St. Lawrence Series Preview
Clarkson and St. Lawrence University will meet for the 179th and 180th times this weekend in a pair of ECAC Hockey contests.
The Golden Knights (4-9-1 overall, 1-4-1 conference) will travel to Appleton Arena for a 7:30 game tonight and will host the Saints (7-6-1, 3-3) at 7 p.m. Saturday in the finale.
Clarkson Associate Head Coach Greg Drechsel on the Saints
"For us to be successful, we have to make sure we do the little things well. That is a concern for us after the game against Boston College. A few mistakes here and there proved costly for us, so we are going to focus on that this week."
Stat of the Series
Clarkson will need to take control of both games early if it wants to win, at least going by history so far this season. The first period has been the worst one for the Saints, who have been outscored 17-9. Clarkson is 1-7-1 this season in games where it does not lead after the first 20 minutes.
Who to Watch
Clarkson:Senior Matt Beca is, by far, the dominant Golden Knight against SLU with six goals and four assists in 10 career games. Scott Freeman has two goals and six assists in eight games. Goalie Paul Karpowich is 2-2 against the Saints with a 2.37 goals-against average and a .918 save percentage. Richie LaVeau is 0-0-1 with a 2.37 goals-against average and .940 save percentage against the Saints.
SLU: Despite missing four games due to injury, freshman Kyle Flanagan, a Canton native, is tied for the team lead in scoring with Mike McKenzie. Both players have four goals and seven assists. Defenseman Peter Child has four goals and five assists. SLU has used three goalies this season - Alex Petizian, Robby Moss and Kain Tisi. Tisi has the best numbers with a 2.30 goals-against average and .912 save percentage.
Last Meeting:Clarkson used a three-goal first period to defeat SLU 4-1 in a nonconference game at Cheel Arena on Oct. 24. Nick Tremblay and Brian Rufenach each had one goal with one assist while Julien Cayer and Scott Freeman each added goals. Paul Karpowich stopped 30 of 31 shots. Derek Keller scored for the Saints.
Stats and Notes:SLU needs to win 49 straight games to tie the all-time series, which Clarkson leads 110-61-7. It's been much more competitive in the 2000s, with Clarkson holding a narrow 13-12-1 lead. Clarkson's last win in Appleton Arena came in the 2006-07 season and the Saints are 5-18-1 in Cheel Arena. SLU swept a pair of nonconference games last year, but Clarkson took three of the four points in the ECAC Hockey contests. Senior Matt Beca needs three points to reach 100 for his career.
