Three consecutive losses have knocked the Clarkson University Hockey team out of contention for a first-round bye in the upcoming ECAC Hockey playoffs. The Green and Gold, however, are still in strong position to secure home ice for the opening of postseason play. Guided by fifth-year head coach Casey Jones and assistants Phil Roy '00 and Josh Hauge, the Golden Knights can finish anywhere from fifth to ninth in the conference standings. Clarkson owns a 16-13-3 overall record and enters the final weekend of regular season play holding on to the final home-ice position with an 8-9-3, eighth-place ECAC Hockey mark. With a win or tie over the weekend, or a tie or loss by Union, Clarkson will at least finish eighth for the final home-ice berth.

The Knights, who started the ECAC Hockey campaign winless (0-5-2) through the 2015 portion of the schedule, will look to lock up home ice this weekend when they host Harvard and Dartmouth in a pair of 7:00 p.m. games at Cheel Arena. In its 25th season at Cheel, Clarkson has enjoyed great success on its home ice this season with an 11-2-2 mark in Potsdam.

An eight-game unbeaten streak (7-0-1) came to end on February 13 with a 3-2 overtime heartbreaker at Cheel to #1 Quinnipiac, and the loss of mometum carried over on the road this past weekend. The Knights started out slow in Providence, RI and could not recover against Brown, falling to the Bears 5-2. The next night in New Haven, CT against 8th-ranked Yale, Clarkson came out strong taking the early lead before the game was three minutes old. The Bulldogs, however, held off the Green and Gold the rest of the way and scored three times in the third period to hand the Knights a 3-1 defeat.

• Clarkson will honor the four-year veterans during Senior Night. Clarkson's Class of 2016 – Simon Bessette, Todd Christian, Jeff DiNallo, Paul Geiger, Greg Lewis, Pat Megannety, Christian Powers and Kevin Tansey - will make their final regular-season appearance before the home crowd. Over their four-year careers, the Knights' seniors compiled 58 wins entering the weekend and have helped Clarkson gain recognition in the national polls this season. The seniors have skated to one conference playoff series triumph and are on the verge of leading the Green and Gold to a third straight home-ice berth in postseason play.

• The Knights and Harvard will be meeting for the 119th 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 54-53-11. Clarkson snapped a three-game skid in the series with a 5-1 victory in Cambridge, MA on January 16.

• Clarkson holds a significant 69-28-7 lead over Dartmouth in their series, which began with a 4-1 win in Hanover, NH on February 4, 1929. The series has been fairly even recently with both teams winning five games apiece in the last 10 meetings. Dartmouth has won three of the last five games, including a 5-2 victory in Hanover, NH on January 16 for its second straight win over the Knights. The Big Green have won their last two games at Cheel Arena.

• Friday's game against 12th-ranked Harvard will be the 10th game in 2016 that the Knights have faced a Top-20 team. Clarkson is 5-3-1 against ranked foes in the New Year.

• The Knights lost for the first time this season when leading after the first (8-1-1) and through 40 minutes (9-1-1) when Yale overcame a 1-0 first-period deficit on Saturday with three, third-period goals to gain the 3-1 win in New Haven. It was also the first time this season Clarkson lost when scoring first (9-1-2).

• Clarkson continues to get a balanced effort form its deep lineup. Over the past six games 13 different Knights have accounted for Clarkson's 18 goals. The Knights do not have any individuals listed among the top 100 national players in the major scoring categories of goals, assists or points, but as a team Clarkson is listed as the 29th scoring offense averaging 2.66 goals per game.

• Since missing the first five games of the New Year with an injury, junior Jordan Boucher (St. Therese, QUE) has been one of the Knights' most productive scorers with three goals and six assists over the past 10 games. He is tied for second on the Knights in scoring with 18 points (6-12) and posts a +7 plus/minus rating.

• Senior Assistant Captain Jeff DiNallo (Aurora, ONT) scored the Knights' first goal in the loss at Brown on Friday for his third goal of the season and first goal since Janaury 3. He had a five-game point streak stopped on Saturday at Yale. Last year's Clarkson MVP has 12 points (3-9) this season with 10 (2-8) coming in 2016.

• Clarkson's leading scorer with 10 goals and 14 assists for 24 points, sophomore Sam Vigneault (Baie-Comeau, QUE) set up both of the Knights' goals at Brown for his eighth multiple-point game of the season.

• The Knights continue to get needed offense from the blueline with Clarkson defensemen scoring 11 of the team's last 27 goals. Freshman rearguard Aaron Thow (Toronto, ONT) was the latest defenseman to score for Clarkson when he tallied his second career goal on Saturday against the Bulldogs. He posts a +7 plus/minus rating through 28 games.

• Junior Assistant Captain James de Haas (Mississauga, ONT) leads the Knights defensemen in scoring with 13 points (3-10).

• Senior Captain Paul Geiger (Stouffville, ONT) has been the hottest Knight offensively from the blueline with eight points (3-5) over the past 13 games.

• Sophomore center Brett Gervais (Corona, CA) has taken the most faceoffs for Clarkson, winning 51.3% of his draws (280-266). He leads the team in plus/minus at +8 to go along with four goals and 11 assists as the Knights' fourth leading scorer.

• Sophomore forward Dylan Gareau (Richmond, ONT) recorded his first goal of the season and first since October 25, 2014 with the Knights' opening score in the 5-2 win over Princeton. He recorded his first career assist in Friday's game at Brown.

•Clarkson is struggling on the power play, going scoreless in its last 12 man-advantage opportunities, spanning four games. The Knights are connecting at 17.6% (19-108) overall on the power play. Junior A.J Fossen (maple Grove, MN) leads the team in power-play goals with five, but has not scored on the man-advantage since October 24.

• Senior defenseman Kevin Tansey (Hammond, ONT) has blocked a team-high 42 shots. He has tallied three goals and two assists.

Scouting Harvard

Unbeaten in its last three games (2-0-1) 12th-ranked Harvard brings a 15-8-4 overall record and a third place 11-5-4 ECAC Hockey mark into the final weekend of the regular season. The Crimson, guided by 12th-year head coach Ted Donato, need just one point to clinch a first-round bye in the upcoming conference playoffs. Harvard closed out a four-game home stand at Bright-Landry Hockey Center over the weekend with a 2-2 tie against Cornell and a 7-4 win over Colgate. Harvard's last loss was a 2-1 setback to Rensselaer in Cambridge on February 12. Harvard is 7-2-2 in road games.

Paced by ECAC Hockey's top scorer and the nation's most productive power-play unit, the Crimson are one of the top offensive teams in the country, averaging 3.48 goals per game. Jimmy Vesey leads the way with 38 points, including 20 goals. The Harvard power play clicks at 30.3% (27-89). Merrick Madsen has seen the bulk of the action in the Crimson crease and holds a .930 save percentage and a 1.99 goals against average en route to a 14-4-3 record, including four shutouts.

Scouting Dartmouth

Dartmouth, guided by 19th-year head coach Bob Gaudet, enters the North Country with a 14-12-1 overall record and an 11-9 ECAC Hockey slate. The Big Green, who play at St. Lawrence on Friday, are tied for fifth place in the league, one point shy of the Saints in fourth and three points in front of Clarkson in eighth. Dartmouth split at home in Hanover, NH over the weekend, skating past Colgate 5-2 before falling to Cornell 1-0. Dartmouth is 5-7-1 on the road.

The Big Green are led in scoring by Jack Barre with 12 goals and 13 assists for 25 points. Charles Grant has played a team-high 17 games in goal and posts a .909 save percentage, a 2.50 GAA and an 8-8 record, including three shutouts.

The Series:

The Knights and Harvard will be meeting for the 119th 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 54-53-11. Clarkson snapped a three-game skid in the series with a 5-1 victory in Cambridge, MA on January 16. Harvard defeated the Knights 6-3 in Bright-Landry Hockey Center on January 16 and 3-2 in Potsdam on February 21 last season.

A.J. Fossen has a team-high three goals and five points against the Crimson. Sam Vigneault has four points on two goals and two assists in three games against Harvard.

Greg Lewis has played 230 minutes in four games of the series, posting a 3-1 record on a .905 save percentage and a 2.36 goals against average. Steve Perry holds a .895 save percentage and a 1.95 GAA over the Crimson in two games.

Clarkson holds a significant 69-28-7 lead over Dartmouth in their series, which began with a 4-1 win in Hanover, NH on February 4, 1929. The series has been fairly even recently with both teams winning five games apiece in the last 10 meetings. Dartmouth has won three of the last five games, including a 5-2 victory in Hanover, NH on January 16 for its second straight win over the Knights. Clarkson's last win in the series was a 5-2 triumph at Thompson Arena on January 17, 2015. The Big Green gained a 3-2 overtime triumph win in Potsdam on February 20, 2015 in their last visit to Potsdam for their second straight victory at Cheel.

James de Haas has a team-high four points on two goals and two assists against Dartmouth. Kelly Summers has also scored twice against the Big Green. Jeff DiNallo (1-2), A.J. Fossen (1-2) and Perry D'Arrisso (0-3) all have three points in the series. Greg Lewis posts a .913 save percentage and a 2.77 goals against average en route to a 3-3 record through six games in the series.