Women's Hockey Preview
For the third time in the last four years Clarkson and St. Lawrence University will meet in a women's ECAC Hockey quarterfinal series.
The past two occassions - 2007 and 2009 - were played at SLU's Appleton Arena.
But this time the Golden Knights (20-9-5 overall, 14-5-3 conference) have home-ice advantage as the No. 2 seed in the tournament. SLU (15-12-7, 11-8-3) is the No. 7 seed.
Game one is at 4 p.m. Friday at Cheel Arena. Game two is at 2 p.m. Saturday and game three, if necessary, is at 2 p.m. Sunday.
Should Clarkson win the series it will host a conference semifinal game next Friday at Cheel Arena. If the Saints win the series they will play a semifinal game on the road next Friday.
Stat of the Series:
Three seems to be the key number, at least regarding goals. SLU is 61-1-5 over the past three seasons when it scores at least three goals in a game and this year the Saints are 15-1-3. SLU is 0-11-4 when it fails to score three goals. Clarkson is 43-2-6 in the same span when it gets three or more goals. This year the Golden Knights are 15-1-2 when scoring three or more and 5-8-3 when held below that number.
Who to Watch
Clarkson:
The Golden Knights are led by Connecticut transfer Dominique Thibault, who has 19 goals and 17 assists. She also has five game-winning goals. Britney Selina, the school's all-time leading scorer with 144 career points, has nine goals and 23 assists this year. Juana Baribeau has 15 goals and 16 assists and Melissa Waldie is the other top scoring threat with 15 goals and 11 assists. Carlee Eusepi leads the defense with a plus-20 rating and also has five goals and 11 assists. Lauren Dahm has seen almost all the playing time in goal and is 20-8-5 with a 1.53 goals-against average and a .935 save percentage.
St. Lawrence:
Vanessa Emond leads the Saints wit 16 goals and 16 assists. SLU's only other double-digit player in goals is freshman Kayla Sullivan, who has 12. Britni Smith is the Saints top defensive player and also ranks second on the team in scoring with eight goals and 17 assists. Kelly Sabatine has nine goals with 14 assists and Michelle Ng has nine goals with 11 assists.
The Saints have used two goalies during the season. Brittony Chartier has played 66 percent of the time and is 11-9-6 with a 2.27 goals-against average and a .910 save percentage. Maxie Weisz is 4-3-1 with a 1.85 goals-against average and a .920 save percentage.
Special Teams Watch
Clarkson:
Clarkson has scored on just 15 percent of its power plays this season and has killed 83.2 percent of its penalties. Melissa Waldie leads the team with nine power-play goals. Dominique Thibault has five and Britney Selina has four.
St. Lawrence:
The Saints have capitalized on 19.6 percent of their power plays and have killed 87.9 percent of its penalties. SLU's top power-play threats are Britni Smith and Kayla Sullivan, who each have five goals. Alley Bero has four power play goals. Vanessa Emond has three short-handed goals and Britni Smith has two. The Saints have seven shorthanded goals.
Playoff History
2007: Clarkson suffered a heartbreaking loss in game one of this quarterfinal series, falling 3-2. SLU completed the sweep with a 3-1 win in game two the following night. Clarkson scored two goals in the second period of the opener to build a 2-0 lead and held a lead until SLU tied the game
with 75 seconds left on a goal from Chelsea Grills. The Saints scored the game winner on a shot from Crystal Connors with only 29 seconds remaining.
2009: Just like in 2007, Clarkson appeared to have game one in Appleton under control only to see the Saints rally for a win and go on to sweep the series. Clarkson had a 3-1 lead late in the third period of the opening game. The Saints scored twice in the final 3:33 to send the game to overtime, where they went on to win 4-3. SLU's tying goal came with only 63 seconds left in the third period. SLU went on to win game two 2-1 to complete the sweep.
Stats and Notes: Clarkson staggered down the stretch, going 1-4-2 in its final seven games to slip to second place in the ECAC Hockey standings.
The Golden Knights' slump started with a 4-2 loss to SLU in Appleton Arena on Feb. 2, in a game where Clarkson played without goalie Lauren Dahm, who was ill. ... This will be just the second quarterfinal series at Cheel Arena for Clarkson, who beat Princeton in three games in 2008. ... Clarkson is 3-11-2 lifetime against the Saints, but is 3-2-1 against SLU in games at Cheel Arena, including two straight wins. .. SLU has a few streaks riding on its playoff performance. The Saints have made the NCAA Tournament six straight years, but the only way they will make it seven straight is if they win the conference tournament. SLU also has a seven-year streak of quarterfinal-series wins on the line. ... Neither team has ever won the ECAC Hockey Tournament.
