Following a home stand in which the team went 4-1-1, the Clarkson University Women's Hockey team will hit the road to take on a pair of ECAC Hockey foes. Led by co-head coaches Matt and Shannon Desrosiers, and assistant coach Matt Kelly, the Golden Knights are ranked eighth in the national polls. Clarkson will take on Princeton University at 3:00 pm on Friday afternoon before traveling to play 5th/6th ranked Quinnipiac University at 3:00 pm on Saturday afternoon.

Last weekend the Knights improved to 10-3-2 (3-2-1 ECAC Hockey) as they took a break from conference play and hosted a pair of games against the Providence College Friars. Clarkson's offense was in full swing from the start, as five Knights scored in Friday afternoon's 5-1 win. Sophomore Olivia Howe (Moose Jaw, SASK) tallied a goal and an assist and 13 Knights recorded points in the convincing win.

Saturday afternoon was no different, as the Green and Gold cruised by the Friars 4-0 for the weekend sweep. Junior Christine Lambert (Thetford Mines, QUE) recorded a goal in every period for her first career hat trick, and sophomore Cayley Mercer (Exeter, ONT) added two assists for Clarkson. Lambert's hat trick earned her ECAC Hockey Player of the Week honors. Senior goaltender Erica Howe (Ottawa, ONT) stopped all 15 shots she faced to record her fifth shutout of the season. Howe is tied with Quinnipiac's Chelsea Laden for the most shutouts in the country.

The team is currently in the top ten in both scoring offense and scoring defense, and fourth in the country in the penalty kill, allowing only six goals in 66 opportunities this year.

Senior Jamie Lee Rattray (Kanata, ONT) leads with team with 20 points, including a team-high nine goals. Four players are in double digits for assists, led by senior Brittany Styner (Calgary, ALB) with 12. Senior captain Carly Mercer (Exeter, ONT), as well as her sister Cayley and Rattray all have 11 assists on the season.

Sophomore defenseman Erin Ambrose (Keswick, ONT) is seventh in the country for points per game for defensemen, tallying 16 points and averaging over a point per game.

Erica Howe enters this weekend third in the country in goals-against average, allowing only 1.15 goals per game. She is also in the top ten in save percentage (.940) and winning percentage (.733).

Princeton University enters the game with a record of 5-2-1 (4-2 ECAC Hockey), and is one point ahead of the Knights in the conference standings. After losing two of their first three games of the season, the Tigers have turned things around and have earned at least one point in their last five games, going 4-0-1 in that span. Coming off a 1-1 tie against seventh-ranked Boston College, Princeton relies on its offense to win games. Yet to record a shutout, the defense allows nearly 2.5 goals per game, but the Tigers have been able to score, putting up at least three goals in all but two games thus far this season. Special teams are not a strong point for the Tigers, as they are successful on only 13.2% of power-play opportunities, and have killed only 69.2% of opponents' power-plays, good for second-to-last in the country.

Quinnipiac enters the game with a much more balanced attack, as they have combined offense and defense to climb the polls. Riding a seven game point-streak, the Bobcats allow only 1.07 goals per game, good for the best rate in the country. Offensively, Quinnipiac averages exactly three goals per contest, and the team has not lost since September 25 at Harvard University, their only loss of the season. Kelly Babstock leads the team in goals and assists, recording nine and 12 respectively.