After a loss against Cornell in the ECAC Hockey semifinals, the seventh-ranked Clarkson University Women's Hockey team was not sure if it would have a chance to defend its 2014 National Championship. However, the Golden Knights found out Sunday night that they had made the eight-team field and will travel to No. 2 seed Boston College for a quarterfinal matchup on March 14th. Game time is 1:00 p.m. at Kelley Rink at Conte Forum in Chestnut Hill, MA.

Guided by seventh-year head coach Matt Desrosiers and first-year assistant coaches Meghan Duggan and Britni Smith, the Golden Knights have a 24-10-3 record and are ranked seventh nationally. With a win against Boston College, Clarkson will return to the Frozen Four for the second consecutive year.

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Junior Cayley Mercer (Exeter, ONT) and junior assistant captain Olivia Howe (Moose Jaw, SASK) are the current team leaders in playoff points. Mercer has five points on four goals and an assist while Howe has five assists in the three postseason games. Mercer now has 43 points on the season, on 24 goals and 19 assists. Howe has 31 points on 11 goals and 20 assists. They are both carrying streaks of three consecutive games with at least a point.

Senior Christine Lambert (Thetford Mines, QUE) has four postseason points of her own and is the only Clarkson skater other than Mercer and Howe to tally a point in all three playoff games. She scored a power-play goal against Dartmouth and had an assist against Cornell to go with two assists in the playoff opener. 11of her 26 points have come on power plays and her eight assists during man advantage opportunities are the second highest total on the team.

Junior assistant captains Renata Fast (Burlington, ONT) and Erin Ambrose (Keswick, ONT), along with freshman Amanda Titus (Stittsville, ONT), are the three Clarkson skaters with three postseason points. Fast and Titus each had a game-winning goal in the quarterfinal series with Dartmouth while Ambrose has three assists in the playoffs.

Freshman goaltender Shea Tiley (Owen Sound, ONT) led the way in terms of awards this season. Tiley was named ECAC Hockey Goalie of the Year as well as Rookie of the Year. She was also named to the ECAC Hockey First-team all-league team as well as the all-rookie team. She was joined on the ECAC Hockey First-team by Mercer and Fast. Junior captain Shannon MacAulay (Mt. Herbert, PEI) and Ambrose were both named Third-Team ECAC Hockey all-stars. Freshman defender Savannah Harmon (Downers Grove, IL) joined Tiley on the all-rookie team. Finally, head coach Matt Desrosiers was named the ECAC Hockey Coach of the Year.

Sophomore Genevieve Bannon (Candiac, QUE) and Brielle Bellerive (North Vancouver, BC) both have a goal and an assist so far in the playoffs. Bannon is third on the team in points with 32 on 13 goals and 19 assists. Her 19 assists only trail Howe amongst Clarkson skaters. Bellerive is second on Clarkson in rookie scoring with 15 points, on four goals and 11 assists. She scored the game-winning goal against Harvard on the final day of the regular season to help Clarkson earn a share of the ECAC Hockey regular season title.

MacAulay, Harmon, sophomore Jessica Gillham (Uxbridge, ONT), and senior Daniella Matteucci (Fruitvale, BC) round out the Clarkson players with postseason points, with all four sitting on one point. Matteucci, along with Lambert and senior defenseman Jennifer Shields (Ingersoll, ONT) have played against Boston College in each year of their college career. MacAulay has three goals in her four career NCAA Tournament games. Gillham's six points on two goals and four assists are all double her freshman year total. Harmon has 21 points, the most among Clarkson freshman and the second-highest total among Clarkson defensemen.

The 3-1 loss to Cornell in the ECAC Hockey semifinals was the first time Clarkson had given up multiple goals in a game since the 3-2 loss to Yale on January 30th. The Golden Knights have the fifth ranked defense in the country, allowing only 1.51 goals per game. They will be tested on Saturday as they face a Boston College team with the number one offense in the nation as the Eagles average 5.11 goals per game.

Boston College has been one of the top teams in the country throughout the season. They are currently ranked number one in the country and have a 33-2-2 overall record. BC finished with a 21-0-1 record in WHEA play, earning the number one seed in the conference tournament, where the Eagles fell to Boston University 4-1 in the final. BC holds an 18-0-0 record in the Conte Forum in Chestnut Hill, MA.

Boston College is led on the offensive end by juniors Alex Carpenter and Haley Skarupa, who are first and second nationally in points per game. Carpenter has 78 points on 35 goals and 43 assists while Skarupa has 67 points on 30 goals and 37 assists. The pair is among the top ten finalists for the 2015 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, along with their teammate, senior defenseman Emily Pfalzer. Pfalzer leads the country in points from the blue-line, with 42 points on eight goals and 34 assists. The Eagles have a freshmen goaltender, but Katie Burt has been outstanding in her rookie season, allowing only 1.08 goals per game, which is the best average in the country. She is tied for third in shutouts with ten.

The last time Clarkson and Boston College played was in quarterfinals of the 2014 NCAA Tournament. That game was played in Cheel Arena and the Golden Knights came away with a 3-1 win. Of the five Clarkson skaters to pick up a point in that game, only Fast, who had an assist, will play in this year's quarterfinal. In fact, this will be the fourth consecutive year the two teams have met, and Fast is the only Clarkson player who has a point against BC in their career. Clarkson holds an all-time record of 4-5-3 against Boston College, but is just 0-3-1 in road games against the Eagles.