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Knights and Saints women's hockey clash in North Country showdown today and Saturday

Posted 12/7/18

A highly anticipated series against its archrival gives Clarkson University an excellent opportunity to take away some of the sting of last week's losses and end the first semester on a high note. …

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Knights and Saints women's hockey clash in North Country showdown today and Saturday

Posted

A highly anticipated series against its archrival gives Clarkson University an excellent opportunity to take away some of the sting of last week's losses and end the first semester on a high note. The Golden Knights will take on St. Lawrence in a home-and-home North Country series with the rivals playing at Appleton Arena in Canton on Friday and at Cheel Arena on Saturday. Both games are 3:00 p.m. faceoffs.

The two prominent national programs will be looking to get back on the winning track after both experienced a sweep in Central NY this past weekend. Clarkson lost to Colgate 4-1 in Hamilton, NY and to Cornell 3-1 in Ithaca, suffering consecutive ECAC Hockey defeats for the first time since early in the 2011-12 campaign.

Ranked 5th in the country, two-time defending National Champion Clarkson is the only conferene team with double-digit wins, owning a 12-4 overall record. CU is tied for seventh in the ECAC Hockey standings with a 3-3 league mark. Guided by 11th-year Head Coach Matt Desrosiers and assistants Britni Smith and Tony Maci, the Green and Gold will resume play after this weekend when they play two games against nationally ranked Northeastern in the Friendship Series in Belfast, Northern Ireland on January 5-6.

• After splitting two non-conference games earlier this season, the Golden Knights hold a 27-19-7 edge over St. Lawrence in the all-time matchup. In the first game at Appleton Arena, the Green and Gold fell 4-3 in overtime on October 19 and dropped to 10-16-1 in games in Canton. The Knights rebounded the following night, shutting out the Saints 4-0, improving to 17-3-6 against St. Lawrence at Cheel Arena.

• With just two goals last weekend, Clarkson fell out of the top spot as the leading offensive team in Division I, but the Green and Gold still pose a productive scoring threat, averaging 3.94 goals per game (2nd in the NCAA).

• One, two, three – Linemates, left wing Loren Gabel, right wing Elizabeth Giguere and center Michaela Pejzlova ranked as the top three scorers in the country.

• Gabel leads the country, averaging 2.14 points per game on 14 goals and 16 assists through 14 games.

• Giguere is second nationally, averaging 2.00 points on 11 goals and 21 assists in 16 games. She was named ECAC Hockey November Player of the Month.

• Centering the nation's top line, Pejzlova is averaging 1.75 points on 12 goals and 16 assists in 16 games.

• The dynamic trio has combined for almost 400 career points. Gabel has amassed 174 points on 90 goals and 84 assists through 136 games. She is eight points away from breaking Jamie Lee Rattray's '14 all-time Clarkson career scoring mark of 181 points (77-104). Pejzlova has recorded 115 points (49-66) in 94 games. Giguere, who reached Clarkson's Century Club faster than any other Golden Knight, has tallied 103 points (38-65) in 57 games.

• Clarkson has outscored the opponents 32-10 in the second period.

• The Knights are 8-0 at home but have lost their last three road games to stand at 4-4 in games away from Cheel Arena.

Series vs. St. Lawrence

After splitting two non-conference games earlier this season, the Knights hold a 27-19-7 edge over St. Lawrence. In the first game at Appleton Arena, the Green and Gold fell 4-3 in overtime and dropped to 10-16-1 in games in Canton. The Knights rebounded the following night, shutting out the Saints 4-0, improving to 17-3-6 against St. Lawrence at Cheel. The nation's top line of Loren Gabel, Elizabeth Giguere, and Michaela Pejzlova has done plenty of damage to the Saints. The trio has a combined 42 points versus St. Lawrence during their collective careers, with 11 of those points coming earlier this season. Ella Shelton has produced at a point-per-game clip through 11 career games versus the Saints, scoring twice and assisting on nine goals. Kassidy Sauve was between the pipes for both games this season, allowing four goals on 51 shots in two games for a .923 save percentage.

Scouting St. Lawrence

The Saints are 9-8-1 overall and 4-2-0 (4th) in the ECAC. St. Lawrence is 6-4-0 since the October series with Clarkson with three of the losses coming vs ranked teams in Minnesota, Colgate, and Cornell. The Saints have been good at home with a 4-1-1 record but have struggled on the road going 3-6. This past weekend was not a good one for formerly ninth-ranked St. Lawrence, as the Saints were shut out 4-0 at seventh-ranked Cornell before losing 5-1 to Colgate on Saturday.