Women Look to Capitalize at Home

The #9 ranked Clarkson women's hockey team wraps up an impressive eight game homestand this weekend against Quinnipiac and #8 ranked Princeton. The Knights are currently 5-1-0 on the stand and have outscored their opponents 20-3. This quality play has propelled Clarkson into a tie for second in the ECAC hockey league standings with SLU and Princeton at 18 points. Brown currently sits in first with 19 points but has played one more game than the rest of the league leaders. The Golden Knights have limited their last nine opponents to 1 or fewer goals and are #1 in the nation in team defense.

Clarkson opens up the series Friday night as Quinnipiac comes in with a 9-13-4 overall record and a 3-9-2 record in conference. This places the Bobcats in 9th place one point out of the final playoff spot. They are led by junior forward Vicky Graham who in 26 games has tallied 19 points on 11 goals and 8 assists. In net freshman Connie Craig has made 23 starts and posted a 8-13-3 record with a 2.79 GAA and a .911 save percentage. In their previous meeting in Connecticut, Clarkson scored four goals in the second period and coasted on to a 5-1 win.

Gobe's prediction: Clarkson 5 - Quinnipiac 1
Ron's prediction: Clarkson 4 - Quinnipiac 0

Clarkson's second game of the weekend is a Saturday afternoon affair against the Princeton Tigers. Princeton defeated the Knights 2-1 in their last matchup on November 18th. Since then the Tigers have gone 8-3-3 while the Knights have posted a 9-4-0 record. These teams are very evenly matched and this should be one of the premier match ups of the weekend in the ECAC(HL). Princeton is lead by junior forward Kim Pearce and freshman forward Annie Greenwood. These two account for nearly one-third of all of Princeton's offense. In goal senior Roxanne Gaudiel has made 20 starts and has posted a .923 save percentage and a 1.76 GAA in a 11-4-4 campaign.

Clarkson is playing some its best hockey right now, and this matchup against the Tigers should provide a good barometer to how the team stacks up against the rest of the ECAC elite. Look for a low scoring game that should be back and forth in momentum.

Gobe's prediction: Clarkson 2 - Princeton 1
Ron's prediction: Clarkson 2 - Princeton 1