St. Lawrence Series Preview
St. Lawrence University will look to snap an eight-game postseason losing streak to rival Clarkson when the teams meet in game one of a best-of-three ECAC Hockey first round series at 7 tonight in Appleton Arena.
Clarkson (8-22-4 overall, 4-15-3 conference) finished in last place in the standings for the first time in school history. SLU (15-13-7, 9-8-5) finished in fifth place after a 1-4-3 finish to the regular season cost them the chance to finish in the top four and earn a first-round bye.
The last time the teams met in the postseason was in 2002, when Clarkson swept a quarterfinal series at Cheel Arena 3-1 and 6-1, ending SLU's two-year reign as conference tournament champions.
The last time SLU hosted a series with Clarkson was in 1983 at Appleton Arena. SLU won the opening game 6-3 and Clarkson answered with a 2-1 win in game two. The series was decided after game two with a 10-minute mini-game, which SLU won 3-0.
SLU's last postseason win over the Golden Knights came in a 3-0 decision in the 1988 ECAC championship game in Boston Garden.
Stat of the Night: Three is the magic number for this series. SLU is just 1-10-4 this season when it scores less than three goals in a game. Clarkson is 1-15-1 in the same circumstance.
Who to Watch
Clarkson: Matt Beca will not be missed by Saints fans. Clarkson's senior forward has six goals and eight assists in 12 career games against SLU. Captain Scott Freeman has also performed well against the Saints with two goals and nine assists in 10 games. Junior defenseman Bryan Rufenach has two goals and three assists in nine games. Paul Karpowich is 2-3-1 with a 2.76 goals-against average and a .900 save percentage in six career games against SLU. Richie LaVeau has played two games against the Saints and is 0-0-1 with a 2.37 goals-against average and .940 save percentage.
SLU: None of the Saints have huge numbers against Clarkson. Senior forward Mike McKenzie is the top scorer with one goal and eight assists in 12 games. Travis Vermeulen has two goals and three assists in 11 games. Five other SLU players have four career points against the Golden Knights. Kain Tisi is 1-1 with a 1.52 goals-against average and a .916 save percentage in two games against Clarkson. Alex Petizian is 3-3 with a 3.87 goals-against average and .878 save percentage in six games against the Golden Knights.
Special Teams Watch
Clarkson: Freshman Adam Pawlick leads Clarkson with six power-play goals. Matt Beca and Brandon DeFazio each have five. Beca also has a shorthanded goal. Clarkson has scored on 16.3 percent of its power-play chances and killed 76.8 percent of its penalties. The Golden Knights have four shorthanded goals and have allowed four.
SLU: Travis Vermeulen leads the Saints with seven power-play goals and two shorthanded goasl. Derek Keller has six power-play goals and George Hughes has five. SLU has scored on 19.4 percent of its chances and has killed 78.5 percent of its penalties. The Saints have six shorthanded goals.
Regular-Season Meetings: The teams faced each other three times during the season, including one nonconference game at Cheel Arena on Oct. 24. Clarkson won that contest 4-1, behind a three-goal first period. Nick Tremblay led the Golden Knights with one goal and one assist. The teams tied 3-3 in a conference game at Appleton Arena on Dec. 4 with Corey Tamblyn scoring the game-tying goal with only 30 seconds remaining in the third period. SLU picked up its win the next day at Cheel Arena in a 4-3 decision. Alex Curran scored the game-winner with 1 minute, 44 seconds left in the third period.
Outlook: Clarkson has been playing better than the Saints in the last three weekends. The Golden Knights went 3-2-1 and nearly made that 4-1-1 before Yale rallied from three goals down late in the third period to defeat the Golden Knights. SLU went 1-3-2 and did not win until the last regular-season game against Harvard. ... For Clarkson to win this series the Golden Knights may need to play with a lead. Clarkson plays about the same whether it scores first or not. The Golden Knights are 3-8-1 with the first goal and 5-14-3 without. But SLU is a much stronger team when it scores the first goal of a game. The Saints are 8-1-4 when they strike first and 7-12-4 when the opposition scores first. SLU is also almost unbeatable if it leads after one or two periods. The Saints are 7-0-2 when leading after one and 8-1-3 when leading after two. Clarkson, conversely, is 0-13-1 when it trails after the first period and 2-16-3 when it trails after two. ... One reason for SLU's success when leading after two is the Saints dominance of the third period this season. SLU has outscored the opposition 33-19 in the third period this year. ... As is typical in a playoff game, Clarkson will need a strong effort from goalie Paul Karpowich. Karpowich's season stats are not spectacular, but he has been a much more effective goalie down the stretch. He's saved 90 percent of opposing shots in six of the last seven games and has a .915 save percentage in that span.
