Clarkson enters series on late-season high
POTSDAM — Although this has been a regular season that many Clarkson University men's hockey fans want to forget, the squad will enter postseason play feeling good about its chances.
Clarkson (8-22-4 overall, 4-15-3 ECAC Hockey) finished last in the conference standings for the first time in school history.
But the squad that makes the short trip to Canton for a best-of-three, first-round series against fifth-place St. Lawrence University barely resembles the team that was on the ice for much of the middle of the season.
Clarkson faced depth issues all year after losing two defensive recruits for the season due to school suspension. For almost a month in January and early February the team played games with two forwards back on defense.
But since an embarrassing 11-2 loss at Union on Feb. 5, Clarkson has been a different team, ending the regular season by going 3-3-1 in its final seven games.
"Last weekend we had a win and a tie against Harvard and Dartmouth, two pretty-good teams," said Clarkson captain Scott Freeman. "The guys are ready to go against St. Lawrence. We're excited. We don't have far to travel. I think there's a lot of positives."
As one would expect in a season like this, Clarkson has its share of ugly numbers entering this series.
The negative stats include the fact that Clarkson is 1-15-2 in games away from Cheel Arena this season and now must win two games in one weekend in another building.
Also Clarkson has won just one game in Appleton Arena in its last 10 games, going 1-7-2.
But the positive stats are that Clarkson is actually playing better of late than the Saints. While Clarkson went 3-2-1 in the last three weekends, SLU was 1-3-2.
Clarkson went 1-1-1 against SLU in three competitive games this season, so neither team will enter this series feeling dominant against the other.
Also, while Clarkson has won just one game in Appleton Arena since the 2000-01 season, the Golden Knights also have not lost in the building the last two years, tying SLU this season and last season in Appleton Arena.
"It's going to be awesome, a first-time experience here playing St. Lawrence in the playoffs," said senior defenseman Jeremiah Crowe. "The normal games have a lot of intensity, so I think this will take it to a new level. It's nice to not be on a bus for a bunch of hours. You can sleep in your own bed and have a pregame skate here and not do any traveling whatsoever. It's just 15 minutes down the road."
THE OTHER SERIES
While the north country is focused on the Clarkson/SLU rivalry, there are three other first-round series taking place in the ECAC Hockey Tournament.
Here's a brief glance at the other matchups:
n11 Brown at 6 Rensselaer:Traditionally this has been one of the matchups that produces upset winners. Since ECAC Hockey went to the 12-team format in 2003, the No. 6 team has won four of these series and No. 11 has won three. Brown finished seven points behind the Engineers in the conference standings and split the regular-season matchups, losing 3-1 in Troy in early November.
n10 Dartmouth at 7 Quinnipiac:This is another of the matchups that often produces an upset, as the No. 7 seed has gone just 4-3 against the No. 10 teams. Dartmouth finished five points behind the Bobcats in the standings, but has played well of late. The Big Green went 3-0-2 in their last five games and was 1-1 against Quinnipiac during the season, losing its road game 4-2. Quinnipiac was 7-0 at one point in conference play but went 4-11 in its final 15 games.
n9 Harvard at 8 Princeton:Surprisingly, this is a series that has not produced many upsets. The only two No. 9 teams to win a first-round series were Clarkson's squads in 2004 and 2005, which beat No. 8 Union two straight years. Princeton finished just one point ahead of the Crimson in the conference standings. The Tigers went 1-0-1 against Harvard, tying the Crimson 3-3 at home.
CLITSOME DEBUTS
Former Clarkson All-American defenseman Grant Clitsome made his NHL debut Tuesday for the Columbus Blue Jackets and picked up two assists in the first period.
Clitsome may be temporarily sent back down to the American Hockey League's Syracuse Crunch when the trade deadline occurs, but will be immediately brought back up once it's over.
"It was awesome to see him play," Crowe said. "Grant's a great guy and it's good to see him get that opportunity. It was a long time coming for him."
Sportswriter Cap Carey covers Clarkson University men's hockey for the Times. For additional coverage, visit his "Knights Tales" blog online. You may reach him at ccarey@wdt.net
