Team Notes: Clarkson Opens Seventh Season Hosting Boston College

Clarkson University Women’s Hockey officially opens its seventh season this weekend as the Golden Knights host Boston College in a two-game series at Cheel Arena.

Guided by second-year co-head coaches Shannon and Matt Desrosiers, the Golden Knights return 17 letterwinners from last year’s squad that posted a 16-14-6 overall record. Add in the four promising newcomers, and the Green and Gold feel they have the potential to enjoy a breakthrough campaign in 2009-10.

Leading Clarkson this season will be senior forward Britney Selina (Thornill, ONT), who will serve as the Knights’ captain, and senior defenseman Carlee Eusepi (Oakville, ONT), who will act as an assistant captain. Third-team 2009 ECAC All-Stars, Selina and Eusepi are among the nine veterans on the squad that participated in the ECAC Hockey Championship Tournament two years ago.

Clarkson will have to be in top form throughout the season as it faces the most difficult schedule yet in the history of the program, battling some of the premier teams in the country. Along with the always spirited 22-game conference slate in ECAC Hockey, the Golden Knights will compete against a formidable non-league schedule, featuring games against the three other conference regular season champions. The Green and Gold will play 11 of their 34 games against teams that competed in the 2009 NCAA Tournament.

Boston College an NCAA Tournament participant last winter and one of the top five teams in Hockey East that the Knights will play this season, will be the first of many challenges the Green and Gold will face. The Eagles, guided by third-year head coach Katie King, return 12 letterwinners from last year’s team which posted a 22-9-5 record and finished in second place in Hockey East.

Clarkson will look to make the most of its home ice advantage playing 17 games in Potsdam, including nine of its first 11. The Knights post a .662 winning percentage at home with a 62-29-11 record at Cheel through the first six years.

If the opening exhibition game last Saturday is a harbinger of things to come, Clarkson’s opponents could be in for a tough time when facing the Golden Knights. The Green and Gold peppered the Ottawa Senators PWHL squad with 54 shots in a 7-3 victory at Cheel.

Selina, Clarkson’s all-time leading scorer, led the Knights’ offense with two goals and two assists. Dominique Thibault (L'Original, ONT), a senior transfer who enjoyed three all-stars seasons at UConn, also scored twice in her Clarkson debut. In all, 10 Golden Knights recorded at least one point in the win over Ottawa. Lauren Dahm (Baldwinsville, NY) turned aside nine shots through two periods of action in the Knights’ goal, while freshman Kelsey Neumann (China Grove, NC) made two saves on three shots over the final 20 minutes in her first Clarkson appearance.

Boston College leads the all-time series by a slim 3-2-2 margin. The Eagles currently hold a three-game unbeaten streak (2-0-1) over the Knights. Last season, Clarkson opened the year with a weekend series in Chestnut Hill on October 4-5, losing the first game to the Eagles 2-0 before earning a 4-4 tie the next day. This will be the first time the two teams have played each other at Cheel. The first four games of the rivalry were played in Lake Placid. The Knights’ last win in the series was a 2-1 triumph on December 31, 2005.