Team Notes: Golden Knights Close Homestand vs. St. Lawrence

With a hard-earned victory this past Saturday, the Clarkson University Hockey team snapped a three-game winless skid and gained some much needed confidence heading into this Saturday’s matchup in Potsdam against its archrival. The Golden Knights, guided by eighth-year head coach George Roll, associate coach Greg Drechsel and assistant coach Chris Rogles, will look to build upon the momentum generated in the win over Harvard when they host St. Lawrence University at Cheel Arena beginning at 7:00 p.m. on November 20.

Clarkson, led by junior captain Mark Borowiecki (Kanata, ONT) and assistant captains, senior Brandon DeFazio (Oakville, ONT) and junior Jake Morley (Ogdensburg, NY), stands at 5-4-2 overall and 1-2-1 in ECAC Hockey.

After a disappointing start to the league campaign when the Green and Gold went 0-2-1 on their home ice, Clarkson responded after a 7-1 loss to Dartmouth on Friday with a much needed win on Saturday at Cheel, defeating the Crimson 3-1.

Junior Paul Karpowich (Thunder Bay, ONT) posted 35 saves and the Golden Knights received another balanced effort offensively with three different goal scorers as they defeated the Crimson for the 50th time in their rivalry. Freshman Allan McPherson (Kinburn, ONT), sophomore defenseman Nik Pokulok (Vaudreuil-Dorion, QUE) and senior Scott Freeman (Whitby, ONT) scored for Clarkson, which won its third game at home this season.

With much more depth on its roster this season, Clarkson has shown its balance early in the season with 17 players scoring at least one goal and 22 Knights notching at least one point. 

DeFazio, who has a four-game point streak, leads the Knights in scoring with nine points on three goals and six assists through 11 games. Freshman Matt Zarbo (Grand Island, NY), who is one of five Knights with a team-high three goals, is averaging a point a game through seven contests. Six Clarkson players have recorded five points. 

Junior Paul Karpowich (Thunder Bay, ONT) has seen the bulk of the work load in the Clarkson crease and posts a .918 save percentage, a 2.85 goals against average and a 5-4-2 record, including one shutout.

After two impressive victories at Appleton Arena to start its ECAC Hockey campaign, St. Lawrence suffered a weekend sweep in Canton this past Friday and Saturday as Harvard, 4-2, and Dartmouth, 6-1, handed the Saints a pair of losses on their home ice. Guided by long-time head coach Joe Marsh, now in his 26th season behind the St. Lawrence bench, the Saints opened league play on November 5-6 with dominating wins over Cornell (3-0) and Colgate (4-1). St. Lawrence, which plays 11 of its next 12 games on the road, owns a 2-6-3 overall record and a 2-2 conference slate.

The Series:

The Golden Knights hold an overwhelming 112-64-9 series lead against the Saints, which began with a 1-0 Clarkson victory during the 1925-26 season. The rivalry has been even in the 2000s, however, with the North Country foes going 15-15-2. Clarkson won the first of three meetings this season with St. Lawrence, skating to a non-conference 2-1 overtime triumph in Lake Placid on October 30. Freshman Matt Zarbo netted the winning goal at 2:36 of the sudden-victory period.

Last season the North Country foes skated in six games with St. Lawrence coming out on top 3-2-1, including a 2-1 series victory (3-2ot, 3-4ot, 3-2) in an ECAC playoff first-round series in Canton on March 5-7. The teams went 1-1-1 in three regular-season games last season. Clarkson won the first meeting, a non-league affair at Cheel Arena, 4-1 on October 24. The rivals battled to a 3-3 draw at Appleton Arena on December 4, and St. Lawrence won the last game 4-3 in Potsdam on December 5. Clarkson owns an 18-6-1 record against the Saints at Cheel.

Scott Freeman leads the Green and Gold in scoring against the Saints with 13 points on two goals and 11 assists through 14 games. Paul Karpowich posts a .917 save percentage, a 2.57 goals against average and a 4-5-1 record through 584:13 minutes of play against SLU. Through two games in the series, Richie LaVeau holds a 0-0-1 mark on a .940 save percentage and a 2.37 GAA. George Roll is 11-11-2 against St. Lawrence, while Joe Marsh owns a 29-40-3 mark against Clarkson.

Knight Notes:
The Knights snapped a three-game winless skid (0-2-1) with a hard-earned 3-1 victory over Harvard on Saturday, Clarkson’s 50th all-time victory over the Crimson … The Knights received a balanced effort offensively in the win over Harvard as seven different players recorded a point, including three separate goal scorers … Sophomore defenseman Nik Pokulok tallied his first career goal for the game-winner … Through the first 11 games, 17 different Knights have scored at least one goal … Brandon DeFazio, who has a four-game point streak, leads Clarkson with nine points and shares the team lead in goals (3) with five other players … Clarkson is 5-0-2 when scoring first and 5-0-1 when leading or tied after two periods … The Knights have outscored their opponents 20-5 in their five wins, but have been outscored 24-2 in their four losses … Scott Freeman has five points this season and tallied the Knights’ third goal to seal the win over Harvard for his third of the year. He is bidding to become the next Golden Knight to reach the century mark with 74 career points (21-53) through 113 games … Allan McPherson enjoyed his first multiple-point game as a Golden Knight with the first goal against Harvard and an assist on Saturday’s game-winner … Freshman defenseman Alex Boak (Norwood, NY) notched his first collegiate goal with the Knights’ lone score against Dartmouth … Clarkson’s freshman class is accounting for 37% of the Knights’ offense with 11 goals and 18 assists through the first 11 games … Paul Karpowich combined for 69 saves through five periods of work over the weekend, including 35 stops in the win over Harvard for his 20th all-time victory in the Clarkson goal. He has posted 30-or-more saves in seven games this season … The Knights’ penalty-kill is ranked 8th in the nation (57-64, .89.1%) and has killed off more power plays than any of the other top 15 shorthanded units in Division I … After scoring on their last three power-play chances in the 4-4 tie against Colgate (11/5), the Knights have had just six man-advantage opportunities over the past three games (0-of-6), with only three going the full two minutes … Former Clarkson two-time All-American defenseman Brian Mueller (1991-95) has been selected as one of ECAC Hockey’s Top 50 All-Time Players. Mueller was among the first to be recognized as the League announced the first installment of honorees as part of its top 50 players of all-time on November 11. He was a leading contributor on three Clarkson NCAA Tournament teams and served as a co-captain of the 1994-95 Golden Knight squad which won the ECAC Regular Season title. Among the most talented offensive-defenseman in the country, Mueller amassed 39 goals and 117 assists in 131 games … Clarkson closes out a lengthy stretch of 10 consecutive games in the North Country, including nine at Cheel Arena, when it hosts archrival St. Lawrence on Saturday prior to beginning a five-game road trip to close out the 2010 portion of the schedule … The Golden Knights are taking part this month in Movember. The Mo, slang for moustache, and November come together each year for Movember. Movember challenges men to change their appearance and the face of men’s health by growing a moustache. The rules are simple, start Movember 1st clean-shaven and then grow a moustache for the entire month. The moustache becomes the ribbon for men’s health, the means by which awareness and funds are raised for cancers that affect men. Along with growing moustaches, the Knights will raffle off a signed Clarkson hockey jersey and gift certificates from local businesses during Movember. Funds raised benefit the Prostate Cancer Foundation and LIVESTRONG. Those who wish to make donations can donate to Clarkson by visiting the "Movember" website and click on this url -
https://www.movember.com/us/donate/your-details/team_id/108242