Cornell Preview
Clarkson (5-12-3 overall, 1-5-2 conference) faces one of its biggest tests of the season as it faces the No. 9 Big Red (8-4-2, 6-2-1) in an ECAC Hockey game at 7 tonight in Cheel Arena.
The Golden Knights are coming off a win and tie last weekend in their final nonconference games of the season against Alabama-Huntsville.
Cornell is also coming off a big win, knocking off New Hampshire 5-2 on ESPNU on Jan. 3. Here are highlights of that contest:
Associate Head Coach Greg Drechsel on Cornell
"We know what to expect from Cornell. Cornell's always one of the top teams in our league. They do a great job of coaching players down there and we know they won't beat themselves. We have to go out and play hard and play consistent and be disciplined."
Stat of the Night
Cornell has not won a game in the north country since the 2004-05 season, going 0-5-3 in the past four seasons. The Big Red is 0-2-2 at Cheel Arena and 0-3-1 at St. Lawrence University's Appleton Arena.
Who to Watch
Clarkson:None of the Golden Knights have big scoring numbers against Cornell, but senior Matt Beca is the leader with two goals and one assist in seven career games. Tim Marks has one goal and one assist in six games and Lauri Tuohimaa has two assists in five games. Goalie Paul Karpowich is 0-1-1 with a 1.93 goals-against average and .911 save percentage against Cornell.
Cornell:Cornell's top offensive threat this season has been Blake Gallagher, who has 11 goals and eight assists in 14 games. Colin Greening is the second-leading scorer with six goals and 13 assists and Joe Devin has four goals with 10 assists. Gallagher is also dangerous on special teams with seven power-play goals. Goalie Ben Scrivens has seen every second of ice time this season and is 8-4-2 with a 2.20 goals-against average and a .923 save percentage.
Last Meeting
Paul Karpowich made 27 saves and Cornell's Ben Scrivens made 34 as the teams skated to a scoreless tie last Jan. 31 in Cheel Arena. Cornell went 0-for-3 on the power play and Clarkson was 0-for-2.
Stats and Notes:Will Cornell be rusty at the start of tonight's game? The Big Red have not played a game for 12 days. ... Cornell leads the all-time series 52-49-12, largely due to coach Mike Schafer, who is 25-14-5 against Clarkson since becoming the Big Red's coach in the 1995-96 season. ... Cornell is only 5-11-4 at Cheel Arena. ... Staying out of the penalty box will be paramount for Clarkson tonight. Cornell has the No. 2 power play in the nation, connecting at 27.3 percent and Clarkson's penalty kill is just 75.4 percent. ... Four Golden Knights enter tonight's game on hot streaks. Matt Beca has a goal in the last three games. Scott Freeman has two goals and three assists in the last three games. Louke Oakley has three assists in the last four games and Nick Tremblay has one goal and three assists in the last three games.
