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Clarkson hosts Dartmouth and Harvard in final men's hockey regular season weekend at Cheel

Posted 2/20/15

Although a disappointing weekend on its longest road trip of the year took away some of the momentum the Clarkson University Hockey team was building towards a Top 4 finish in the ECAC Hockey …

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Clarkson hosts Dartmouth and Harvard in final men's hockey regular season weekend at Cheel

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Although a disappointing weekend on its longest road trip of the year took away some of the momentum the Clarkson University Hockey team was building towards a Top 4 finish in the ECAC Hockey standings, the Golden Knights still have four games remaining in the regular season, including their upcoming final home weekend, to push for a first-round playoff bye. Clarkson, guided by fourth-year head coach Casey Jones and assistants Phil Roy '00 and Andy Jones, stands at 8-8-2 in the conference, tied with Cornell for seventh place. The Green and Gold are three points shy of fourth place, but also just four points from falling to ninth in the highly competitive 12-team conference.

Lead by junior captain Paul Geiger (Stouffville, ONT) and assistants, senior James Howden (Edgeley, SASK) and junior Jeff DiNallo (Aurora, ONT), the Knights post an 11-15-4 overall record after losing at Princeton (2-1) and Quinnipiac (4-1). Clarkson closes out the home portion of the regular season this weekend hosting Dartmouth and Harvard in a pair of 7:00 p.m. games at Cheel Arena.

On Saturday, in the regular-season finale, Clarkson will honor the four-year veterans during Senior Night. Clarkson's Class of 2015 – James Howden and Joe Zarbo (Grand Island, NY) - will make their final regular-season appearance before the home crowd. Over their four-year careers, the Knights' seniors have compiled 57 wins and helped Clarkson to its first conference playoff series triumph since 2007 last year.

Clarkson holds a significant 69-26-7 lead over Dartmouth in their series, which began with a 4-1 win in Hanover on February 4, 1929. The series has been fairly even recently with the Knights holding a 5-4-1 advantage in the last 10 games. Clarkson defeated Dartmouth 5-2 at Thompson Arena on January 17 for its second straight victory in Hanover, NH. The Big Green gained a 6-1 win in Potsdam on February 15, 2014 in their last visit to Cheel.

The Knights and Harvard will be meeting for the 117th time in their all-time series which first began with a 2-1 Clarkson win in Lake Placid on December 28, 1935. The Crimson have gone 8-2 over the past 10 meetings to take a one- game lead in the rivalry 53-52-11. Harvard defeated the Knights 6-3 in Cambridge on January 16. The teams split two, one-goal games last year with each winning on the other's home ice. The Crimson skated to their fifth consecutive win at Cheel Arena with a 1-0 overtime triumph a year ago on February 15.

Scouting Dartmouth

Guided by long-time coach Bob Gaudet, Dartmouth is beginning to make a push for a Top 4 spot in the league. Despite a 3-0 loss to Colgate in Hanover this past Saturday, the Big Green have been one the conference's hottest teams since late January. A veteran-laden squad, Dartmouth is one point out of fourth and two points shy of third with a 9-7-2 ECAC Hockey mark. The Big Green, who have gone 6-1-1 over their last eight games, stand at 12-9-4 overall. Last weekend at Thompson Arena, Dartmouth defeated Cornell 3-2 before seeing its seven-game unbeaten streak come to an end with the shutout loss to Colgate. The Big Green are 5-2-3 in road games with their last loss outside Hanover coming on December 5 in Hamden, CT with a 2-1 overtime setback at Quinnipiac. Eric Neiley leads Dartmouth in scoring with 12 goals and 12 assists for 24 points. James Kruger has started 19 games in the Big Green crease, posting a .924 save percentage, a 2.13 GAA and two shutouts for a 8-7-4 record.

Scouting Harvard

Lightly regarded in the preseason polls, Harvard jumped out to an impressive start to the 2014-15 campaign and earned its way to a top ranking in the country. Injuries have taken their toll on the Crimson recently, but Harvard still has the skill and talent to be a formidable foe. Guided by 11th-year head coach Ted Donato, the Crimson, who play at St. Lawrence on Friday night, enter the North Country ranked 13th/14th in the polls with a 13-8-3 record. Harvard holds fourth place in the league standings with a 9-6-3 ECAC Hockey mark. Harvard snapped out of a four-game losing skid last Friday with a 4-1 victory over Colgate in Cambridge. The Crimson tied rival Cornell 3-3 on Saturday. The Crimson boast the highest-scoring offense in conference action, averaging 3.33 goals per game in the league. Jimmy Vesey, the second-leading scorer in the country, powers the Harvard attack with 39 points on 19 goals and 20 assists. Steve Michalek has started every game in the Crimson crease, posting a .928 save percentage, a 2.27 GAA and two shutouts.

• Junior Greg Lewis (Mars, PA) stopped his second penalty shot of the season in Saturday's game at Quinnipiac when he denied the Bobcats' Matthew Peca in the second period. He also blanked Brown's top scorer Matt Lorito in a 6-0 Clarkson win at Cheel on January 23. In earning the start in the last eight games, since sophomore Steve Perry (Ligonier, PA) was injured against Colgate (Jan. 9), Lewis has backstopped Clarkson to a 4-4 record, including consecutive shutouts in late Janaury. Through 10 games this season, he posts a .917 save percentage and a 2.24 goals against average. Lewis became the first Clarkson goaltender in 15 years to post shutouts in consecutive games when he blanked Brown and Yale at Cheel Arena on January 23-24. He made 27 saves in the win over the Bears, including a penalty-shot stop, and followed with 25 saves in the 1-0 victory over the Bulldogs.

• Janick Asselin (Coaticook, QUE) holds the Clarkson freshman scoring lead after scoring at Quinnipiac on Saturday. Through just 18 games he has tallied four goals and six assists for 10 points. Asselin has nine (4-5) of those points over the past nine games.

• Freshman defenseman Terrance Amorosa (Kirkland, QUE) recorded his first career goal with the opening score at Princeton on Friday.

• Clarkson is allowing only 24.47 shots per game (3rd in the NCAA).

• The Knights are 13th in the nation on the penalty-kill at 86.5% (90-104). The Green and Gold own the top PK in ECAC Hockey action at 92.4% (61-66).

• The Knights are 14-92 on the power play (15.2%). Freshman defenseman Kelly Summers (Golden Lake, ONT) leads Clarkson in power-play markers with four tallies. The Knights have played in five games were they have been awarded only one power-play opportunity, six when they had only two attempts and one without any.

• Clarkson is 10-3-4 when scoring at least two goals.

• Jeff DiNallo leads Clarkson in scoring with 19 points on five goals and a team-high 14 assists.

• Joe Zarbo, who missed this past weekend's game with an injury, is the Knights' top goal scorer with eight tallies. He is Clarkson's current career-scoring leader with 58 points (30-28) in 130 games.

• Sophomore defenseman James de Haas (Mississauga, ONT) leads the Knights in scoring from the blueline. He is second overall on the team with 14 points on six goals and eight assists.

• The Knights have played in 16 games decided by one goal-or-less, going 5-7-4.

• Steve Perry has been out of action after suffering a lower-body injury in the first period against Colgate (1/9). He had started 15 of Clarkson's first 20 games. Perry holds a .916 save percentage and a 1.85 GAA en route to a 7-6-1 record. In six ECAC Hockey games he posts a .960 save percentage, a 0.93 GAA and a 4-1 mark.