With a win and a tie in its first two ECAC Hockey road games of 2015, the Clarkson University Women's Hockey team returns to Potsdam for its first games in Cheel Arena this year. First up is the Union College Dutchwoman who will come into Cheel for a 7:00 pm game on Friday and then the Golden Knights will host the Rensselaer Engineers in a 4:00 pm game on Saturday afternoon.

Guided by seventh-year head coach Matt Desrosiers and first-year assistant coaches Meghan Duggan and Britni Smith, the Green and Gold have an overall record of 13-6-2 with an ECAC Hockey record of 7-2-2 and are ranked eighth in the national polls.

Junior assistant captain Erin Ambrose (Keswick, ONT) had an assist in the 3-1 win over Colgate and the lone Clarkson goal in the 1-1 tie with Cornell. The goal represented the 100th point of Ambrose's career, with her 25 goals and 75 assists coming in just 90 games. She is now the ninth Clarkson player to reach the 100 point total and is just the fourth player to do it in her junior season. She needs 12 points to pass her former teammate Brittany Styner '14 on the career points list and move into sixth place.

With an assist in each game last weekend, Cayley Mercer (Exeter,ONT) now has six points in her last four games, including a hat-trick against Colgate on December 6th. Mercer has already eclipsed her point total from last season with 25 already this season, including a team-leading 14 assists. She is also leading the team in +/- with a +26 so far this season.

Junior captain Shannon MacAulay (Mt. Herbert, PEI) had a goal against Colgate, giving her 15 for the season, the highest total among Golden Knight skaters. MacAulay has at least a point in 14 of the 21 games Clarkson has played this season and in 11 of their 13 wins. Her nine goals in conference play are good for second place in ECAC Hockey.

Junior Olivia Howe (Moose Jaw, SASK) had her second consecutive two-point game against Colgate. She had a goal and an assist in the win over the Raiders, with the goal being her sixth of the season. Four of the goals have come in Clarkson wins, and now 19 of her 21 career goals have been in victories. Included in those 19 goals is the game-winner in overtime from the last time Clarkson played Union, the 2-1 overtime on February 22 that clinched the 2013-14 ECAC Hockey Regular Season title.

Freshman goaltender Shea Tiley (Owen Sound, ONT) has had an excellent start to her collegiate career. She has played in all 21 games, starting 20 of them. She is second in ECAC Hockey in both goals against average and save percentage which are 1.43 and .929 respectively. in league play. She has been named ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Month as well as being named ECAC Goaltender of the Week three times.

Junior assistant captain Renata Fast (Burlington, ONT) and freshman Savannah Harmon (Downers Grove, IL) have both contributed offense from the blue line. Fast has two goals and seven assists in just 12 games. In ECAC Hockey play, she is third in points per game for defensemen and is tied for fourth among all skaters in power-play points. Harmon has played in every game this season and has contributed four goals and nine assists. She is tied for sixth in ECAC Hockey for points per game among rookies.

Seniors Daniella Matteucci (Fruitvale, BC) and Jennifer Shields (Ingersoll, ONT) are two experienced blueliners who have helped the Golden Knights this season with their solid defensive play. They are second and third on the team in blocked shots with Matteucci blocking 37 shots and Shields getting in front of 32.

Union comes into the game with a record of 4-15-3 overall and just 1-9-0 in ECAC Hockey play. The Dutchwomen have struggled mightily on both ends in conference play, scoring just 1.10 goals per game while allowing 3.90. This gives them the 12th ranked offense and 11th ranked defense in the conference. Clarkson has historically dominated the series, winning 21 of 22 meetings and winning all 10 games played in Cheel Arena.

Rensselaer carries the same overall record as Union, but has notched one more conference win, leaving them 2-8-0 in ECAC Hockey play. The Engineers struggles have been during man-advantage opportunities. They are scoring on just 6.9 percent of their power-plays in conference play while opponents are scoring on them at a 35.3 percent clip, placing them 12th in both categories. Clarkson holds a 14-4-2 advantage in the all-time series with Rensselaer's last win coming on February 5, 2010.