Yale Preview

Tonight marks the halfway point of the ECAC Hockey season for Clarkson (5-14-3 overall, 1-7-2 conference) and finds the Golden Knights still searching for their first conference win at Cheel Arena.

The Golden Knights will face a tough test to gain that victory tonight against defending conference champion Yale (10-4-3, 6-2-2), which is ranked No. 6 in this week's U.S. College Hockey Online national poll.

Clarkson was swept at home by Cornell and Colgate last weekend and is now 0-5 at Cheel Arena in conference games. The Golden Knights are 4-0-1 at home in their nonconference encounters.

Yale won 3-2 at Cheel Arena last year and is 2-2-1 on the road so far this season in conference games. Here are some highlights of Yale's most recent contest, an 8-5 win over Brown (Clarkson's opponent tomorrow night) from last Saturday:

Stat of the Night:When Clarkson goalies Paul Karpowich and Richie LaVeau have a .900 save percentage, or higher, the team is 5-4-2 this season. When their save percentage has been .899, or lower, the squad is 0-10-1.

Who to Watch

Clarkson:Senior Matt Beca has done the best against Yale, with three goals and one assist in six career games. Junior Lauri Tuohimaa has one goal and three assists in four career games. Goalie Paul Karpowich is 0-1 with a 3.07 goals-against average and .918 save percentage and Richie LaVeau is 1-0 with a 3.00 goals-against average and .906 save percentage against the Bulldogs.

Yale:Sean Backman, last year's ECAC Hockey Tournament MVP, has 111 points in 110 career games and ranks third on the team with 12 goals and 8 assists. Brian O'Neill leads the team in scoring with 8 goals and 13 assists and has scored in 12 of 17 games. Broc Little leads the team with 14 goals and also has 6 assists. He led the nation with five shorthanded goals last year. Yale has used four goalies but two freshmen have the most playing time. Jeff Malcolm is 5-2 with a 2.58 goals-against average and .893 save percentage and has played in the last three games. Nick Maricic is 3-1-2 with a 2.41 goals-against average and a .909 save percentage.

Last Meeting:Clarkson stunned the Bulldogs with a three-goal third period in a 4-3 win in New Haven, Conn., last Jan. 16. Yale, which would go on to win the regular-season and tournament championships, blew a 3-1 lead after two periods. Julien Cayer, Adam Bellows and Shea Guthrie scored the third-period goals for Clarkson. It was the first career goal for Bellows.

Stats and Notes:Clarkson only has four healthy defenseman for this weekend so two forwards will have to move back to defense, with the likely candidates being Tim Marks and Corey Tamblyn. Mark Borowiecki is out with a concussion and Andrew Himelson and Dan Reed have knee injuries. ... Clarkson is only 1-6-3 in its last 10 games. ... Yale has been dominant in the third period this season, outscoring its opponents 32-10. ... Clarkson goalie Paul Karpowich has given up 49 percent of his goals this season during power plays. Karpowich has allowed 53 goals, with 26 coming while the opposition is on a power play. Yale's power play connects 24 percent of the time.