Team Notes: Clarkson Hosts Central New York Rivals to Open League Campaign
Taking a three-game unbeaten streak into the opening weekend of ECAC Hockey action, the Clarkson University Hockey team carries some momentum into a tough series against a pair of formidable conference foes. Guided by eighth-year head coach George Roll, associate coach Greg Drechsel and assistant coach Chris Rogles, the Golden Knights begin their 50th season of ECAC play when they host Colgate and Cornell this Friday and Saturday at Cheel Arena in a pair of 7:00 p.m. contests to start a five-game home stand.
Clarkson, led by junior captain Mark Borowiecki (Kanata, ONT) and assistant captains, senior Brandon DeFazio (Oakville, ONT) and junior Jake Morley (Ogdensburg, NY), closed out the season-opening non-league portion of the schedule with a thrilling victory over its archrival. The Knights, bolstered by solid play in the crease from junior Paul Karpowich (Thunder Bay, ONT), a stingy penalty-kill headed by Morley, and a timely goal by freshman Matt Zarbo (Grand Island, NY), defeated St. Lawrence 2-1 before an electrifying crowd of 5,500 at 1980 Herb Brooks Arena at Halloween Faceoff in Lake Placid on Saturday night.
Karpowich posted 34 saves, Morley tallied a shorthanded marker, and Zarbo netted the deciding goal 2:36 into overtime as the Green and Gold defeated their North Country neighbor for the 112th time in their heated rivalry. Karpowich was named ECAC Hockey MLX Skates Goaltender of the Week and Zarbo was honored as ECAC Hockey MLX Skates Rookie of the Week. PDF of ECAC Hockey Men's Weekly Awards.
Clarkson, which is receiving votes in the latest national USCHO.com Poll, owns a 4-2-1 record. The Knights were picked for a last-place finish in the league standings this year in the ECAC Hockey Preseason Coaches’ Poll. Clarkson posted a 12th place 4-15-3 mark last year in the conference.
The Knights began their current unbeaten streak with a win (5-1) and a tie (3-3) against Bentley College in Potsdam on October 22-23. Clarkson, which is 2-1-1 at Cheel Arena this season, also split with Bowling Green (4-0, 0-3) at home on October 15-16. The Green and Gold opened their 89th season of play with a loss (8-0 to Nebraska-Omaha) and a win (6-2 vs St. Cloud State) at the Omaha Stampede on October 8-9.
Colgate also played in just one game last weekend and skated to a convincing 5-0 win over Sacred Heart at Starr Rink in Hamilton, NY on Saturday. The Raiders, guided by head coach Don Vaughan, stand at 2-2 overall. Colgate opened the season with a 3-1 win vs Army at the Cape Cod Collegiate Hockey Classic on October 9. The Raiders suffered a pair of one-goal losses (2-1, 5-4) at Lake Superior State on October 22-23. Colgate, which skated to a fourth-place 12-8-2 league mark in 2009-10, is slated for a fifth-place showing this year in the coaches’ poll.
Cornell, which plays at St. Lawrence on Friday, travels to the
North Country with a 0-2 record after last weekend’s
disappointing showing at Lynah Rink in Ithaca. The Big Red, guided
by head coach Mike Schafer, lost at home to New Hampshire (7-4) and
RIT (5-3). A perennial powerhouse in the ECAC, Cornell is ranked
18th in the USCHO.com poll and was picked by the league coaches to
finish second in the conference standings this winter. Last year,
Cornell finished one point behind Yale for the regular-season
title.
The Series:
Clarkson leads the Raiders in their all-time series, which began
during the 1927-28 campaign, 80-44-14. Colgate, however, is
unbeaten against the Green and Gold over the last six meetings
(5-0-1), including three straight victories. The Raiders defeated
Clarkson twice last season with a 6-2 win at Cheel Arena on January
16 and a 6-1 victory at Starr Rink on January 29. Clarkson’s
last win in the series was a 1-0 triumph in Game 1 of the ECAC
Hockey quarterfinal series at Cheel Arena on March 14, 2008. The
two New York State rivals have battled to five ties over the past
nine regular-season meetings. Colgate has won more games (9) at
Cheel than any other visiting team and is tied with the Knights in
the arena with a 9-9-6 mark. The Raiders have won their last four
games in Potsdam. Brandon DeFazio paces the Knights offense
against the Raiders with three points (1-2) through eight games.
Richie LaVeau has started three games in goal against the Raiders
with a .867 save percentage, a 3.67 goals against average and a 0-2
record. Paul Karpowich is 0-1-1 with a .879 save percentage and a
5.00 GAA against the Raiders. George Roll is 5-7-6 against Colgate,
while Raiders’ head coach Don Vaughan is 14-19-9 in the
series.
The lone ECAC Hockey team to hold an advantage over Clarkson in
its all-time series, Cornell is the Knights’ oldest current
rival having first played during the 1922-23 campaign with the
teams battling to a 0-0 tie in Ithaca. The Big Red lead the rivalry
against the Knights 54-49-12. Cornell holds a current four-game
unbeaten streak (3-0-1) in the series, including a 3-1 victory at
Cheel Arena on January 15. The Big Red also knocked off Clarkson
5-3 in Ithaca on January 30 in their last meeting. Clarkson took
two from the Big Red during the 2007-08 campaign, winning 4-2 at
Lynah Rink (1/20/08) and 4-1 at Cheel Arena (2/8/08), for its first
conference sweep in the rivalry since the 1998-99 campaign and its
last victories in the series. Corey Tamblyn is Clarkson’s
leading scorer against Cornell with three points, including two
goals through two games. Paul Karpowich has played four games
against the Big Red, posting a .890 save percentage, a 2.96 goals
against average and a 0-3-1 record. George Roll is 5-13-4 against
Cornell, while the Big Red’s Mike Schafer owns a 26-12-4
record against the Knights.
Knight Notes:
Senior Brandon DeFazio and freshman Matt Zarbo lead a balanced
Clarkson offense with five points each on two goals and three
assists. Zarbo is averaging 1.67 ppg through his first three
collegiate games and leads the Knights in plus/minus at +5 …
Zarbo became the fourth Golden Knight to notch a game-winning goal
this season when he connected for the deciding goal in
Saturday’s 2-1 overtime victory against archrival St.
Lawrence 2:36 into the extra session before 5,500 fans in Lake
Placid … Jake Morley has a team-high three goals …
Fourteen different Knights have scored at least one goal and 20
players have recorded at least a point in Clarkson’s balanced
offense … The Knights boast the second-best penalty-killing
unit in the nation, killing off 38-of-41 opponent power plays
(92.7%) while scoring two shorthanded markers, and have allowed
just one man-advantage goal over the past five games (25-of-26)
… Clarkson, however, is still looking for its first
power-play marker of the season (0-of-33) … Paul Karpowich
is posting solid numbers through the first seven games and ranks
9th in the nation in save percentage at .935. He owns a 2.07 goals
against average … The Knights are 4-0-1 when scoring first
and 3-0-1 when holding the lead through two periods … Zarbo
(2-3), junior Nick Tremblay (Candiac, QUE) (2-1) and freshman
defenseman David Pratt (Napanee, ONT) (1-2) have current three-game
point scoring streaks … Clarkson’s rookies are leading
the way offensively, accounting for 40% of the scoring with seven
goals and 14 assists from the nine-member class … The
Knights’ win over St. Lawrence before 5,500 fans in Lake
Placid was the largest crowd to see Clarkson play an ECAC opponent
since the Knights defeated Quinnipiac in the 2007 league title game
before 5,565 fans in Albany ... Former Clarkson All-American
Craig Conroy ‘94, who is in his 15th National Hockey
League season, played
in his 1,000 NHL game on October 28 in the Calgary Flames game
against the Colorado Avalanche.
