 games.
• Back in the Golden Knights' lineup after missing the previous six games, Clarkson's fifth-leading scorer, Michaela Pejzlova came through with the overtime game-winner in the Game 1 2-1 victory over Colgate. The senior center has three game-winning goals this season and 15 for her career. Pejzlova has 23 points (8-15) in 29 games this season and 165 (64-101) through 147 career games. 
• Clarkson has suffered a significant amount of injuries this season, and on the final weekend of the regular season the Knights were without the services of players who accounted for 496 combined points in their careers.

Series Princeton: Entering the ECAC Semifinal matchup, Clarkson holds a 20-14-2 edge over Princeton. When the series began in the 2004-05 campaign, Princeton won eight of the first nine matchups (8-0-1), but the Golden Knights have had the Tigers' number since then going 20-6-1. The Green and Gold finally broke through against the Tigers in the 2008 ECAC quarterfinals. After dropping game one 1-0 to Princeton, Clarkson rallied for back-to-back victories to advance in the playoffs. The Knights and Tigers have played four times in the postseason with Clarkson holding a 3-1-0 record. All four games were at Cheel Arena. Michaela Pejzlova, Rhyen McGill, Assistant Captain Taylor Turnquist, and Captain Ella Shelton played in the 2017 ECAC semifinal against Princeton. Shelton scored the game-winning goal to help send Clarkson to the ECAC Championship and ultimately the school's second national championship later in the postseason. 

Clarkson and Princeton split the 2019-20 regular-season series with each team winning 2-1 on home ice. Elizabeth Giguere leads the charge against Princeton with three goals and six assists in six games. Giguere had an assist in the loss earlier this year and scored both goals in the team's 2-1 win this February. Pejzlova has scored the most goals against the Tigers with four and has two assists. Marie-Pier Coulombe played great in both matchups this season stopping 72 shots in 119:05 of action. Coulombe has a 1.51 goals against average and a .960 save percentage versus Princeton.  

Scouting Princeton: Ranked 6th in the polls, Princeton enters the semifinal at 24-6-1 after winning a hotly contested three-game series against Quinnipiac. Princeton was granted the second seed in the ECAC playoffs but drew the short straw with their matchup against #10 ranked Quinnipiac whose 11-9-2 conference record caused them to fall to #7 in the ECAC. On Friday night it looked like Princeton would glide to a series sweep at Hobey Baker Rink after dominating the Bobcats 5-1 in game one. Quinnipiac had other plans after winning 3-2 in overtime on Saturday. The Tigers nearly gave away the series after blowing a 2-0 lead late in the third period. of the deciding game 3. After 28:36 of overtime action Sarah Fillier scored to lift Princeton to the semifinals. 

The Tigers attack is very diverse as they have three skaters with 44 or more points. The ultra-dynamic Sarah Fillier leads the team in points with 54 on 20 goals and 34 assists. Senior Carly Bullock is the team leader in goals with 29 and has 22 assists for 51 points. Senior Steph Neatby has been the team's primary option in goal starting 17 games with a 13-3-1 record. Neatby has a .919 save percentage and a 1.97 goals against average. Rachel McQuigge, sister of Clarkson freshman Brooke McQuigge, is the team's backup, but may be more accurately described as option 1B. Princeton's coach decided to turn to McQuigge in the winner-take-all game three this Sunday and came through with the victory. McQuigge has gone 8-3-0 this year and owns a .933 save percentage and a 1.51 GAA.
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