With virtually no margin of error in its bid for a top four spot in the ECAC Hockey standings, Clarkson University makes its longest and final league road trip of the season. The Golden Knights travel to play at defending conference tournament champion Princeton in New Jersey on Friday and at 5/6th-ranked Quinnipiac in Hamden, CT on Saturday. Both games are 7:00 p.m. faceoffs and can be listen to on B99.3 FM and viewed livestreamed on ESPN+.

Four games remain in the regular season and Clarkson is tied for fourth in the conference standings, along with Harvard, owning an 11-7-2 ECAC Hockey slate. The Green and Gold are one point behind third-place Yale, two in back of Quinnipiac in second and three points shy of league-leader Cornell. The Knights are three points ahead of Brown and Dartmouth in the sixth spot.

Guided by eighth-year Head Coach Casey Jones, and assistants Josh Hauge and Brent Brekke, Clarkson has reached the 20-win mark for the second consecutive season with a 20-10 overall record. Ranked 12/13th in the national polls, the Knights close out the league schedule next weekend hosting Colgate and Cornell at Cheel Arena.

Game Notes Princeton-Quinnipiac series (PDF)

USCHO.com Poll

ECAC Hockey Standings

USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll

NCAA Div. I PairWise Rankings

Vote Kielly & Sturm for Hobey

Coaches Corner with Mike Vaillancourt, B99.3 radio

Casey Jones Interview on #ThisWeekinCollegeHockey on @SXMCollege & the @SIRIUSXM app with Zig Fracassi (Feb. 3)

• Clarkson holds a decisive 84-34-6 lead in the all-time series against Princeton, but the Tigers have won the last four meetings at Baker Rink. The Knights snapped a four-game winless stretch (0-3-1) against Princeton with a 3-1 victory at Cheel on February 2. Clarkson holds a slim 5-4-1 advantage in the last 10 meetings. The Knights last win in New Jersey was a 4-3 triumph on February 8, 2014.

• Quinnipiac leads the all-time series over Clarkson 16-11-3. The Bobcats are 3-2 in the last five meetings, including 4-2 win at Cheel on February 1. Quinnipiac is 6-3-2 over Clarkson at Frank Perrotti Jr. Arena with the Knights last winning in Hamden, on February 10, 2017 (4-2).

• The Knights are 6-7 in road games, but 5-2 on opponents' home ice in 2019.

• Clarkson is coming off a weekend split at Cheel, losing 1-0 to Dartmouth on a goal in the final minute of regulation before coming back with a key 5-3 victory over Harvard.

• Clarkson is 18-0 when leading after two periods and 0-8 when trailing through 40 minutes.

• Since posting an eight-game winning streak (12/8 – 1/19) the Knights have split their past four weekend series, losing on Friday and winning on Saturday. Clarkson is 7-6 in Friday night games, 12-3 on Saturday and 1-1 on other days of the week.

• During the past four weekends the Knights have allowed 14 goals on Friday night, while scoring five. The past four Saturdays Clarkson has allowed just five goals, while scoring 12.

• The Knights were shutout for the second time in two games with Friday's 1-0 blanking by Dartmouth. The Big Green scored with 32.9 seconds remaining in the third period. Clarkson outshot the Big Green 29-24, but could not convert on any of its five power-play opportunities.

• Clarkson scored three times in the second period and received strong special-teams play to down Harvard 5-3 on Saturday. The Knights went 1-of-2 with the man-advantage and shut down Harvard's nation-leading power play with five successful penalty kills.

• Clarkson's defensive effort is ranked sixth in the NCAA, allowing only 2.00 goals per game.

• Clarkson's offense is averaging 3.10 goals per game, tied for 17th in the NCAA.

• The Knights' scoring margin is tied for 8th in the NCAA at 1.10.

• Co-captain Nico Sturm leads the Green and Gold's offensive effort with 36 points, tied for 10th in the NCAA in points per game (1.20). He has tallied 12 goals and a team-high 24 assists (tied for 13th in the nation). The junior center has recorded at least one point in 26 of the first 30 games. Sturm recorded his 10th multiple-point game of the season with a pair of assists in Saturday's win over Harvard. During his three seasons, Clarkson is 20-3 when Sturm records two-or-more points in a game. Sturm is bidding to become the next Golden Knight to join the century club with 94 career points (34-60) in 109 games. ECAC Hockey's Best Defensive Forward last season, Sturm holds the best overall plus/minus rating in the league (+21), tied for seventh best in the nation. He is Clarkson's top center at the faceoff circle, winning 56.1% (276-215) of his draws. He was named ECAC Hockey Player of the Week on December 31 and is a Clarkson Hobey Baker Award nominee.

• Haralds Egle has had the hot hand for the Golden Knights in recent games. The junior forward scored both goals in the 2-1 win at Colgate and netted the game-winner vs. Harvard. He has tallied 14 points (8-6) in the first 13 games of the New Year. Egle is Clarkson's leading goal scorer with 15 and second in points with 31. He recorded 16 points (5-11) last season. Egle holds the team lead in game-winners (4).

• Six other Golden Knights are scoring in double figures. Through 30 games, 21 Knights have scored at least one goal and 23 of 24 skaters (with the exception of freshman defenseman Cam Ginnetti, who join the team in the second semester) have recorded at least one point.

• Co-Captain, junior Devin Brosseau has tallied at least one point in nine of the last 12 games. He is tied for third on the Clarkson scoring chart with 20 points. Brosseau tallied his ninth goal of the season with Clarkson's third score against Harvard. He is tied for the team lead in power-play markers (4).

• Sophomore Jack Jacome is also tied for third on Clarkson in points with 20, including 16 assists.

• Starting all 30 games, junior Jake Kielly ranks among the NCAA's best in all the major goaltending categories. He is second with wins in Division I with 20, tied for third in shutouts with five, posts a .929 save percentage (7th in the nation) and a 1.92 goals against average (7th). He has allowed two-or-fewer goals in 21 of the 30 games. He leads all active NCAA goaltenders in career shutouts with 16. Kielly is fifth on the Green and Gold's all-time win list with a 58-36-11 career record. He was named MVP of the Desert Hockey Classic, gained ECAC Hockey Goaltender of the Month honors for October and January and has earned ECAC Hockey Goaltender of the Week accolades three times this season (11/5, 11/19, 12/31). Kielly was named one of the 20 Division I goaltenders to the watch list for the 2019 Mike Richter Award, which annually honors the most outstanding goaltender in the NCAA. He is also a Clarkson Hobey Baker Award nominee.

• The Knights have tallied the opening goal in 22 of the 30 games, going 16-6 when they get on the scoreboard first. However, Clarkson has opened the scoring just once (in 2-1 win at Colgate (2/9)) in the last six games.

• Despite playing in only 23 of the first 30 games because of an injury late in the 2018 portion of the schedule, Josh Dunne has emerged as one of the top rookie forwards in the conference. He is tied for the overall lead among ECAC Hockey rookies in goals (11) and tied for seventh in points (16). He was credit with two scores in the win over Harvard. He has connected three times on the power play, netted three game-winners and one shorthanded marker. Since coming back from injury, Dunne has tallied seven goals and two assists in the past 15 games. He posts a +12 plus/minus rating (third best overall among the league freshmen).

• The Knights' penalty kill is ranked 12th in the country at 84.9% (90-106). Clarkson was perfect shorthanded this past weekend, killing off seven power plays, including a 5-for-5 effort against Harvard's top-rated unit on Saturday. In the 5-0 loss at Cornell (2/8), Clarkson allowed the Big Red to score twice on three power plays. That was the first time the Knights allowed multiple power-paly goals in a game, since a dismal 2-of-6 shorthanded effort in the 6-3 loss at Canisius (11/10).

• Clarkson's power play is ranked 21st in Division I, clicking at 19.4% (19-98). The Knights, who went 1-of-2 against Harvard, have struggled recently with the man-advantage, going just 2-of-17 over the past eight games.

• Aaron Thow leads the Knights' offensive production from the blueline with 19 points on five goals and 14 assists. He posts a +8 plus/minus. He set up two goals in Saturday's win over the Crimson. Thow, one of just three seniors on the Clarkson roster, tallied 26 points (7-19) through his first three seasons with a then career-high 11 points (2-9) last year.

• Greg Moro is second on the Clarkson blueline in scoring with 17 points. Four of his five goals have come on the power play. He shares the plus/minus lead among the Knight rearguards, along with classmate Jordan Schneider, with a +13

• After playing in just nine games and recording one assist as a freshman on Clarkson's deep blueline last season, sophomore Connor McCarthy is starting to make an impact for the Golden Knights this season. The tallest player in the league at 6-7, McCarthy has skated in all 30 games this season, scoring 10 points on four goals and six assists, including five points (2-3) over the past 11 games. Three of his goals have come on the power play. His block shot started the scoring play on the Knights' game-winning goal vs. Harvard.

• Clarkson defensemen are chipping in 28.1% of the offense, recording 70 points on 19 goals and 51 assists, the 20th most productive blueline offensively in the nation. All eight of the Knight rearguards (with the exception of Ginnetti) have tallied at least one goal.

• Back in the lineup for the first time in six games, Juho Jokiharju intercepted a Harvard pass deep in the Crimson's end and fired in an unassisted goal to start Clarkson's scoring on Saturday. After being held to just three assists in his first 17 games, the senior has tallied two goals in his last four outings.

• The Knights' nine-member freshman class has combined to skate in 195 games (most of any Clarkson class) and has contributed 20% of the scoring with 21 goals and 30 assists.

• Clarkson starts fast and finishes strong, outscoring the opponents 30-19 in the first period and 36-16 over the final 20 minutes of regulation. The Green and Gold hold a 26-24 edge in the middle frame.

• Clarkson has played in seven games that have been decided by one-goal-or-less, going 2-5 in those contests.

• Goaltender Kris Oldham, a junior transfer serving a year-in-residence and not NCAA eligible to compete for the Knights until 2019-20, will be competing for the U.S. Men's National University Team at the 2019 Winter World University Games from March 1-9 in Krasnoyarsk, Russia.

Vs Princeton -Clarkson holds a decisive 84-34-6 lead in the all-time series against Princeton, which began with an 8-5 Knight victory in New Jersey on January 17, 1928. The Knights snapped a four-game winless stretch (0-3-1) against the Tigers with a 3-1 victory at Cheel on February 2. The Tigers took three of four points in the 2017-18 regular season, with their fourth straight win over the Knights at Hobey Baker Rink, a 4-3 triumph on February 3, and a 3-3 tie at Cheel on February 23. Princeton also knocked off the Green and Gold in last year's ECAC Hockey Tournament Championship game, 2-1 in overtime in Lake Placid on March 17. Clarkson holds a slim 5-4-1 advantage in the last 10 meetings.

Defenseman Greg Moro has a team-high four points in the series with one goal and four assists through six games. Jake Kielly recorded his first victory over Princeton with 23 saves in the win earlier this month. He owns 1-3-1 record in the series with a .906 save percentage and a 2.54 goals against average.

Vs Quinnipiac - Quinnipiac leads the all-time series, which first started with a 4-0 Clarkson win in Northford, CT on February 8, 2000, 16-11-3. The Bobcats are 3-2 in the last five meetings, including 4-2 win at Cheel on February 1. The teams split home wins last year. Quinnipiac took the first game last season, winning 4-1 win in Hamden, CT on February 2. The Knights came back to earn a 4-2 victory in Potsdam on February 24. The teams also split in 2016-17 with each winning on the other's home ice. Quinnipiac is 6-3-2 over Clarkson at Frank Perrotti Jr. Arena.

Nico Strum has recorded a team-high two goals, four assists and six points in five games against Quinnipiac. Jake Kielly is 2-2 against the Bobcats with a .901 save percentage and a 2.52 goals against average.

Scouting Princeton

A preseason favorite to challenge for the ECAC Hockey regular-season title, Princeton has struggled this winter. The Tigers own a 7-16-2 overall record and are 11th in the standings with a 5-12-1 ECAC Hockey slate. Princeton has gone just 1-6 since defeating Harvard 4-2 on January 11 and has been outscored 25-13 in past seven games. The Tiger's lone win since then was 4-1 victory over Yale on February 9. This past weekend, Princeton dropped two on the road, losing 6-2 at Rensselaer and 3-2 at Union. The Tigers are 6-7 at Baker Rink.

Scouting Quinnipiac

Quinnipiac is one point out of ECAC Hockey's top spot with an 11-5-2 league mark prior to Friday's game vs. St. Lawrence. Ranked 5/6th in the national polls, the Bobcats are the only team other than Clarkson to have reached 20 wins so far this season with a 22-6-2 overall record. Quinnipiac has gone 4-1-1 in February. The Bobcats earned three of four points in the Capital District over the weekend, tying Union 1-1 and edging RPI 2-1. The Bobcats, whose last loss was a 4-1 setback at home to Brown on February 9, is 9-4-1 in Hamden, CT this season.