A 2-2 tie

photo courtesy of Clarksonathletics.com

Clarkson rallied and came up with a late power-play goal to earn a 2-2 tie with Canisius on Saturday. The tie snapped a six-game losing streak just one game shy of tying the school record for a single-season losing streak (seven set in the 1943-44 season).

Here were my five things to watch for prior to the game:

Special teams - another win for Clarkson in this category as the power-play continues to show signs of coming around. Clarkson tied the game with a power-play goal from Lauri Tuohimaa and went 1-for-3 while killing two penalties and allowing Canisius only one power-play shot.

Defense - again, more improvement as Clarkson held the Golden Griffins to just 17 shots for the game and only five combined shots in the second and third periods.

Offense - this is still a concern as Clarkson continues to struggle to score goals. Shea Guthrie did get his first goal of the season and it wouldn't surprise me if that leads to more goals this weekend for him. Clarkson did have chances, taking 36 shots, and hit a few posts.

LaVeau - Freshman Richie LaVeau earned his first playing time and played well, stopping 15 of 17 shots. He stopped one breakaway.

Get a lead - again Clarkson struggled in this category. The team has not led after two periods since the season-opener against RIT and it seems like forever since the last time Clarkson scored the first goal of a game. I believe it was in the loss at Dartmouth a few weeks ago.

BONUS COMMENTS
Canisius coach Dave Smith on whether this series will continue. He said Clarkson is not going there next year but will play at Canisius two years from now and added, "We'd really like to play a lot of the New York state schools. It's good for us. We want to play schools like Clarkson, St. Lawrence and Colgate, all those."

13.8 seconds away

It was another tough night for the Clarkson hockey team Friday. This time the end of a five-game losing streak was just 13.8 seconds away before Canisius rallied for an extra-attacker goal and then won the game 4-3 with a goal in overtime.
Clarkson also added to its injury list as Brandon DeFazio suffered a separated shoulder during the game. It's not known how long he'll be out.

Here were my five points prior to the game and how Clarkson did:

Special teams - For the first time in quite a while Clarkson actually won this category. The Golden Knights went 2-for-4 on the power play against a Canisius team that recently set a school record with 38 straight kills. Clarkson also killed 7 of 8 penalties, including a five-minute major to Chris D'Alvise in the second period.

Improve the defense - again, despite the four goals, Clarkson did a good job at this end of the ice, allowing the Golden Griffins only 24 shots. In the first two periods Canisius had only three shots near the net, but in the third they picked up five, including the game-tying goal.

Work ethic - this was off and on. The team was definitely not outplayed, but there were visible spurts where you could see more effort than at other points. What comes to mind is after Clarkson got the 3-2 lead in the third and was rallying, you could see some extra speed in the skates as they tried to get that fourth goal.

Offense - this remains a concern, despite three goals. Bryan Rufenach had a solid offensive day, scoring a power-play goal and picking up an assist and Matt Beca appears ready to return to form, scoring the game-tying goal in the third. How DeFazio's injury affects what had been Clarkson's best line (Scott Freeman, DeFazio and Lauri Tuohimaa) remains to be seen.

Build a lead - again, Clarkson did play from behind for most of this contest. The team has led after the first period just twice all year and has not lead a game after two periods since the season-opener against RIT.

Clarkson Notes

Our paper does not publish on Thursday, Thanksgiving, so we will have no Clarkson notes this week.

I have a few items I'll post here, instead.

*CONSIDER 1999*
After two straight NCAA Tournament appearances it might be natural for Clarkson fans to panic a bit, seeing the team with a 2-6-2 overall record 10 games into a season.
While it is likely that repeating as ECAC Hockey regular-season champions is unlikely, given that five of the losses are in conference play, Clarkson has set a precedent in the past of showing you can overcome a bad start to have a pretty good year.
Consider the 1998-99 squad. That team, too, was coming off two very successful years. The 1997 team was No. 2 in the nation at the end of the regular season and the program had played in back-to-back ECAC title games, although it lost both.
But the 1999 squad, led by sophomores Erik Cole, Willie Mitchell and Kent Huskins, got off to a horrible start. The team lost its first four games (two at home to Northern Michigan and two at North Dakota). It beat Yale in the conference opener, then dropped two more games, losing at home to Princeton then losing 3-1 at St. Lawrence.
So where did that team go after its 1-6 start? Clarkson finished with a 25-11-1 overall record, an ECAC regular season and tournament championship and a spot in the NCAA quarterfinals, where it lost to eventual national champion Maine.
*RANDOM NOTES ABOUT THIS WEEKEND*
-Phil Paquet, who has been injured since the Nov. 24 game against Colorado College, was supposed to begin skating this week but I'd imagine he wouldn't be used for at least one more week.
-Clarkson has an 8-0 record at Cheel Arena against Atlantic Hockey Foes.
-Canisius is a Catholic school in Buffalo. The Golden Griffins are 5-5-2 and are tied for second in Atlantic Hockey with a 4-3-1 record. The only common foe the teams have had is Niagara, which defeated both.
-Clarkson is just 1-3-2 at Cheel Arena so far this season.
-Clarkson has not had a lead at the end of the first period yet this season.
-Coach George Roll could win his 100th game at Clarkson with a weekend sweep.
-These will be the last games at Cheel Arena for Clarkson until the ESPNU game against St. Lawrence University on Jan. 11.

Pro Hockey Notes

Feature on Mike Sullivan, playing his first year in Germany

Princeton Loss

Sorry for delay in getting this up, just about now getting over a really nasty flu bug that kind of wiped me out.

Princeton picked up just its third overall win at Cheel Arena with an impressive 4-2 outing Saturday.

Here were the 5 key points prior to the game:

Special teams: Clarkson only had two power-play opportunities and was scoreless on both. Princeton had six power-play chances, scoring one with an empty-net goal in the final minute.

Good first period: Clarkson had been outscored 12-7 in first periods this year and fell in another hole when Princeton's Mark Magnowski scored 6:28 into the contest. Worse, the Golden Knights were outshot 19-4 in the opening 20 minutes.

Improve defense - this didn't happen as the Tigers sent 47 shots on Paul Karpowich.

Reclaim home ice - enough said.

Get Guthrie going - only one shot, but still feel like he's due for a breakout game.

Brandon DeFazio on this coming weekend's series vs. Canisius, "We're definitely not going to take them lightly. We are looking for wins, no matter who it is."

Home/Road Index

*updated through this weekend.. Two points for road win, one point for road tie, no points for home win or road loss, -1 point for home tie, -2 points for home loss... teams will finish with exactly 22 more points than they have in this stat at end of year*

Princeton 8
Dartmouth 6
Cornell 4
Quinnipiac 3
Yale 2
Harvard 2
Brown 0
Colgate -2
St. Lawrence -5
Clarkson -6
Union -6
Rensselaer -6

Quinnipiac 4, Clarkson 2

Story of Friday's 4-2 loss to Quinnipiac.

Here were the 5 key points
*Build a lead - once again, Clarkson played from behind. The only time Clarkson has led all year after two periods was the season opener.

*Special teams - modest improvement. Clarkson scored a shorthanded goal and went 1 for 4 on the power play, but failed to convert on a five-minute major when it was 3-0 in the second period, including two minutes of a two-man advantage.

*Improved defense - Clarkson gave up 31 shots and two turnovers led to the first two Bobcat goals.

*Guthrie - picked up his first point of the year with an assist. Have a feeling this guy is due for a breakout game soon.

*Bud Fisher - avenged his horrible outing at Cheel last year, when he gave up 4 goals on 10 shots in the first period by stopping 22 of 24 shots Friday

TV weekend games

FRIDAY
7:30 p.m. Michigan at Miami (Ohio), NHL Network
9:30 p.m. Minnesota at Denver, Fox Sports Pacific

SATURDAY
9 p.m. Minnesota at Denver, Fox Sports Atlantic

SUNDAY
4 p.m. Binghamton Senators (Weller) at Syracuse Crunch (Clitsome), Time Warner Sports

Clarkson Notes

This week's Clarkson notes:

Here's one bonus item (statistical)..

I was curious what Clarkson's 1-3 start might mean to its chances of repeating as ECAC Hockey regular-season champion. Clarkson would need to go 14-1-3 the rest of the year to match last year's 15-4-3 record which won the title.

Looking over the last 10 ECAC Hockey champions, I discovered the average point total needed to win the league was 34 points. For Clarkson to achieve that they'd have to go 16-2 the rest of the way.

The last two years 33 points has been enough to win the league title. Two times, in 2005-06 and 2003-04, it only took 30 points to win the league. Clarkson would have to go 14-4 the rest of the way to finish with 30 points.

The big question for Clarkson will be if the league has a dominant team that blows away the competition this year. Four times in the last decade a conference team has finished with 36 points or more, led by Cornell's 39 (19-2-1) in 2002-03. If 36 points is needed to win the title, Clarkson has to go 17-1. The most points Clarkson can earn if it goes undefeated is 38.

Here's the conference records of the last 10 champions
2008 - Clarkson 15-4-3 33
2007 - St. Lawrence 16-5-1 33
2006 - Dartmouth/Colgate 14-6-2 30
2005 - Cornell 18-2-2 38
2004 - Colgate 14-6-2 30
2003 - Cornell 19-2-1 39
2002 - Cornell 17-3-2 36
2001 Clarkson 15-5-2 32
*2000 St. Lawrence 16-3-1 33
1999 Clarkson 18-4 36

*there were two less games played in 2000 because Vermont stopped play early in the season after a hazing scandal*

One stat that caught my attention, besides the point totals, was despite all the turmoil Clarkson has been through in the last decade, including a complete rebuilding of the program, it still is tied with Cornell for the most regular-season titles in the last decade, with three.

Updated Home/Road Index

*see earlier posts for breakdown of this alternate view of conference standings*


Cornell 4
Dartmouth 4
Princeton 4
Yale 2
Brown 1
Colgate 1
Harvard 0
Quinnipiac -1
St. Lawrence -1
Clarkson -2
Union -6
RPI -6

Another 5-1 loss

Clarkson had another rough night Saturday, losing 5-1 to Dartmouth.

Here were 5 things I thought would be keys to this game:

*Will any other line besides the Scott Freeman/Lauri Tuohimaa/Brandon DeFazio line step up? This was answered over the weekend as coach George Roll said he was impressed by the line of Jake Morley, Tim Marks and Dan Tuttle. Morley scored his first career goal Saturday.
"We talked to the three of them before the weekend," Roll said. "I think they compliment one another, they are physical and they were strong along the wall both nights. When they play physical and in-your-face, they create a lot of opportunities for one another."

*Special teams - another rough night here. Clarkson was 0-for-4 on the power play and is now 4-for-54 on the season. The Golden Knights took only two penalties, but gave up a power-play goal and also allowed a shorthanded goal.

*Will Karpowich bounce back? - I thought this point might be moot when Tim Potter started Saturday's game, but he was pulled after Dartmouth's fourth goal. Karpowich, after giving up five goals Friday, recovered and stopped 13 of 14 shots in relief.

*Score the first goal - Since the start of last year Dartmouth had been 4-12-2 when the other team scored first. That stat turned out not to matter Saturday.

*Lead after two - Clarkson has now gone seven straight games without having a lead heading into the third period. The only time all season Clarkson led after two was the season-opener against RIT. Clarkson has a 50-game unbeaten streak (46-0-4) when it leads after two periods.

New Look

photo courtesy of Clarksonathletics.com

The women's team beat Harvard 2-0 Friday night and wore their new alternate uniforms. The men will be wearing the same jerseys at some point this season.

Harvard 5, Clarkson 1

It was a rough night for Clarkson as the Golden Knights fell in an early 3-0 hole and then lost junior Matt Beca to an injury in a 5-1 loss to Harvard in an ECAC Hockey contest at the Bright Hockey Center.
After the game Clarkson coach George Roll said Beca would not play tonight against Dartmouth and he was not sure of his status past that point. Clarkson is 1-4-2 in its last seven games at Thompson Arena.

Here were five key points I had jotted down before the game:

*Crunch time - Clarkson had a six-game win streak against Harvard, but three of the wins saw the game tied with four minutes left. ((This point turned out to be moot once Clarkson fell behind early))

*Special teams - This continues to be an issue for the Golden Knights. Clarkson was 4 of 44 on the power play coming in and went 0 for 6 Friday night. Even worse, the Golden Knights gave up two power-play goals for a second straight game as Harvard went 2 for 5. This was the one area Roll was disappointed in, saying, "We had some breakdowns on the penalty kill, that's what I'm frustrated with."

* Defense - Clarkson had been outshot in four of its first six games and was 1-2-1 in those contests. Despite giving up five goals, Clarkson didn't really play a bad defensive game Friday. The Golden Knights actually outshot Harvard 24-23, but did give up 11 shots on goal in the third period.

* Have a good first two - Clarkson, believe it or not, has only led after the second period one time all season, and that came in the opening game against RIT. This, clearly, did not go Clarkson's way Friday as the Golden Knights were in a 4-1 hole heading into the third period.

* Avoid penalties - Clarkson was averaging 9.5 a game coming in and did take just five on Friday. But two penalties on aggressive hits by Mark Borowiecki and Tim Marks wound up leading to Harvard goals.

It's early, but...

Cornell is already off to a great start in the home/road index with a 2-0-1 start to ECAC Hockey play (all in road contests) after tonight's 4-1 win at Colgate.
The Big Red are at plus-five. Clarkson won the league last year with a total of plus-11.

On the flip side, Quinnipiac is already in deep trouble with an 0-2-1 home start. The Bobcats are at minus-five. That means just to get back to zero Quinnipiac will need two road wins and one road tie without having any slipups at home.

*Comments*

I do like to get feedback so I've taken down the thing that required me to read every comment first in order to get posted.
That said, please understand I don't want this to turn into a gossip or bash board so as long as there are no problems with comments people make I will keep this setting the way it is now.
Also, feel free to email me with ideas or suggestions for this blog. If there are things you want to see that aren't featured I'm open to hearing them, though I can't guarantee everything would be implemented.
My email address is ccarey@wdt.net

Better Know a Knight

photo courtesy of Clarksonathletics.com

We started a new feature this year, every week we alternate with Clarkson and St. Lawrence players, asking them a few questions. This is not posted online so I'll post this week's here. It features Chris D'Alvise.

Class: Senior
Position: Forward
Height, weight: 5-10, 175 pounds
Hometown: Missassauga, Ontario
Major: Entrepreneurship
Favorite movies: Count of Monte Cristo, Fubar, The Last Samurai

WDT: You were the Most Outstanding Player of the 2007 ECAC Hockey
Tournament, what was that whole experience like and how did it feel to not
just win a league title, but also earn an award like that?
D'Alvise: It was definately the highlight of my hockey career because we
accomplished something that we had set out to do eight months earlier. Also
the way in which we were able to come back from a two-goal deficit (against
Quinnipiac) made it that much more special. I was probably most happy for
our seniors, who helped bring the program back to a national level, because
they had to endure those tough years and it was nice to see them go out on
top. I was honored to receive the award because it could have gone to a
number of people that weekend.

WDT: You may be the biggest sports fan on the team, do you remember how old
you were when you started getting interested in sports and what are the
sports you most enjoy watching?
D'Alvise: I was five years old when my dad (Dan) started bringing me to
Toronto Argonauts (CFL) games. That year they won the Grey Cup and I became
hooked. The Leafs started making a push for the Stanley Cup and the Blue
Jays won back to back World Series the following two years. I most enjoy
watching NFL football because of the intensity that the players and fans
bring to the game.

WDT: If you were not a hockey player, but could be an athlete, college or
pro,in any other sport, what sport would you like to play and what position
and team or school would you want to play for?
D'Alvise: Running back for the Buffalo Bills.

WDT: Your dad played on the 1980 Canadian Olympic team. Have you ever
gotten a chance to see film or video of him from his playing days and what
kind of role has he played in your own hockey career?
D'Alvise: I watched highlights of when they faced off with Russia in the
quarterfinals and it was amazing the passion that they played with knowing
that they were playing not only for a medal, but for their country as well.
My dad has helped my career immensely whether it be giving me a playing tip
or simply calming me down and putting the game in perspective for me.

WDT: I've heard you, Shea Guthrie and Matt Beca name your sticks. When did
you start doing that, why do you like to do it and would you share their
names?
D'Alvise: Shea and I began doing it our sophomore year for a little humor
and Matt Beca has since jumped on board. Beca currrently names his sticks
after soccer players and Shea....well, its Shea, he's unpredictable.

WDT: You and Shea Guthrie have played on the same line for almost all the
games of your career. What is it about you two that have made you so
effective as linemates?
D'Alvise: We are good friends off the ice and I think that translates well
on the ice because we communicate well and neither of us will take it
personal if the other gives some criticism.

WDT: Who is going to win the Grey Cup and why?
D'Alvise: Calgary Stampeders. They are the CFL version of the New York
Giants, strong defense and an offense that can run over you or pick you
apart with the passing game.

WDT: You've stayed pretty healthy during your career, how are you doing
having to sit out possibly a few games with your current injury? What do
you do when you can't play to try to stay involved in the game or is that
really impossible?
D'Alvise: I've noticed I'm more nervous when im not playing and it stinks
not being able to play, but I try to watch individual guys on our team and
learn from their strengths to try to better myself as well as watching what
the opposition does in order to help our guys out during the intermissions.

WDT: What have you liked best about playing at Clarkson?
D'Alvise: The people that I have met, the friendships I have gained, and
the atmosphere on a Friday and Saturday night at Cheel Arena.

Clarkson Notes

with friends like these.....(photo courtesy of Clarksonathletics.com)

Here is our latest edition of Clarkson notes.

Some bonus material
BECA'S BUDDIES
Some hometown friends of Clarkson junior Matt Beca paid a visit to Cheel Arena last Saturday and had a little fun with the Mississauga, Ontario, native during pre-game warmups.
One held up a sign against the glass as Clarkson was preparing for Saturday's game (see above photo - last in stats, No. 1 in our hearts - Matt Beca) mocking Beca's early-season stats, which to that point had included just one goal.
"I knew they were going to do something and I was expecting something like that," Beca said. "I thought it was pretty funny."
Beca did score Clarkson's first goal in the game and was asked if his friends would try to take credit for that, that maybe their sign had motivated him.
"They tried too, but I didn't let them," Beca said.
GUTHRIE HONORED
Clarkson senior Shea Guthrie has an "A" sewn on his jersey for the first time since he played for the St. George's (Prep) School in Rhode Island.
Guthrie, who missed the first four games of the season with a hand injury, found out late last week that the coaching staff had decided to name him one of the team's assistant captains.
Clarkson coach George Roll had said they were impressed with his work ethic, especially in areas like the weight room.
"I was pretty excited," Guthrie said. "It's a real honor. It shows the coach sees I'm working hard. It's something you always want to happen."

Chris Clark Video

How Chris Clark (Clarkson class of 1998) spent Veteran's Day courtesy of NHL.com

College Hockey on TV

This week's schedule

THURSDAY
7 p.m. Time Warner 26 Cornell at Colgate

FRIDAY
8 p.m. NHL Network Alaska-Anchorage at North Dakota

SATURDAY
2 p.m. Fox Sports Atlantic Michigan Tech at Minnesota

SUNDAY
noon NHL Network Miami (Ohio) at Michigan State (tape)
2 p.m. Fox Sports Central Michigan Tech at Minnesota

Stat of the Week

This will be explored more in depth in this week's Clarkson Notes but I went through media guides and counted games missed due to injury in every season George Roll has been head coach.
The following chart will list the season, then no. of games missed to injury, then no. of games played. The final number is the average number of players, per-game, missing due to injury:

08-09 10 6 1.67
07-08 31 39 0.79
06-07 31 39 0.79
05-06 14 38 0.37
04-05 30 39 0.77
03-04 48 41 1.17

Also noteworthy: Most of the past long-term injuries were not to key players on those squads, but rather to third or fourth-line forwards or defensemen who weren't part of the top pairings. Last year Phil Paquet missed 12 games, that was about the only time you find a player of that category. Scott Freeman was the top forward to miss playing time last year, missing seven games.
So far this season Paquet has missed three games and Mark Borowiecki, who would be classified as one of the top three defensemen, has missed two. Shea Guthrie, one of the top offensive players has missed four and Chris D'Alvise, another top forward, missed Saturday's game.

You Tube Video

I found this the other night, appears to be the work of a film student, some clips of good hits from the Colorado College series:

The Conference of Presidents

ECAC Hockey may get the short thrift when people count numbers of national champions, etc, but one area the ECAC dominates is most U.S. presidents among alumni.. In total, 15 of the 44 U.S. presidents, including president-elect Barack Obama attended schools with ECAC Hockey teams, either as undergraduate students, or law or business students.
Here's the breakdown

Harvard (John Adams, John Quincy Adams, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, John Kennedy, Rutherford B. Hayes, Barack Obama, George W. Bush)

Princeton (John Kennedy (later transferred to Harvard), James Madison, Woodrow Wilson)

Union (Chester A. Arthur)

Yale (William Taft, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, Gerald Ford, Bill Clinton)

Updated Home/Road Index Standings

Dartmouth 4
Cornell 3
Colgate, Yale 2
Brown 1
Harvard 0
St. Lawrence -1
Clarkson, Union, RPI, Princeton -2
Quinnipiac -3

Yale Snaps Clarkson's Streak

Clarkson's streak of 21 unbeaten ECAC Hockey home games was snapped Saturday when Yale picked up a 3-2 win over the Golden Knights in Cheel Arena.

Here were a few key points I had made up before the game:

*Saturday night wins - Last year Clarkson was 8-0-1 at home in the second game of a weekend and 10-3-2 overall. But so far this season Clarkson is not fairing as well on Saturdays, with an 0-2-1 record, not including last weekend's exhibition loss to Carleton.

*Special teams improvement - Clarkson had a rough night on special teams, despite scoring a power-play goal. The Golden Knights were 1 of 10 on the power play, but did take 11 shots. But Clarkson gave up two power-play goals to Yale.

*Cut down penalties - Clarkson is averaging 9.6 a game and took another nine tonight.

* Strong third periods - Entering Saturday's game Clarkson had outscored the opposition 5-2 in the third period, but the Golden Knights were outscored 2-1 Saturday and outshot 14-7 in the final 20 minutes.

* Get Beca involved - like freshman Nick Tremblay Friday, Clarkson needed to get Matt Beca involved in the offense more. He had just one goal this season heading into Saturday's game, but did score the first goal of the contest.

BONUS QUOTES

Yale coach Keith Allain, a former St. Louis Blues goalie coach, on Clarkson's Paul Karpowich, a Blues draft pick:
"I think he's really good. I was talking to a St. Louis scout last week and they told me how happy they are with him. They feel they got a steal."

Clarkson coach George Roll on Yale and if they could possibly be similar to Princeton last year, a team picked low in preseason polls who makes some noise:
"They have good team speed and go to the net hard. If they get goaltending, they are extremely quick and move the puck well."

Roll on what he liked Saturday:
"I thought we worked hard. I thought our competitive-level was better and we battled a lot more than last night. Obviously our power-play has to be better and I take responsibility for that."

Roll and Tyrell Mason on the upcoming road trip to Harvard/Dartmouth:
Roll, "It might be good. Sometimes it's good to get on the road and get refocused as a team. It's two tough places to play, but we'll be up for the challenge."
Mason, "I think it will be good to go on the road and get in the mindset that we have to outwork our opponents every night. When you don't have the home crowd you have to generate your own momentum."

Home/Road Index

One feature I'll put on the blog this year is an alternate way to view the conference standings. I call it the Home/Road Index. The premise is simple: you are supposed to win your home games and winning on the road is a bonus.
Here's how it works...When a team is at home for a conference game all it can do is lose points. If you lose a home game, you lose two points, if you tie a home game, you lose one point. Conversely, if you win a road game, you earn two points, if you tie a road game, you earn one point and if you lose a road game it costs you nothing.
This stat will prove accurate by season's end, as teams will have exactly 22 less points in the home/road index than they had in the conference standings...
For example, here is last year's standings with home/road index points first, followed by real conference points:

CLARKSON +11 33
PRINCETON +6 28
HARVARD +5 27
UNION +3 25

Anyway, you get the picture...using the home/road index the standings will appear different 'until' all the games are played, but it gives you an idea who really is on top. This weekend is too early to really get a picture, since it's the opening weekend, and teams at home, like Clarkson and SLU, cannot do anything but lose points.

But, just to show you how it works, here's the standings after the first night of the season for most teams:
Cornell, Colgate, Dartmouth +2
Clarkson, SLU, RPI, Yale, Brown, Harvard 0
Union, Princeton, Quinnipiac -2

This will start to be more interesting once games begin, but wanted to use today as a way to introduce the stat.

Clarkson Wins Opener

(photo courtesy of Clarksonathletics.com)

Clarkson opened defense of its ECAC Hockey regular-season title with a 3-1 win over Brown Friday night. The game was similar to many of the contests Clarkson played last season when it won the title with a 15-4-3 conference record.
Of the 22 games Clarkson played in the conference last year, 14 were decided by one goal or less, or two if an empty-net goal was needed to seal a win. Clarkson was 9-2-3 in those contests.

Prior to the game I jotted down five things to watch and here's what they were and how Clarkson did..(they are ranked in no particular order)

* Improve the power play which was 3 of 24 coming in -- Clarkson didn't really do well in this category Friday. The Golden Knights went 0-for-10 on the power play and had only three shots on goal in man-up situations.

* cut down opposing shots, team was averaging 35.8 prior -- Clarkson improved here, giving up just 25 shots tonight, including only four in the second period.

* cut down penalties, averaging 9.8 per game -- Clarkson was about the same here, taking nine penalties tonight, but they did take one less than Brown.

* Get Nick Tremblay going (no points heading into Friday) -- This also happened as the freshman, who had 51 goals in junior hockey last year, scored what proved to be the game-winning goal early in the third period.

* Outshoot the Bears -- Heading into Saturday's game Clarkson had been outshot by almost every opponent but did finish with a slim 27-25 edge Friday.

BONUS QUOTES
Brown coach Roger Grillo on opening the season with a north country road trip:
"You have to play it some time, so it doesn't matter when you play it."

Clarkson coach George Roll on freshmen Louke Oakley and Tremblay scoring first career goals:
"(Tremblay) has been squeezing the stick a little bit. It's nice for both him and Oakes. They all have that ability to score goals, that's why they are here."

On goalie Paul Karpowich, "I thought he was outstanding. He made a couple big saves late in the third. For a freshman, he's awfully calm."

On senior Shea Guthrie being named assistant captain:
"It's been a difficult stretch for him with the injury, but he's provided a lot of leadership off the ice. He's earned that from the coaches."

Tremblay on what a first goal can do:
"It relaxes me a lot. The first one is so hard to get. Once it gets going, it's easier after that."
On ECAC Hockey play, "It's really, really defensive. It's hard to get the shots on net."

Tyrell Mason on another close win in conference play:
"I think in the first two periods we were a little slow out there and played into their game. We had less penalties in the third, so that helps. The league is really tight. If you don't come out to work hard any team can win."

Oakley on difference in college and junior hockey:
"The speed. It's very fast. It's almost like a pro game and any little mistake can cost a game."
On Clarkson's third-period win: "It shows a lot of character for us to come back in the third period."

Weekly Clarkson Notes

Our first edition of Clarkson notes ran today.

Here's some extra stuff:

A closer look at Brown - Brown was 6-21-4 last year and went 6-13-3 in ECAC Hockey games. The Bears lost their leading scorer in Jeff Prough and were picked 12th in the preseason polls by just about every organization or group that made picks.
Brown is hoping to get off to a stronger start this season after playing 11 of its first 13 games on the road last year. So far, counting a 1-0 exhibition win against Trois-Rivieres, Brown has scored just five goals in three games and given up 10.
One thing which may help offset the loss of Prough to graduation is the return of junior defenseman Jeremy Russell. Russell won't replace Prough's offense, of course, but he was a valuable member of the team in the 06-07 season and missed all of last year to an injury. Brown's defense could use the help as well as it allowed an average of 3.48 goals-per game in ECAC Hockey contests, the worst in the league.

A closer look at Yale - The Bulldogs are a program on the rise under new coach Keith Allain, a former coach of Clarkson All-American Craig Conroy's in the NHL. Yale was 16-14-4 last year and finished tied for sixth in ECAC Hockey with a 9-9-4 record. The coaches and media both picked Yale to finish seventh, while US College Hockey Online has them picked third.
One reason for Yale's success last year was goalie Billy Blase, who had a .910 save percentage and a 2.51 goals-against average.
Yale's only game prior to this weekend was a 6-3 win over Brown in a nonconference contest last weekend. The Bulldogs also picked up a 3-1 win in an exhibition game over Ontario IT.

Odds and Ends
*Clarkson did lose its last two ECAC Hockey playoff games to Colgate in Cheel Arena last year, but the Golden Knights went 10-0-1 at home in regular-season conference contests. Clarkson also went 5-0-4 at home down the stretch in the 06-07 season, so Clarkson has a 20-game unbeaten streak on home ice in ECAC Hockey regular-season games (15-0-5).
*Despite missing one game due to a suspension, senior Chris D'Alvise still leads the team in shots with 13. Equally impressive is D'Alvise has scored on 30.8 percent of his shots this season. Julien Cayer, who also missed a game due to injury, is tied with Matt Beca for second on the team with 10 shots. Both players have one goal.
Overall Clarkson has been outshot 143-116 so far this season, but the Golden Knights have scored on 10.3 percent of their shots while opponents have scored on just 7.7 percent.
*Brandon DeFazio is the early leader in the plus-minus category at plus-four. Matt Beca and Mark Borowiecki rank at plus-three while Phil Paquet is at plus-two.
*Sophomore Scott Freeman has scored at least one point in every game so far this season and leads the team with one goal and five assists. Lauri Tuohimaa has a goal in all but one game and DeFazio has picked up a point in every game but one as well.

College Hockey on TV

*Our first edition of the weekly Clarkson notes runs tomorrow..I'll link that and offer a few bonus items*

FRIDAY
4 p.m. ESPNU: Cornell at Princeton
7 p.m. NHL Network: Ferris State at Miami (Ohio)
7 p.m. ESPN Classic: Notre Dame at Boston College
8 p.m. Fox Sports Central: New Hampshire at Minnesota

SATURDAY
7 p.m. Fox Sports Atlantic: New Hampshire at Minnesota

SUNDAY
noon NHL Network: Nebraska-Omaha at Western Michigan (tape)
4 p.m. ESPNU: Boston College at Maine

A 60-Year Wait

Carleton (Ontario) University picked up its first win over Clarkson since the 1948-49 season with a 5-3 win in an exhibition contest at Cheel Arena Saturday night.
The Golden Knights sat out six regulars and three players saw their first action of the season, including freshman goalie Richie LaVeau.

Here are some bonus quotes from Saturday's game:

Former Clarkson interim coach Fred Parker on his return:
"I was talking with people before the game and that (season) is so far gone. George is a great guy and they are doing a great job here."
On playing more exhibitions against Clarkson in future:
"I'd like to. Ottawa and Clarkson have a great connection."

Carleton's Justin Caruana, who scored twice, on the difference in Saturday's game with Canadian College hockey:
"It's a bit different. The Americans have less clutching and grabbing than in Canadian hockey."
On winning for Parker, "We knew it was big coming back here for him. In the back of our mind we wanted to get a win for him and make him feel good."

Clarkson coach George Roll on how practice impacted Saturday's game:
"We had a bad week of practice and this is the result of that. We just didn't have a crisp week and it showed tonight."
On freshman Jake Morley, "I thought he played strong along the wall and really controlled the play."

Morley on playing on a line with fellow freshmen Julien Cayer and Nick Tremblay:
"We played pretty hard. I played with Cayer (at Northwood Prep) so it was nice playing along with him."

INJURY UPDATE
Phil Paquet said he could be back as soon as three weeks and Shea Guthrie said he expects to play next weekend when Clarkson opens the ECAC Hockey portion of its schedule...

More from Guthrie:
"I'm excited. It's been a long month or so. It's definitely tough. You come in and want to have a good start to the season."
On coming back for first ECAC Hockey games, "It makes it a worthwhile game for me to come back. (Colorado College) wasn't a league game and tonight was only an exhibition."