Team Notes: Clarkson Closes Out Home Stand with First Meeting Against AIC

Coming off its first weekend sweep at Cheel Arena in a year and a half, the Clarkson University Hockey team will look to continue its winning ways when it hosts American International College in a two-game series in Potsdam. The Golden Knights, under first-year head coach Casey Jones and assistants Phil Roy and Andy Jones, face off against the Yellow Jackets on Friday at 7:00 p.m. and then again on Saturday with a 7:30 p.m. starting time for the Parents’ Weekend Game.

The Golden Knights, led by senior captain Jake Morley (Ogdensburg, NY) and assistant captains, grad student Nick Tremblay (Candiac, QUE) and sophomore Ben Sexton (Kanata, ONT), displayed little ill effects from the short week due to the lengthy return from Alaska and exams after the convincing wins over Sacred Heart this past weekend.

On Friday, Clarkson opened the season with a shutout for the second straight year by blanking the Pioneers 3-0 behind a 23-save effort from senior goaltender Paul Karpowich (Thunder Bay, ONT). Senior Louke Oakley (Whitby, ONT) powered the offense with a two-goal performance. On the following night the Green and Gold jumped out to another quick start and skated to a 5-2 victory. Oakley once again led the way with another two-goal outing.

Karpowich was named ECAC Hockey Goaltender of the Week and Okaley was selected to the league’s weekly Honor Roll.

The Knights were especially strong on specialty teams over the weekend, going a combined 4-of-11 on the power play (36%) while killing off all 14 of the Pioneers’ man-advantage opportunities and also recording a shorthanded goal.

Clarkson, which owns a 2-1-1 overall record, closes out a six-game stretch against Atlantic Hockey foes when it travels to Waltham, MA to take on Bentley University in a two game set on October 28-29. The Knights then begin their 51st season of ECAC Hockey play when they host Capital District rivals Rensselaer and Union on November 4-5.

American International, guided by long-time head coach Gary Wright, travels to the North Country looking for its first win of the year despite three strong games to start the 2011-12 campaign. The Yellow Jackets opened the season in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula with two tough losses to Michigan Tech on October 7-8. AIC lost to the Huskies 4-3 and 3-1. This past Saturday, the Yellow Jackets dropped a 2-1 game at Atlantic Hockey foe Holy Cross. AIC plays nine of its first 10 games on the road with its only home game in that stretch next Friday when it hosts Sacred Heart.

The Series:
Clarkson and American International will meet for the first time ever this weekend.

Knight Notes:
Prior to the pair of victories over Sacred Heart, the last time Clarkson gained a weekend sweep at Cheel Arena was on February 12-13, 2010 with wins over Princeton (4-3) and Quinnipiac (4-1) … The Knights also opened the 2010-11 home campaign with a shutout, blanking Bowling Green 4-0 (10/15/10) … After scoring just three goals a season in each of his first three years at Clarkson, for a total of nine goals through his first 99 games, Louke Oakley has found his scoring touch early in the 2011-12 campaign. Through the first four games, he has tallied five goals, including back-to-back two-goal outings this past weekend in the sweep of Sacred Heart. Oakley, who has recorded at least one point in each game this season, has two game-winning goals, two power-play markers and six points. He has 52 career points (14-38) in 103 games … Ben Sexton, who skated in just 12 games as a rookie last year due to injuries, has a three-game point-scoring streak with one goal and three assists … Slowed by injuries through his first three seasons, senior Julien Cayer (Longueuil, QUE) has already equaled his goal total from 23 games last year with three scores this season … Joe Zarbo (Grand Island, NY) leads the Knights’ freshman class with three points (1-2) … An area of concern the past couple of years, Clarkson’s power play is clicking at 30% early this season. The Knights have scored at least one power-play goal in every game and are 7-of-23 with the man-advantage … Clarkson’s penalty kill is at 88.9% (24-27) with one shorthanded score … Freshman defenseman Kevin Tansey (Hammond, ONT) connected for the shorthanded tally for his first collegiate goal … The Knights skated three freshmen, one sophomore and two juniors on the blueline in the weekend series against Sacred Heart … Paul Karpowich has started the last 27 games in the Clarkson goal and 94 during his career. He posted his third career shutout with 26 saves in Friday’s whitewash of Sacred Heart. Karpowich was named ECAC Goaltender of the Week. Karpowich owns a .929 save percentage and a 2.21 goals against average. He is closing in on the all-time save record at Clarkson with 2,761 saves through 97 games … Five former Golden Knight all-stars - Grant Clitsome ’98 (Columbus), Erik Cole (Montreal), Kent Huskins ‘01 (St. Louis), Randy Jones (Winnipeg) and Willie Mitchell (Los Angeles) were on opening day National Hockey League rosters ... Five former Clarkson standouts are listed on American Hockey League (AHL) rosters - Mark Borowiecki (Binghamton), Brandon DeFazio ‘11 (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton), David Leggio ‘08 (Rochester), Shawn Weller (St. John’s) and Steve Zalewski ‘08 (Albany) … Four former Knights are on East Coast Hockey (ECHL) rosters – Matt Beca ’10 (Florida), Scott Freeman ‘11 (Bakersfield), Tim Marks ’10 (Elmira) and Bryan Rufenach ’11 (Toledo).