POTSDAM — At least one member of the Clarkson University men's hockey team already knows he will be attending the Frozen Four from April 10-12 in Denver.

Senior goalie David Leggio will take part in a skills competition the day between games, April 11, which will be shown on ESPNU from 9-10:30 p.m.

Leggio would rather not take part in the event. Should Clarkson win this weekend's East Regional in Albany, he'll be excused from the competition to play in the games instead.

The Golden Knights (21-12-4), the No. 3 seed in the East Regional, face No. 2 St. Cloud State (19-15-5) in a semifinal at 4 p.m. Friday at the Times Union Center. Should Clarkson win, it will play either No. 1 Michigan (31-5-4) or No. 4 Niagara (22-10-4) in the regional final at 7 p.m. Saturday. Both games will be on ESPNU.

"It was an honor to be picked," said Leggio of the skills competition. "There are a lot of good goaltenders that could have been picked instead of me. But I want the whole team to be there."

Leggio won ECAC Hockey's Ken Dryden Award as the conference's top goaltender as a junior. This year, he was a member of the league's second team and has a 21-11-4 record with a 2.23 goals-against average, and a .918 save percentage heading into the NCAA tournament.

Clarkson won the ECAC Hockey regular-season championship but was upset in the tournament quarterfinals by eighth-seeded Colgate in three games. Until late last week, the team wasn't even sure if it would still make the 16-team NCAA tournament field.

"We had a suspicion we'd be in," Leggio said. "We were keeping an eye on scores last weekend."

While the players checked the scoreboard, neither Leggio nor Clarkson coach George Roll actively watched the ECAC Hockey semifinals or championship games on television.

"I watched a lot of college basketball and 'Hockey Night in Canada,'" Leggio said.

Said Roll, "I watched a little bit (of the ECAC games) off and on."

PAQUET'S SECOND CHANCE

When Clarkson played St. Cloud State on Nov. 23-24 in Cheel Arena, junior defenseman Phil Paquet watched the games through a window in the building's Barben Room, still nursing a shoulder injury that caused him to miss several games during the first part of the season.

The Golden Knights lost the opening game 4-1 and then beat the Huskies 3-2 the following evening. St. Cloud State had routed Clarkson 4-0 and 7-2 in home games the previous season.

"I didn't get a chance to avenge our losses last year," said Paquet, who will play in Friday's game. "They weren't a physical team that much. Their first two lines were very good. It will be very similar to what we faced against Colorado College. They are very skilled, great passers and skaters."

The Huskies have the fourth-best power-play unit in the nation, converting on 23.2 percent of their chances, so Paquet, who has picked up 57 penalty minutes in 25 games, knows he has to play a physical style, but be careful Friday.

"I don't want to get in the box too much," Paquet said. "You want to get in their face, but if you go too far, you'll end up in the box."

FIRST-TIMERS

Freshmen defenseman Tom Pizzo and Bryan Rufenach will be making their first appearances in NCAA tournament games this weekend.

Pizzo, a native of Rochester, was in the stands last season when Clarkson lost a first-round game to UMass 1-0 at the Blue Cross Arena.

"It was cool to see Clarkson there, already being committed to the (school) made it really exciting," Pizzo said. "I knew (returning) could be an option. You have to keep working hard through the whole season."

Rufenach was playing junior hockey in Canada last season, but he's also eager for the chance to show what he can do on a national stage.

"I knew (coming to Clarkson) was a great way to get there and it's great that we get this chance," Rufenach said.

Both players had a learning curve to go through as freshmen, but each has improved as the season has evolved.

"It took some time to know my job on the team," Rufenach said. "I feel the coaches did a good job in teaching me what I need to know. Everything moves faster at this level."