Clarkson Announces 2011-12 Schedule

With six games against teams that made the NCAA Tournament, including four match-ups against 2011 Frozen Four participants, and a total of eight contests against national powerhouse squads that ended last season ranked or received votes in the final USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll, makes for a very challenging 2011-12 schedule for the Clarkson University Women’s Hockey team.

2011-12 Clarkson Women's Hockey Schedule web version
PDF version of 2011-12 schedule

Guided by fourth-year co-head coaches Matt and Shannon Desrosiers, and assistant coach Matt Kelly, the Golden Knights open the 34-game regular season at the University of Vermont on September 30. Clarkson plays a non-conference game at St. Lawrence on October 1 in the first of three meetings against their arch-rival this season. 

The Knights’ home slate in Potsdam begins the following weekend, when the Green and Gold host Hockey East foes Providence College and UCONN in the first of 15 regular-season games at Cheel Arena.

After battling Syracuse University in a home-and-home weekend series on October 14-15, Clarkson closes out the season-opening, non-league portion of the schedule by hosting 2011 NCAA national runner-up Boston University on October 21 and traditional powerhouse the University of New Hampshire on October 22.

Clarkson, which has qualified for ECAC Hockey postseason play in each of its first seven years in the highly competitive conference, opens the 22-game league campaign hosting conference powers Dartmouth College and Harvard University on October 28-29. Dartmouth, which advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals last March, ended the Knights’ season last year by edging Clarkson 2-1 in the league quarterfinal series, including a 4-3 overtime victory in the series clinching game in Hanover, NH.

Other non-league affairs for the Green and Gold include a pair of road games at Niagara University on December 18-19 to close out the 2011 portion of the schedule, and a trip to Boston to open the New Year on January 5-6 playing at Northeastern University and Boston College, both who were listed in last year’s final USA Today national poll.

Prior to the official start of the 2011-12 campaign, Clarkson will host Whitby-PWHL on Saturday, September 24 in an exhibition contest to begin the program’s ninth season.

Playoff hockey begins on February 24-26 with the quarterfinal round of the ECAC Hockey tournament. The league's championship weekend will be held on March 2-3 at the campus sites of the highest remaining seeds in the eight-team tournament.

NCAA postseason play concludes on Sunday, March 18 with the 12th Annual Women’s National Championship at Amsoil Arena in Duluth, MN.