Heading into the final weekend of the ECAC Hockey regular season, the Clarkson University Women's Hockey team sits in a tie for second place and is one of only three teams that can still win the league title.

Guided by seventh year head coach Matt Desrosiers and first year assistants Meghan Duggan and Britni Smith, Clarkson is currently tied with Quinnipiac in second place with a 14-4-2 record in ECAC Hockey play. The Golden Knights own a 20-9-3 record overall and are ranked seventh in the national polls. Clarkson needs only one point in order to ensure they will play at Cheel Arena in the ECAC Hockey quarterfinals.

Junior Cayley Mercer (Exeter, ONT) continues to score important goals for Clarkson. Her game-winning goal in the 2-1 victory over Princeton was the fourth time in five games that she had scored the deciding goal. Her streak of five consecutive games with at least a point came to an end in Saturday's 1-0 loss to Quinnipiac, but she now has streaks of five and six consecutive games with at least a point this season. She leads the team with 38 points, on 20 goals and 18 assists.

Junior captain Shannon MacAulay (Mt. Herbert, PEI) and sophomore Genevieve Bannon (Candiac, QUE) are not far behind Mercer in total points. MacAulay has tallied 31 points this season on 16 goals and 15 assists. Her five power-play goals are good for 13th nationally and she is tied for ninth in the country with four game-winning goals. Bannon has 11 goals and is tied with Mercer for the team-lead in assists with 18 helpers, 10 of which have come in conference play.

Senior Christine Lambert (Thetford Mines, QUE) and junior assistant captain Olivia Howe (Moose Jaw, SASK) are the only other Clarkson skaters to break the 20-point mark. Howe is fourth on the team with 26 points on 11 goals and 15 assists. The 11 goals represent the first time she has scored double-digit goals in her collegiate career. Lambert sits at 21 points on six goals and 15 assists in just 24 games played. 21 points also represents a new career high for the veteran forward.

Junior assistant captain Erin Ambrose (Keswick, ONT) and freshman Savannah Harmon (Downers Grove, IL) lead Clarkson in scoring from the blueline. Ambrose has 20 points this season and sits on 106 points for her career. However, she has missed the last three games through injury. Harmon picked up a goal against Princeton and now has seven goals and 12 assists. She is tied for fourth in the conference for both rookie points per game and defenseman points per game.

Before Quinnipiac was able to score on their fourth man-advantage opportunity of the game, Clarkson had killed off 28 straight opponents' power plays, a span that lasted parts of nine games, dating back to the 1-1 tie with Wisconsin on January 24th. The Golden Knights' penalty kill is now second best in the conference and fourth best nationally. They have killed off 79-of-87 power plays.

Although Quinnipiac ended Clarkson's five-game winning streak, Clarkson has won four of out five games in February. Should they win once or tie twice this weekend, February will be the best month of the season by winning percentage for the Green and Gold, a good sign as they head into postseason play.

Dartmouth comes into the weekend having already clinched a spot in the ECAC Hockey tournament. The Big Green are tied with Yale for seventh in the conference and own a 9-9-2 record in league play, with a 13-11-2 record overall. The Big Green traveled to Potsdam for a game on November 15th, and two goals from MacAulay helped Clarkson come away with a 3-0 win. Clarkson holds an all-time record of 12-10-4 against Dartmouth and has won eight games in a row in the match-up.

Harvard is currently the hottest team in the country with its six-game unbeaten streak the longest currently running. Included in that streak is a 3-2 win over then-undefeated Boston College in the Beanpot Championship. The Crimson lead the conference by three points, and hold a 21-4-2 overall record. The first time the two teams met was back on November 14th, with the two teams skating to a 2-2 tie in Cheel Arena. Harvard has historically dominated the series, holding an 18-8-3 record against Clarkson.