A five-game home stand at Cheel Arena comes to a close for the Clarkson University Hockey team this weekend as the Golden Knights host Capital District foes Union College and Rensselaer in a pair of 7:00 p.m. ECAC Hockey games. Clarkson, guided by fourth-year head coach Casey Jones and assistants Phil Roy '00 and Andy Jones own a 10-12-4 overall record and are tied for fourth place in the conference standings with a 7-5-2 ECAC Hockey mark. With eight games remaining in the regular season, the Green and Gold are just four points shy of second place, but also just five points from falling to 10th place in the highly competitive 12-team league.

Led by junior captain Paul Geiger (Stouffville, ONT) and assistant captains, senior James Howden (Edgeley, SASK) and junior Jeff DiNallo (Aurora, ONT), Clarkson will look to bounce back from a one-goal loss to its archrival in its only game played last weekend. On Saturday, at Cheel Arena, the Knights were edged by St. Lawrence 2-1 before a North Country crowd of 3,719 fans to see their nine-game ECAC Hockey unbeaten streak (8-0-1) come to an end against the Saints.

The Knights hold a 28-22-5 advantage in their all-time series against Union. The Dutchmen, however, are 19-14-3 against Clarkson in games played during the 2000s, including a 9-1 mark in the last 10 meetings. Union swept the series last season, winning 4-1 at Cheel Arena on February 1 and 5-0 in Schenectady on February 21 for its third straight victory against the Green and Gold. The Knights are 15-7-1 against Union at Cheel.

In a heated rivalry which dates back to the 1924-25 campaign, Clarkson leads the overall series against Rensselaer 85-48-9. The Knights snapped a three-game losing skid against their rivals with a 3-0 shutout over the Engineers at Cheel Arena on January 31, 2014 and then battled back to gain a 2-2 tie at Houston Field House on February 22 to earn three of four points from RPI last season.

Scouting Union

Defending NCAA National Champion Union is looking to get on a roll to build momentum for a shot at its fourth straight ECAC Hockey Tournament title. The Dutchmen, guided by fourth-year head coach Rick Bennett, stand at 13-11-2 overall and own a 5-8-1, 10th-place conference mark. Union has lost four of its last six games, including a 3-2 setback at Dartmouth on Saturday. Union skated to a 5-4 victory at 4th-ranked Harvard on Friday. Union is 7-4-1 in away games. The Dutchmen boast one of the top offenses in the country averaging 3.54 goals per game. Daniel Ciampini and Mike Vecchione are two of the Top-6 offensive threats in the nation, recording 41 and 38 points, respectively. Ciampini has scored the most goals in Division I with 22, while Vecchione has 24 assists, along with Jeff Taylor, who has tallied the most points from the blueline with 28. Colin Stevens has started 18 games in the Union crease and posts a .909 save percentage, a 2.69 goals against average and a 10-8 record with one shutout.

Scouting Rensselaer

Guided by ninth-year head coach, Seth Appert, Rensselaer comes to the North Country with a 9-18-1 overall record and a 7-7 ECAC Hockey slate. The Engineers, who are 4-9-1 in away games, play at St. Lawrence on Friday. Rensselaer lost in its only action last weekend, falling 3-1 at Dartmouth on Friday for is second straight defeat. The Engineers had skated to their longest win streak of the season at three games prior to losing to Union 8-3 in a non-league encounter on January 24. RPI has struggled to score this season, averaging only 1.86 goals per game (tied for 54th in the country), while allowing 3.11 goals per game.

Jacob Laliberte leads the Engineers with 15 points (4-11). Jason Kasdorf posts a .906 save percentage and a 2.77 GAA along with a 9-12 record with one shutout in the RPI net.

• Clarkson's longest win streak of the season came to an end at three games as St. Lawrence edged the Green and Gold by one goal in the fourth meeting of the season between the archrivals. Joe Zarbo tallied his fifth goal all-time against the Saints, but St. Lawrence answered back with two scores to gain its second win of the season at Cheel and win the series meetings this season, 2-1-1.

• Since gaining the starting role in the Knights' crease in mid-January, junior Greg Lewis (Mars, PA) has been nearly unbeatable in the Knights' crease. In earning the start in the last four games, since sophomore Steve Perry (Ligonier, PA) was injured against Colgate (Jan. 9) Lewis has backstopped Clarkson to a 3-1 record, including consecutive shutouts. He has only allowed four goals in that span, and posts a .942 save percentage and a 1.62 goals against average through six games. 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 one-goal victory over the Bulldogs. Lewis had a shutout streak stopped at 166:59 in Saturday's 2-1 loss to St. Lawrence. He made 27 saves in the one-goal loss.

• Clarkson has played in 15 games decided by one goal-or-less, going 5-6-4.

• Clarkson is allowing only 24.19 shots per game (3rd in the NCAA).

• Clarkson is 5-6-1 in home games, including a 4-3 mark against league opponents.

• Clarkson has not allowed a power-play goal in its last five games and has killed off the last 19 man-advantage opportunities. The Knights are ninth in the nation on the penalty-kill at 87.9% (80-91) and have only allowed two power-play tallies, both against Cornell, in ECAC Hockey action for the league's top PK at 96.2% (51-53).

• Sophomore defenseman James de Haas (Mississauga, ONT) leads the Knights in scoring with 14 points on six goals and eight assists playing in 25 games.

• Joe Zarbo is the Knights' top goal scorer with eight tallies after scoring his first goal of 2015 in Saturday's game against St. Lawrence. He leads all current Clarkson players in career scoring with 58 points (30-28) in 128 games. Nine of his career points (5-4) have come against the Saints.

• Jeff DiNallo, who missed Saturday's game because of an injury, is the Knights' leading playmaker with 10 assists and is second in points (13).

• Freshman Sam Vigneault (Baie-Comeau, QUE) leads Clarkson's Class of 2018 with eight points (5-3).

• The Knights are 11-77 on the power play(14.3%). James de Haas and freshman Nic Pierog (Georgetown, ONT) shared the team lead in power-play markers with three each.

• 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 (7th in Div. 1) en route to a 7-6-1 record. He leads ECAC Hockey in league save percentage (.960) and GAA (0.93).