Clarkson University’s Women’s Hockey team faces off with College Hockey America (CHA) foe Syracuse University this weekend in a home-and-home series. The Golden Knights battle the Orange in Central NY on Friday night, at 7:00 p.m. and then host Syracuse on Saturday afternoon, at 3:30 p.m.

The Knights, guided by co-head coaches Matt and Shannon Desrosiers, and assistant coach Matt Kelly, opened the home portion of their schedule last weekend at Cheel Arena by gaining a win and a tie against a pair of Hockey East foes. Last Saturday, the Green and Gold earned their first win of the season in convincing fashion by shutting out Providence 3-0. On Sunday, the Knights battled back three times to gain a 3-3 tie with the University of Connecticut.

Led by senior captain Katelyn Ptolemy (Dinsmore, SASK) and senior assistant captain Danielle Boudreau (Whitby, ONT), Clarkson owns a 1-1-2 overall record. After the completing the series against Syracuse, the Knights host national powerhouses Boston University and UNH next weekend before opening ECAC Hockey play with homes games against conference powers Dartmouth and Harvard on October 28-29 to complete a five-game stretch in Potsdam.

After a standout rookie campaign as Clarkson’s leading scorer in 2010-11, Jamie Lee Rattray (Kanata, ONT) has picked up where she left off and posts a team-high nine points this season, including eight assists through four games. Rattray was selected to the ECAC Hockey weekly Honor Roll after setting up five of Clarkson’s six goals last weekend.

Junior Danielle Skirrow (Trenton, ONT) tallied three power-play goals last weekend and has six points (3-3) through the first four games. Last year’s team Rookie of the Year, Carly Mercer (Exeter, ONT) also has six points on two goals and four assists.

Senior standout Juana Baribeau (Amos, QUE) has recorded three points (1-3) and is closing in on becoming the fifth Golden Knight to reach the Century Mark. Through 117 games, Baribeau has tallied 94 points (47-47). Freshman Christine Lambert (Thetford Mines, QUE), who is developing into a top offensive threat, has scored twice.

Sophomore Erica Howe (Ottawa, ONT) has played every minute in the Clarkson goal through the first four games and holds a .886 save percentage and a 2.88 goals against average. She posted 18 saves in the win over Providence to record her third career shutout. She was named to the ECAC Hockey weekly Honor Roll.

In its fourth year as a NCAA Division I program, Syracuse University, guided by former St. Lawrence head coach Paul Flanagan, owned a 2-2 record entering the weekend. The Orange are coming off a big 2-1 victory at UNH last Saturday. Syracuse opened the season with a 2-1 win over St. Cloud State in Minnesota before suffering consecutive losses at Top 10 foes Minnesota (4-0) and Northeastern (5-2).

Clarkson and Syracuse played each other for the first time ever last with each team winning on the other's home ice. The Knights defeated the Orange 3-2 on November 5, while Syracuse posted a 3-1 victory at at Cheel on November 12.