December 2, 2009

Clarke Named Quinnipiac Athlete of Month

HAMDEN, Conn. -- Quinnipiac University men's ice hockey sophomore goaltender Dan Clarke (Belleville, Ontario) has been named the Quinnipiac Athlete of the Month for November. This is the first time that Clarke has been recognized as the top monthly athlete.

Clarke, the only goalie in Division I hockey with a 1.000 winning percentage, posted a perfect 7-0-0 record in the month of November to lead Quinnipiac to 8-0-0 mark for the month and to the No. 4 ranking in the country. Clarke has won seven consecutive decisions for the year, six against ECAC Hockey competition to help the Bobcats slide into first place in the league standings at 7-0-0. For the month, Clarke posted a .935 save percentage and a 2.00 goals-against average after allowing 14 goals in over 420 minutes in net. In a 4-2 win against Clarkson, Clarke stopped 34 of 36 shots on goal before bouncing back with a 27-save effort in a 5-2 win against St. Lawrence, earning ECAC Hockey Goalie of the Week honors. Clarke then stopped 60 of 63 in a two-game weekend sweep of Harvard (5-1) and Dartmouth (4-2) to collect his second straight conference award and third of the season. He then blanked No. 5 Cornell - on the Big Red's home ice - over the first 55 minutes of play before digging in for the 3-2 win. This past week, Clarke stopped 29 of 30 against Princeton in a 5-1 win before turning back 28 against No. 10 UMass in a 5-4 overtime victory.