Season Preview: Clarkson Strives for Banner 2011-12 Campaign

When a team loses its all-time leading goal scorer, a record-setting goaltender and the program’s leader in career games played to graduation there is usually significant cause for concern about the upcoming season. While the Clarkson University Women’s Hockey team will miss the contributions of the departed seniors, there is a sense among the coaching staff that 2011-12 could be a banner year for the Golden Knights.

With a strong mix of veteran experience and youthful talent, Clarkson co-Head Coaches Matt and Shannon Desrosiers feel that the Green and Gold have the potential to challenge for the top spot in ECAC Hockey and make a return to the NCAA Tournament after a one-year absence.

The Knights posted a 14-17-6 overall record in 2010-11, but buoyed by the play of an emerging freshman class, Clarkson was a formidable foe in the second half. The Knights, who finished sixth in the league standings with a 10-8-4 mark, went 7-3-3 to close out the regular season. Clarkson then took ninth-ranked Dartmouth to the limit in the ECAC playoffs in Hanover, NH before falling in overtime in the series deciding third game.

Sixteen letterwinners return, led by six seniors who have enjoyed great success at Clarkson. The Class of 2012 has compiled 53 wins, made three postseason appearances, and has skated in an ECAC Championship game and the NCAA playoffs through their first three years in Potsdam. The Desrosiers and assistant coach Matt Kelly have also brought in a highly-touted freshman class that shows the promise of last year’s outstanding rookie crop.

The 2011-12 campaign marks the ninth season of Division I Women’s Hockey at Clarkson and one of the most challenging slates the Knights have ever faced. The Green and Gold will play 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 in the final USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll.

After an exhibition contest in Potsdam against Whitby-PWHL on September 24, the 34-game regular season officially opens 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 its 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. 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 and Harvard on October 28-29.

Clarkson picked for fifth in ECAC Hockey Preseason Coaches Poll

GOALTENDER:

After posting a school-record 49 wins through a stellar four-year career, Lauren Dahm will be missed in the Clarkson crease, but the Knights remain solid between the pipes with the return of sophomore Eric Howe (Ottawa, ONT).

An All-ECAC Rookie Team selection last year, Howe earned the Green and Gold’s starting nod in the season’s second half, starting 13 of the final 14 games. She played in 25 games overall, including 22 starts, and posted a 10-7-5 record, including two shutouts, on a .928 save percentage and a 1.87 goals against average. Howe participated in Canada’s National Women’s Under-22/Development Team camp in August.

Providing depth will be freshmen Jenna Boss (Little Canada, MN) and Emily Horn(Hamilton, ONT), who both bring solid credentials from their junior teams. Boss was a 2010 All-Conference selection as well as a 2010 All State Honorable Mention with the Roseville Raiders in Minnesota. Horn played last season for the Brampton Jr Thunder (PWHL).

DEFENSE:

With four veterans returning and three freshmen looking for action, there will be plenty of competition for playing time on the Knights’ blueline.

Seniors Danielle Boudreau (Whitby, ONT) andKatelyn Ptolemy (Dinsmore, SASK) have been steady performers for the Green and Gold throughout their careers and will provide veteran leadership.

An unselfish team player, Boudreau was the recipient of Clarkson’s 2011 Ron Frazer Award, which is presented to a player who has proven to elevate her game in key situations. She played in all 37 games and recorded eight points, including seven assists. Ptolemy has been a mainstay on defense since her rookie campaign, and provides Clarkson with valuable experience having skated in 111 career games on the Knights’ blueline along with logging ample time with Canada’s national team program. She was a productive force offensively from the back end last year with 11 points (2-9).

In her second year with the Knights last winter,Hailey Wood (Lethbridge, ALB) really came into her own and should enjoy a standout junior campaign. Last season, Wood led the Knights in plus/minus with a +11 and recorded four goals and eight assists through 33 games. Sophomore Vanessa Plante(Riviere-du-Loup, QUE) was a solid contributor last year as Clarkson’s lone rookie defenseman. She played in 33 games and recorded three assists along with a +3 plus/minus rating.

Freshmen Taylor Gedig (Kelowna, BC), Daniella Matteucci (Fruitvale, BC) and Jennifer Shields(Ingersoll, ONT) will push for playing time and help fill the void left by the graduation of Courtney Olson.

Gedig played last season for the Warner Hockey School where she was the assistant captain and a JWHL First-Team All-Star. Matteucci was a key performer for the 2011 Canadian Esso Cup Champion Notre Dame Hounds and was named the 2011 Female Athlete of the Year at Notre Dame. Gedig and Matteucci both skated with Team BC in the 2010 Canadian U-18 Nationals and in the 2011 Canada Winter Games. Shields skated last year for the Bluewater Jr. Hawks. She also has experience in the Canada National program as a 2010 and 2011 U-18 team member. She won a silver medal at the 2011 Canada Winter Games as a member of Team Ontario.

FORWARD:

The Knights take a hit up front with the loss of Melissa Waldie, who scored a school-record 67 career goals along with 121 points, but with seven of last year’s top eight scorers returning, Clarkson should be able to put up significant numbers offensively.

Seniors Juana Baribeau (Amos, QUE), Kali Gillanders (Kyle, SASK) andGabrielle Kosziwka (Limehouse, ONT) and Brittany Mulligan (London, ONT) have been steady contributors offensively through three seasons and should enjoy solid campaigns in their final year of eligibility.

Baribeau has been a clutch performer for the Green and Gold and is next in line to break the Century Mark. Through 113 career games, she has tallied 91 points (46-45) and netted nine power-play goals and eight game-winners along with two shorthanded markers. Baribeau scored 21 points (10-11) last season.

Gillanders is a solid two-way player who played the majority of last season on defense. She skated in all 37 games recording three goals and three assists. Gillanders was among the Golden Knights’ team leaders in plus/minus at +5, and netted a power-play marker, a shorthanded tally and a game-winner.

A hard-working, dedicated forward for the Knights who has come through with several timely goals during her career, Kosziwka has played in 113 games recording 24 goals and 15 assists. She tallied 12 points and five goals through 37 games last year. Mulligan is a strong power forward who tallied 11 points on four goals and seven assists. She has played in 94 career games posting 25 points (11-14).

After adjusting to the faster pace of the collegiate game as a freshman, junior Danielle Skirrow (Trenton, ONT) broke out as one of the Knights’ best forwards in 2010-11. She finished with 11 goals (second most on the team) and 16 points through 37 games after scoring just once in 2009-10.

The forwards in Clarkson’s Class of 2014 really emerge in the second half of last season and played a pivotal role in the Knights’ late season success, accounting for 35% of the team’s offense.

Sophomore Jamie Lee Rattray (Kanata, ONT) led the Green and Gold in scoring with 25 points, including a team-high 18 assists, and posted a +5 plus/minus rating. Named Clarkson’s Rookie of the Year and an All-ECAC Hockey Rookie Team selection, sophomore Carly Mercer (Exeter, ONT) tied for second on Clarkson in scoring with 24 points with eight goals and 16 assists, and posted a +5 plus/minus rating. Both Rattray and Mercer participated in Canada’s National Women’s Under-22/Development Team camp in August.

Classmate Brittany Styner (Calgary, ALB) picked up her play late last season and finished with three goals and nine assists.

By skating in all 37 games, sophomores Vanessa Gagnon (St. Constant, QUE), Amanda Lucky(Kanata, ONT) and Shelby Nisbet (Wiseton, SASK) gained valuable experience last season and will help fill the roles left by the graduation of Daris Tendler (record-holder for career games played at 150) and Caitlin Oleksa.

The lone rookie up front for the Knights this season,Christine Lambert (Thetford Mines, QUE) will push for playing time after a strong season with the Ontario Hockey Academy (OHA) Mavericks in 2010-11. She also skated with the Canadian U-18 team in 2009.