St. Lawrence University will look to snap an eight-game postseason losing streak to rival Clarkson when the teams meet in game one of a best-of-three ECAC Hockey first round series at 7 tonight in Appleton Arena.

Clarkson (8-22-4 overall, 4-15-3 conference) finished in last place in the standings for the first time in school history. SLU (15-13-7, 9-8-5) finished in fifth place after a 1-4-3 finish to the regular season cost them the chance to finish in the top four and earn a first-round bye.

The last time the teams met in the postseason was in 2002, when Clarkson swept a quarterfinal series at Cheel Arena 3-1 and 6-1, ending SLU's two-year reign as conference tournament champions.

The last time SLU hosted a series with Clarkson was in 1983 at Appleton Arena. SLU won the opening game 6-3 and Clarkson answered with a 2-1 win in game two. The series was decided after game two with a 10-minute mini-game, which SLU won 3-0.

SLU's last postseason win over the Golden Knights came in a 3-0 decision in the 1988 ECAC championship game in Boston Garden.

Stat of the Night: Three is the magic number for this series. SLU is just 1-10-4 this season when it scores less than three goals in a game. Clarkson is 1-15-1 in the same circumstance.

Who to Watch

Clarkson: Matt Beca will not be missed by Saints fans. Clarkson's senior forward has six goals and eight assists in 12 career games against SLU. Captain Scott Freeman has also performed well against the Saints with two goals and nine assists in 10 games. Junior defenseman Bryan Rufenach has two goals and three assists in nine games. Paul Karpowich is 2-3-1 with a 2.76 goals-against average and a .900 save percentage in six career games against SLU. Richie LaVeau has played two games against the Saints and is 0-0-1 with a 2.37 goals-against average and .940 save percentage.

SLU: None of the Saints have huge numbers against Clarkson. Senior forward Mike McKenzie is the top scorer with one goal and eight assists in 12 games. Travis Vermeulen has two goals and three assists in 11 games. Five other SLU players have four career points against the Golden Knights. Kain Tisi is 1-1 with a 1.52 goals-against average and a .916 save percentage in two games against Clarkson. Alex Petizian is 3-3 with a 3.87 goals-against average and .878 save percentage in six games against the Golden Knights.

Special Teams Watch

Clarkson: Freshman Adam Pawlick leads Clarkson with six power-play goals. Matt Beca and Brandon DeFazio each have five. Beca also has a shorthanded goal. Clarkson has scored on 16.3 percent of its power-play chances and killed 76.8 percent of its penalties. The Golden Knights have four shorthanded goals and have allowed four.

SLU: Travis Vermeulen leads the Saints with seven power-play goals and two shorthanded goasl. Derek Keller has six power-play goals and George Hughes has five. SLU has scored on 19.4 percent of its chances and has killed 78.5 percent of its penalties. The Saints have six shorthanded goals.

Regular-Season Meetings: The teams faced each other three times during the season, including one nonconference game at Cheel Arena on Oct. 24. Clarkson won that contest 4-1, behind a three-goal first period. Nick Tremblay led the Golden Knights with one goal and one assist. The teams tied 3-3 in a conference game at Appleton Arena on Dec. 4 with Corey Tamblyn scoring the game-tying goal with only 30 seconds remaining in the third period. SLU picked up its win the next day at Cheel Arena in a 4-3 decision. Alex Curran scored the game-winner with 1 minute, 44 seconds left in the third period.

Outlook: Clarkson has been playing better than the Saints in the last three weekends. The Golden Knights went 3-2-1 and nearly made that 4-1-1 before Yale rallied from three goals down late in the third period to defeat the Golden Knights. SLU went 1-3-2 and did not win until the last regular-season game against Harvard. ... For Clarkson to win this series the Golden Knights may need to play with a lead. Clarkson plays about the same whether it scores first or not. The Golden Knights are 3-8-1 with the first goal and 5-14-3 without. But SLU is a much stronger team when it scores the first goal of a game. The Saints are 8-1-4 when they strike first and 7-12-4 when the opposition scores first. SLU is also almost unbeatable if it leads after one or two periods. The Saints are 7-0-2 when leading after one and 8-1-3 when leading after two. Clarkson, conversely, is 0-13-1 when it trails after the first period and 2-16-3 when it trails after two. ... One reason for SLU's success when leading after two is the Saints dominance of the third period this season. SLU has outscored the opposition 33-19 in the third period this year. ... As is typical in a playoff game, Clarkson will need a strong effort from goalie Paul Karpowich. Karpowich's season stats are not spectacular, but he has been a much more effective goalie down the stretch. He's saved 90 percent of opposing shots in six of the last seven games and has a .915 save percentage in that span.

It's playoff time and for the second straight week area fans can watch Clarkson face St. Lawrence University in a best-of-three series.

Last weekend it was the women's turn as the Golden Knights won an ECAC Hockey quarterfinal series in three games.

This time the men, seeded 12th, face No. 5 SLU in a best-of-three series at Appleton Arena. Game one is Friday at 7 p.m. Game two is Saturday and 7 p.m. and game three, if necessary, is Sunday at 7 p.m.

Should Clarkson win they will face top-seeded Yale in the quarterfinals. If SLU wins they will play fourth-seeded Colgate in the quarterfinals.

Clarkson's Jeremiah Crowe and captain Scott Freeman discussed the upcoming series, as well as former teammate Grant Clitsome making his National Hockey League debut Tuesday night:

Crowe

Freeman

A Look Back

Here are a few videos from Clarkson/SLU games shot during the regular season. The teams played three times with each side winning once and tying once.

Clarkson Takes the Ice

Students Count Goals

Corey Tamblyn's Game-tying Goal

Former Clarkson defenseman Grant Clitsome will make his National Hockey League debut at 7 tonight when the Columbus Blue Jackets host the Vancouver Canucks.

Clitsome, who graduated from Clarkson in 2008, is the second member of his class to make his NHL debut this season, joining forward Steve Zalewski, who has played in three games for the San Jose Sharks.

Clitsome, who is 24, has four goals and 14 assists in 55 games with the American Hockey League's Syracuse Crunch. He ranked third on the team in scoring among defenseman. He was picked 271st overall by the Blue Jackets in the 2004 NHL draft.

He played in 150 games at Clarkson, finishing with 16 goals and 57 assists and had a career plus/minus rating of plus-32.

Clitsome helped lead Clarkson to the 2007 ECAC Hockey Tournament championship and a regular-season championship the following season, as well as a spot in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals.

One of Clitsome's teammates with Columbus will be former Clarkson captain Chris Clark (class of 1998). He will also become the ninth former Golden Knight to play in an NHL game this season.

Clarkson defeated St. Lawrence University 4-1 on Sunday afternoon to win an ECAC Hockey Quarterfinal series in three games.

The Golden Knights came back from a 2-1 loss on Saturday and built a 3-0 lead in Sunday's game. Clarkson will now host Harvard in an ECAC Hockey semifinal game Friday at Cheel Arena. It is likely that the game will start at 4 p.m.

Should Clarkson win that game they will either host Rensselaer or travel to Cornell for the championship game at 2 p.m. Sunday.

Here are some video clips from this afternoon's game:

Pre-game Dance

Clarkson Early Pressure

Clarkson's First Goal: Gabrielle Kosziwka

SLU Power-play Tests Lauren Dahm

Last 30-plus Seconds..Clarkson Celebrates

Clarkson's Carlee Eusepi (1 goal-1 assist)

Gabrielle Kosziwka

Britney Selina, Clarkson Captain

Clarkson Co-Head Coach Matt Desrosiers

Clarkson (8-22-3 overall, 4-15-2 conference) evened its record at Cheel Arena to 7-7-1 Friday night with a 2-1 overtime victory over Harvard. The Golden Knights close out the home portion of their schedule with a 7 p.m. game against Dartmouth (9-17-2, 7-12-2) tonight.

Friday Recap

Clarkson 2, Harvard 1: Freshman defenseman Andrew Himelson scored his first career goal at 3 minutes, 11 seconds of overtime to give Clarkson the victory. The game was scoreless after two periods and Harvard struck first with a goal from Doug Rogers just 49 seconds into the third. Clarkson answered 11 seconds later with a goal from Louke Oakley. Paul Karpowich finished with 21 saves.

Dartmouth 3, St. Lawrence 2: The Big Green held on to gain a win from the Saints in Appleton Arena. Dartmouth built leads of 2-0 and 3-1 in the contest. Scott Fleming scored two goals for the Big Green and Paul Lee tallied the other goal. James Mello stopped 33 of 35 shots.

Stat of the Night: Dartmouth is 2-14-2 lifetime at Cheel Arena.

Who to Watch

Clarkson: Matt Beca has one goal and six assists in seven career games against Dartmouth. Tim Marks has three goals and two assists in eight games. Junior Brandon DeFazio has two goals in five career games. Paul Karpowich is 1-0 with a 2.04 goals-against average and .941 save percentage against Dartmouth. Richie LaVeau is 1-0 with a 3.00 goals-against average and an .857 save percentage.

Dartmouth: Scott Fleming leads the Big Green with 19 goals and 12 assists. Adam Estoclet has 11 goals and 20 assists. Matt Reber and Doug Jones both have three goals with 18 assists. Jody O'Neill is 6-13-1 with a 3.88 goals-against average and an .888 save percentage. James Mello is 3-4-1 with a 2.97 goals-against average and a .919 save percentage.

Special Teams Watch

Clarkson: Matt Beca, Brandon DeFazio and Adam Pawlick each have five power-play goals. Beca also has a shorthanded goal. Clarkson has converted on 15.9 percent of its power-play chances and killed 76.8 percent of its penalties. The Golden Knights have four shorthanded goals and have allowed three.

Dartmouth: Scott Fleming leads the Big Green with eight power-play goals. Adam Estoclet has four and Joe Gaudet has three. Fleming also has a shorthanded goal. The Green have also converted on 15.9 percent of their power-play chances while killing 76.6 percent of their penalties. Dartmouth has three shorthanded goals and have given up three shorthanded goals.

Last Meeting: Clarkson won its only road game of the season, edging the Big Green 3-2 at the Thompson Arena on Nov. 20. Dartmouth led 2-1 after two periods but Clarkson rallied with third-period goals from Brandon DeFazio and Mark Borowiecki.

Stats and Notes: Clarkson has won two straight against Dartmouth and has a lifetime win percentage of .728 against the Big Green (64-22-6). .... Clarkson goalie Paul Karpowich has stopped 90 percent, or more, of opposing shots in five of the last six games. Clarkson is 7-9-2 this season when goalies stop 90 percent or more of the opposition's shots and 1-13-1 when they do not. ... Nick Tremblay has seven assists in his last seven games.