After a 22-day break the Clarkson University Hockey team will return to action at the Three Rivers Classic in late December looking to revitalize its season and set the groundwork for a strong second-half run in 2016. The Golden Knights, guided by fifth-year head coach Casey Jones and assistants Phil Roy '00 and Josh Hauge, will vie against three teams, who are ranked among the top squads in the country and who stand atop their respective league standings, at the CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh, PA on Monday and Tuesday, December 28-29. Clarkson will faceoff against 8th-ranked UMass-Lowell in the opening round at 4:30, and then take on either Top15-ranked Penn State or Robert Morris in the second round at 4:30 or 7:30 p.m.

Single day tickets may be purchased here:

12/28 Monday - http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/16004F1FD0DF3D0D?brand=consolenergy

12/29 Tuesday - http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/16004F1FD0E43D13?brand=consolenergy

• In-season tournament championship titles have been hard to come by for Clarkson. The Knights have won just two holiday tournaments over the past 25 years, claiming the 1995 RPI Invitational and the 2006 Badger Showdown. Since defeating Wisconsin (6-2) and Lake Superior (3-2) on December 29 and 30, 2006 at the Kohl Center in Madison. WI the Green and Gold have gone 3-11-2 in tournament/classic play during the regular season.

• The best start to a season in 24 years for the Green and Gold is a distant memory as Clarkson entered the exam-holiday break one game above .500 at 7-6-2 and winless in ECAC Hockey play at 0-5-2. The Knights opened the 2015-16 campaign with a 5-1 record in non-conference action, outscoring their opponents 25-15 through October, but struggled through November and December. Over its last nine games Clarkson has gone 2-5-2 and has been outscored 23-14. The Green and Gold have scored just seven goals in seven ECAC Hockey contests. In its last action before the break, Clarkson dropped two league games in Central NY, falling at Colgate (2-1) and Cornell (5-2) on December 4-5. The Knights' only victories since November 1 were two wins over first-year Division I Independent Arizona State (3-2, 4-1) at Cheel Arena over the Thanksgiving Holiday weekend.

• UMass-Lowell has gone 8-1-1 against the Knights in their last 10 meetings to take a 12-11-1 lead in their all-time series. Clarkson's last win in the series was a 6-4 victory in Potsdam on December 10, 1999.

• In its 94th season Clarkson has played 57 of the current 60 NCAA Division Hockey teams. The Knights will add another one to the list when they play either Penn State or Robert Morris on the second day of the tournament. The University of Connecticut is the other program Clarkson has yet to play.

• Clarkson will be playing its first games in Pennsylvania in almost 40 years. The Knights last played in the "Keystone State" when they faced off at Penn on February 25, 1978, defeating the Quakers 7-3.

• Pennsylvania natives, senior Greg Lewis (Mars, PA) and junior Steve Perry (Ligonier, PA) are the Knights startes in goal. Perry has played in 11 games and posts a .895 save percentage and a 2.46 goals against average en route to a 6-4-1 record, including one shutout. Lewis has started four of the last six games and holds a .903 save percentage, a 2.46 GAA and a 1-2-1 record.

• Sophomore Sam Vigneault (Baie-Comeau, QUE) leads the Knights offensively with 13 points on five goals and eight assists through 15 games. He tallied 13 points (6-7) through 31 games in his rookie campaing last season.

• Junior A. J. Fossen (Maple Grove, MN) is Clarkson's leading goal scorer with seven, and has recorded 12 points. He has connected for five power-play markers and three, two-goal games.

• The Knights' power play, which was clicking as one of the best in the nation through the first six games, has not connected on the man-advantage over the past nine games

(0-25) and is 0-22 in ECAC Hockey. Overall, Clarkson is 9-51 (17.6%) on the power play.

• While the power play has struggled, the Knights have shown improvement while shorthanded. Clarkson is 48-55 (87.3%) on the penalty kill, and is 26-28 (92.9%) in league play.

• Senior Christian Powers (Carlisle, ONT) has tallied two goals and three assists in his last three games. He has eight points (4-4) through 12 games this season after recording just 10 points (2-8) through his first 77 contests.

• Sophomore Brett Gervais (Corona, CA) has taken the most draws for the Knights at the faceoff circle (131-128, 50.6%). He is tied for fourth in scoring for the Green and Gold with eight points (2-6) and has a +4 plus/minus rating.

• Freshman Aaron Thow (Toronto, ONT) posts a team-high +7 rating.

• Junior James de Haas (Mississauga, ONT) leads the Clarkson offense from the blueline with eight points (1-7).

• Eighteen players have accounted for Clarkson's 39 goals. Twenty-one Knights have recorded at least one point.

• Clarkson is 5-0-1 when scoring first and 4-0-1 when leading through 40 minutes, but 0-5-1 when trailing thrugh two periods.

• Clarkson has outshot 11 of its first 15 opponents, 475-363 combined total. In their last game, Clarkson held Cornell to a season low 15 shots in the 5-2 loss at Lynah Rink.

• Senior defenseman Paul Geiger (Stouffville, ONT) is in his second year as the Golden Knights' captain. Classmates Jeff DiNallo (Aurora, ONT) and Pat Megannety (Oakville, ONT), and James de Haas serve as assistant captains.

• Four current Golden Knights have been selected in the NHL Draft – James de Haas (2012 Detroit - 6th rd, 170), Terrence Amorosa (2013 Philadelphia - 5th rd, 189), Troy Josephs (2013 Pittsburgh - 7th rd, 209) and Kelly Summers (2014 Ottawa - 7th rd, 189).

• Two former Knights were on NHL opening-day rosters – Mark Borowiecki '11 (Ottawa), and Willie Mitchell '99 (Florida). Several former Clarkson standouts are on AHL/ECHL rosters.

• In its 94th season, Clarkson boasts 70 winning campaigns and a 1,382-826-148 all-time record for a .618 winning percentage since 1920-21.

Scouting UMass-Lowell

One of the hottest teams in the country entering December, UMass-Lowell suffered a pair of unexpected defeats in its last games before the tournament. The River Hawks saw a nine-game unbeaten streak (7-0-2) come to an end with a pair of one-goal losses to Hockey East foe Connecticut in a home-and-home series on December 5-6. The Huskies edged Lowell 4-3 in Storrs, CT the first night and then came back the following day to hand Lowell a 2-1 loss at the Tsongas Center in Massachusetts. Ranked 8th in the national polls, the River Hawks own a 10-3-4 overall record and stand in first place in Hockey East with a 6-2-3 conference slate. Lowell is 1-0-1 in neutral site games this season, winning the Friendship Four tournament in Belfast, Ireland on November 27-28 with a 3-2 victory over Northeastern and a 5-5 tie vs Brown (winning the shootout 1-0). Adam Chapie (8-9) and C.J. Smith (7-10) lead Lowell in scoring with 17 points each. Kevin Boyle has started every game in the River Hawks goal and posts a .939 save percentage and a 1.74 GAA along with three shutouts.

Scouting Penn State

The lone team to enter the Three Rivers Classic with a victory in it last game, the Nittany Lions are ranked 14/15th in the country with an 11-2-3 overall record, including a 2-0-0 Big Ten mark. Penn State defeated Princeton 6-3 at home on December 11 to extend its winning streak to four games and its unbeaten stretch to nine straight. The Nittany Lions' last loss was a 4-2 setback to St. Lawrence at the Pegula Ice Arena in Happy Valley on October 30. Kenny Brooks and Curtis Loik lead Penn State's productive offense with 16 points each on five goals and 11 assists. Chase Berger has scored a team-high 10 goals for the Nittany Lions, who are tied for second in the country in goals per game (4.38). Eamon McAdam and Matthew Skoff have both started eight games in the Penn State crease. McAdam posts a .933 save percentage, a 2.10 GAA and a 7-1 record, including one shutout. Skoff holds a .904 save percentage and a 2.63 GAA en route to a 4-1-3 mark.

Scouting Robert Morris

Two losses in its last three games, including a 6-2 defeat at Atlantic Hockey rival Canisius on December 13, has taken some of the luster off of Robert Morris' solid start to the season. The Colonials, who are receiving votes in the USCHO.com poll, stand at 9-4-3 overall and are tied for first in their conference with a 8-3-3 slate.

Zac Lynch (12-13) and Greg Gibson (11-10) lead Robert Morris' high-flying offense with 25 and 21 points, respectively. The Colonials are tied with Penn State for the country's second most dynamic offense (4.38 GPG). Their power-play unit is tops in the country, clicking at 35.4% (23-65).

The Series:

Lowell has enjoyed significant success over the Knights recently to take a one-game lead in the all-time series, holding a 12-11-1 advantage. Clarkson won the first meeting 10-2 in Potsdam on November 11, 1978, and was 6-2 against the River Hawks in the 1990s, but Lowell has dominated play in the 2000s with an unbeaten 8-0-1 mark against the Green and Gold. In their last meetings, the River Hawks went 2-0-1 against Clarkson in 2013-14 when the teams played three consecutive games against each other. Lowell defeated the Knights 3-1 at the Catamount Cup in Burlington, VT on December 29, 2013, and then opened 2014 with a 1-1 tie and a 4-3 victory at Tsongas Center on January 3-4. The Knights' last win in the series was a 6-4 triumph in Potsdam on December 10, 1999. A.J. Fossen is the only current Knight to have scored a goal against Lowell. He has two points (1-1) in the series along with Kevin Tansey (0-2) and Pat Megannety (0-2). Greg Lewis (three starts) and Steve Perry (two starts) have each played three games against the River Hawks. Perry holds a .906 save percentage and a 2.40 goals against average en route to a 0-1-1 mark. Lewis is 0-3 against Lowell with a .875 save percentage and a 3.07 GAA in the series.

Clarkson will face for the first time in program history either Penn State or Connecticut on the second day of the Three Rivers Classic.