For the third time in the past four years, the fifth-ranked Clarkson University Women's Hockey team has won its first three games of the season. The Golden Knights will try to extend their perfect start to the season when they play the Vermont Catamounts in a home-and-home series this weekend. The teams will play Burlington, VT for a 7:00 pm game on Friday at Gutterson Fieldhouse, followed by a 3:00 pm game in Cheel Arena on Saturday afternoon.

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Led by eighth-year head coach Matt Desrosiers and second-year assistant coaches Britni Smith and Meghan Duggan, Clarkson swept rival St. Lawrence twice (4-0, 3-2) last weekend, followed by a 3-1 win at Syracuse on Tuesday. If Clarkson is able to take two wins from Vermont, it will match the best start of Desrosiers tenure, which came in both the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons.

Clarkson opened the season with a dominating 4-0 home victory over St. Lawrence at Cheel on October 2. Senior assistant captain Olivia Howe, junior assistant captain Cayley Mercer, and sophomore Savannah Harmon all had a goal and an assist and freshman Loren Gabel also added a goal. The next day, the Green and Gold trailed 2-0 after two periods over at Appleton Arena, but goals from Mercer and Harmon tied the contest, giving freshman Rhyen McGill the chance to score the game-winning goal with just over three minutes remaining.

Clarkson added a third win on Tuesday night. The Golden Knights traveled to Syracuse and came away with a 3-1 win. McGill opened the scoring in the first period and the Golden Knights doubled their lead when senior captain Shannon MacAulay scored the first power-play goal of Clarkson's season. Syracuse drew within a goal in the third period, but a power-play goal from Mercer regained Clarkson's two goal lead.

So far in 2015, Mercer has picked up right where she left off last season. Mercer tallied a team-leading 44 points in 2014-15, on 24 goals and 20 assists. In just three games this year, Mercer has picked up five points, with three goals and two assists. She is tied for ninth in the country in goals per game and is 14th in points per game.

The Exter, ONT native was named the ECAC Hockey Player of the Week for her performances.

Clarkson has three other skaters who have recorded three points so far. Junior Genevieve Bannon leads the team with three assists, including two in the season opener. She is tied for 12th in the nation in assists per game. Harmon has two goals and an assist while Olivia Howe has added two assists and a score.

In goal, Shea Tiley has had a strong start to the season. Tiley completed her tenth shutout of the year in the season opener and has allowed just three goals so far this season. Tiley is tied for fifth in the country in goals per game average and is sixth with a save percentage of .960. She is also tied for first in win percentage at 1.000 and shutouts with one.

Vermont opened its season with two consecutive losses to Bemidji State. The Catamounts first dropped a 2-1 decision, before falling 3-0 in the second game. Vermont is coming off a season that saw it finish with a 15-19-2 overall record and a 6-14-1 HEA record. Danya Colang was the leading scorer for Vermont last season, with 32 points on 18 goals and 14 assists in her junior season. Vermont also returns goaltender Madison Litchfield who held a 12-15-2 in her sophomore season.

Clarkson holds an all-time record of 15-1-3 against Vermont, including a current five-game unbeaten streak (3-0-2). The last time the two teams met was in the 2012-13 season when Clarkson won 4-1 and 5-1 in Potsdam. Senior assistant captain Renata Fast scored in the 4-1 victory, while senior captain Shannon MacAulay and Howe scored their first collegiate goals in the 5-1 win, with senior assistant captain Erin Ambrose picking up an assist in both matchups. The Catamounts' only win in the series was a 4-1 triumph at Gutterson Fieldhouse on October 17, 2009.