Using a strong second-half run the Clarkson University Hockey team has put itself in the mix for a top four showing in the ECAC Hockey standings. With four games remaining in the regular season the Golden Knights hold down seventh place, just three points shy of fourth and four points out of third. Clarkson can finish anywhere from second to ninth. Guided by fifth-year head coach Casey Jones and assistants Phil Roy '00 and Josh Hauge, Clarkson is ranked 20th in the USCHO.com Poll and owns a 16-11-3 overall record and an 8-7-3 league slate.

The Green and Gold have been impressive in the New year with a 9-3-1 mark in 2016, including an 8-2-1 record in ECAC Hockey play. The Knights' saw an eight-game unbeaten streak (7-0-1) came to an agonizing end on Saturday when top-ranked Quinnipiac pulled out a 3-2 overtime victory at Cheel Arena, scoring the deciding goal with 20.8 seconds remaining in the extra session. The previous night Clarkson skated past Princeton 5-2.

Clarkson makes its final regular-season road trip this weekend playing at Brown at Meehan Auditorium in Providence, RI on Friday and at #8 Yale on Saturday at Ingalls Rink in New Haven, CT. The Knights close out the season hosting Harvard and Dartmouth on February 26-27.

• Clarkson has won five straight games against Brown including shutouts in the last two meetings, to increase its lead in the all-time series to 63-18-8. The series, which first began in 1952, has been fairly tight over the past 10 games with the Knights holding a 6-3-1 advantage. Six of those games have been decided by one goal or less. The Knights won 5-0 at Cheel Arena on January 23.

• In the rivalry against Yale, which first began in in 1930, the Knights hold a commanding 72-37-6 lead. Clarkson holds a 2-1-2 mark in the last five games and is on a current four-game unbeaten streak (2-0-2) against the 2013 National Champions.

The Knights and Bulldogs skate to a 2-2 tie in Potsdam on January 22.

• Clarkson is 5-7-1 on opponent's home ice this season, but has won its last three road games. The Green and Gold have been outscored 41-30 in 13 road games.

• The Knights own one of the best home records in the nation with an 11-2-2 mark at Cheel this season, outscoring the opponents 51-24 in Potsdam.

• Clarkson has put together its impressive record in 2016 against some of the best teams in the country, posting a 5-1-1 mark against Top 20-ranked teams since January 3. The Green and Gold went 6-2-1 in the month of January (.722 win%), its best start to a New Year in eight seasons.

• The Knights have posted several significant victories during the season's second half. The Green and Gold began their surge with a 3-2 win at #12-ranked Bowling Green on January 3. Clarkson resumed ECAC Hockey play with a convincing 3-1 victory over archrival, #18 St. Lawrence at Cheel Arena on January 12. Clarkson handled #7 Harvard 5-1 in Cambridge, MA on January 16. The Knights knocked off #13 Cornell 2-1 in overtime at Cheel Arena on January 29 and followed with a 2-1 victory over Colgate the following night to complete a weekend sweep of the Central NY rivals for the first time since late February, 2001. Clarkson gained its first win in Schenectady since a March 6, 2005 playoff victory with a 4-1 triumph at Union. on February 5 and then capped off the road trip with a come-from behind 4-2 win at RPI, stunning the 14th-ranked Engineers at Houston Field House on their most celebrated home date of the season - Big Red Freakout, to complete their first weekend sweep in the Capital District since January 2001. The only blemish on the Knights' record against Top-20 teams since January 3 is the overtime loss to #1 Quinnipiac on Saturday.

• Clarkson continues to get a balanced effort form its deep lineup. Over the past four games 12 different Knights have accounted for Clarkson's 15 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 25th scoring offense averaging 2.73 goals per game.

• The Knights are getting needed offense from the blueline with Clarkson defensemen scoring 10 of the team's last 24 goals.

• Senior Captain Paul Geiger (Stouffville, ONT) has been the hottest Knight offensively from the blueline with eight points (3-5) over the past 11 games.

• Since missing the series against Cornell and Colgate (1/29-30) with an injury, senior Jeff DiNallo (Aurora, ONT) has strung together a four-game points streak with five assists during that span. Last year's Clarkson MVP has 11 points (2-9) this season with nine (1-8) coming in 2016.

• Junior Jordan Boucher (St. Therese, QUE) recorded his first career two-goal game with two scores in the win over Princeton. Boucher started the season strong with nine points (3-6) in the first seven games. He was slowed by injuries for much of the middle part of the season, but has seven points (2-5) over the last eight games. He is Clarkson's third-leading scorer with 16 points (5-11) through 19 games.

• Always a top centerman at the faceoff circle for the Knights, sophomore Ben Dalpe (Paris, ONT) is beginning to contribute on the scoring end. He has tallied all six of his points this season over the past nine games. Dalpe, who began Clarkson's rally in the win at RPI with the Knights' opening goal, scored his third goal of the season for the game-winner against Princeton on Friday. He has won 54.7% (124-92) of his faceoffs.

• After scoring just once through 49 games in his first two seasons, Perry D'Arrisso (Mississauga, ONT) is becoming a productive offensive force up front. He has five goals and eight points in 26 games of his junior campaign. He has tallied six points (2-4) over the past 10 games.

• Freshman defenseman Dylan Gareau (Richmond, ONT) recorded his first goal for the season and first since October 25, 2014 with the Knights' opening score in Friday's win over Princeton.

• In the past 12 games the Knights have given up just 21 goals total (1.75 GPG) and have allowed over two goals in a game just twice (5-2 loss at Dartmouth on January 15, and the 3-2 OT loss to Quinnipiac on Saturday). Senior Greg Lewis (Mars, PA), who has started all of those games, boasts a .928 save percentage during that span. Through 17 games this season, including 16 starts, Lewis posts a .925 save percentage and rates 9th in Division I with a 1.91 GAA. He stopped his fourth career penalty on Saturday against Quinnipiac (Travis St. Denis). He owns a 10-5-2 record, including one shutout. Lewis equalled his career high for saves with 44 stops in the win at Union.

Scouting Brown

Brown, guided by seventh-year head coach Brendan Whittet, owns a 4-16-5 overall record and is tied for 11th in the ECAC Hockey standings with a 2-12-4 league mark. The Bears open the New Year with a 4-3 overtime victory against defending national champion Providence on January 3, but have not won since, going winless in their last 10 games (0-8-2). In its only action over the weekend, Brown skated to a 3-3 tie at Cornell. The Bears are 1-8-2 at Meehan Auditorium this season.

Nick Lappin leads Brown with 29 points on 14 goals and 15 assists. Tim Ernst has started 21 games in goal for the Bears and posts a .895 save percentage and a 3.01 goals against average to go along with a 4-13-5 record with one shutout.

Scouting Yale

Ranked 8th in the national polls, Yale is one of the hottest teams in the country and enters the weekend with the fourth longest winning streak in the country at five games. Guided by 10th-year head coach Keith Allain, the Bulldogs are 12-1-2 in their last 15 games. Yale, which hosts St. Lawrence on Friday, owns a 16-5-4 overall record and an 11-4-3 ECAC Hockey slate. Yale swept the Central NY trip over the weekend, winning 3-0 at Colgate and 4-2 at Cornell. Yale's only loss since December 5 was a 2-1 setback to Union in New Haven on January 29. The Bulldogs are 6-3-1 at Ingalls Rink.

Yale boast the stingiest defensive in the nation, allowing only 1.60 goals per game, and the best penalty kill in the country at 93.1% (67-72). Yale is backstopped in goal by Alex Lyon who has started 24 games. He boasts a .944 save percentage and a 1.47 GAA en route to a 16-4-4 record, including four shutouts. Joe Snively (9-13) and Stu Wilson (5-16) pace the Bulldogs offense with 22 and 21 points, respectively. John Hayden has scored a team-high 14 goals.

The Series:

Clarkson has won five straight games against Brown including shutouts in the last two meetings, to increase its lead in their all-time series to 63-18-8. The series, which first began in 1952, has been fairly tight over the past 10 games with the Knights holding a 6-3-1 advantage. Six of those games have been decided by one goal or less.

Greg Lewis posted 19 saves for the shutout and five different Golden Knights scored in the 5-0 victory at Cheel Arena in the first meeting this season, on January 23. A year earlier the Green and Gold also shut out the Bears for the first time since 2001 behind 27 saves from Lewis in a 6-0 victory in Potsdam. Clarkson took a 2-0 lead and held off the Bears for a 2-1 victory in Providence, RI on November 8, 2014.

Through seven games in the series, Lewis posts a .921 save percentage and a 2.36 goals against average en route to a 3-3-1 mark against the Bears. Steve Perry is 2-0 against Brown with a .949 save percentage and a 1.50 GAA. Paul Geiger, with two goals and three assists, is one of three Knights with five points in the series. James de Haas (1-4) and Jeff DiNallo (0-5) also have five points. Jordan Boucher and Todd Christian have also tallied two goals against the Bears.

In the rivalry against Yale, which first began in in 1930, the Knights hold a commanding 72-37-6 lead. Clarkson holds a 2-1-2 mark in the last five games and is on a current four-game unbeaten streak (2-0-2) against the 2013 National Champions.

The Knights came from behind to gain a 2-2 tie against the Bulldogs at Cheel on January 22. Brett Gervais and Pat Megannety supplied the Clarkson goals and Greg Lewis posted 21 saves as the Green and Gold overcame a 2-1 deficit after 40 minutes. Last season the Green and Gold skated to a 2-2 tie in New Haven on November 7, for the first draw in the series in 15 years, and then came back with its 10th shutout in the rivalry with a 1-0 whitewash over the Bulldogs in Potsdam on January 24. Yale's last win in the series was a 6-3 triumph at Ingalls Rink on November 2, 2013

Through four games, Lewis posts a .962 save percentage, 0.98 goals against average and a 2-1-1 record, including two perfect outings. Steve Perry has played two games in the series with a .875 save percentage, a 3.53 GAA and a 1-1 record. Defensemen, Kevin Tansey (2-1) and James de Haas (0-3), and Megannety (1-2) and Gervais (1-2) each have three points against Brown. A.J. Fossen joins Tansey as the only other Knights with two goals against Yale.