Road unkind to Knights

The road has not been kind to the Clarkson University men's hockey team so far this season.

But things are looking up for the Golden Knights as they prepare to open the ECAC Hockey portion of their schedule this weekend with games at Quinnipiac and Princeton.

So far Clarkson is 0-4 in road games, but it's hard to tell yet if this will be a good or bad road team. That's because Clarkson (3-4 overall) has yet to play a road game with it's full squad.

That won't even happen on Friday night at Quinnipiac as defenseman Bryan Rufenach, one of Clarkson's primary offensive options on special teams, will miss the game after a game disqualification major last weekend at Minnesota-Duluth.

Clarkson opened the season with two games at Michigan State, but left forwards Tim Marks and Jake Morley, as well as goalie Richie LaVeau, home as punishment for violating a team rule at the end of last season.

Last weekend was the second road trip of the season for the squad, but the team saw several players come down with the flu during the trip. Leading goal scorer Matt Beca played sparingly and captain Scott Freeman and senior defenseman Jeremiah Crowe spent Saturday night at the team hotel.

"It's so hard to tell," coach George Roll said about the illness factor. "One day it's somebody and the next day it's somebody else. At this stage I think we'll be OK."

Another concern coming out of last weekend's trip was ankle injuries suffered by Corey Tamblyn and Freeman during the Minnesota-Duluth game.

"They should be all right," Roll said of the duo. "From that respect, I think we're going to be fine."

Four statistics could tell the tale of how the Golden Knights perform this season: won-loss records at home and away, record when scoring the first goal of a game and record when allowing the first goal.

So far this season the Golden Knights have played well at home, winning all three regular-season games and also dominating an exhibition game against the University of Toronto.

Clarkson has had only three seasons in the last decade where it's had a winning record on the road. In the years the Golden Knights have struggled, they've had horrible road records, like last season's 4-13-2 mark.

Even though the team is 0-4 in road games so far this season, Roll is not worried because of the caliber of the opponent and the fact that he still has not coached a road game where he had his full complement of players.

"I think overall, through the nonleague portion of our schedule so far, I'm happy in some respects," Roll said. "The two games I'm disappointed in were our first games at Michigan State and Minnesota-Duluth. But the next nights at both places I thought we played extremely hard. Our work ethic was there and we competed. We don't want to be 3-4 at this stage, but I think the effort's been there every night.

"I think (the tough schedule) makes us a better team and that's what we talked about this weekend coming off of it. I think playing those teams on the road makes your team better whether you win or lose those games. That's one encouraging thing that came out of those weekends."

Playing with a lead has been a factor for Clarkson the last two years. Since the start of last season the Golden Knights are only 1-15-4 when the opposition scores first. The program has not had a winning record in games where the opposing team scored first in the last 10 years, but in their better seasons they've been closer to .500.

Clarkson was 8-10-2 when the opposition scored first in the 2007-08 season, the last time the program was in the NCAA Tournament.

Another statistic some have pointed to as a bad sign is that Clarkson is allowing 38 shots a game. But that is a stat Roll is not concerned with, as his team has changed its defensive system.

"We're trying to out-man teams down low and give up shots from the perimeter," Roll said. "We haven't perfected it yet. But we've done a better job of limiting teams' grade A (scoring chances). Teams can get shots from outside the grade A area all they want."

50 YEARS OF THE MASK

Fifty years ago this week, Montreal Canadiens goalie Jacques Plante decided to play with a face mask on after suffering a serious cut to his face when he was hit by a puck.

Now it would be unthinkable for a goalie to even practice without a mask, as Clarkson goalie Paul Karpowich can attest. He was asked how often he gets hit in his mask by pucks.

"Just about every day," Karpowich said. "It's not good. Your ears ring. It almost shocks you a little bit."

Sportswriter Cap Carey covers Clarkson University men's hockey for the Times. For more coverage visit the "Knights Tales" blog online at www.watertowndailytimes.com. You may reach him at ccarey@wdt.net.