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Clarkson had plenty to celebrate about in its season-opening weekend, outscoring its opponents 10-1 in the sweep - photo by Connor Koehler

Men's Hockey October 13, 2015

Clarkson Battles Hockey East Foes on the Road

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After outscoring its opponents 10-1 in the opening weekend of the 2015-16 campaign the Clarkson University Hockey team will look to build upon its momentum when it takes to the road this weekend to battle a pair of Hockey East foes. Guided by fifth-year head coach Casey Jones and assistants Phil Roy '00 and Josh Hauge, the Golden Knights will play at Merrimack in North Andover, MA on Friday and then battle the University of New Hampshire in Durham, NH on Saturday. Both games are 7:00 p.m. faceoffs.
 
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Clarkson was impressive to start its 25th season at Cheel Arena this past weekend, dominating a pair of Atlantic Hockey opponents. On Friday, the Green and Gold shut out Rochester Institute of Technology, a 2015 NCAA Tournament team, 6-0, and then skated past Niagara, 4-1 on Saturday. 

•    It was a balanced effort for the Knights in the weekend sweep as 14 players recorded at least one point, including nine different goal scorers. Sophomore center Brett Gervais (Corona, CA) led the way on the stat sheet with four points on one goal and three assists.  Junior A.J. Fossen (Maple Grove, MN) tallied two goals, both power-play markers, in the win over RIT. Junior defenseman, assistant captain James de Haas (Mississauga, ONT) sparked the blueline production with three assists.
•    Junior goaltender Steve Perry (Ligonier, PA) was near perfect in the Clarkson crease, turning aside 37 of 38 shots (.974 save%) in the sweep. He posted his seventh career shutout behind 21 saves in the win over RIT. It was Clarkson's first season-opening shutout since the Knights blanked RIT 3-0 on October 25, 1986. Perry had 16 saves in the victory over Niagara. Perry was named one of NCAA Hockey's Three Stars of the Week.
•    Specialty teams play was impressive for the Green and Gold. The Knights clicked at 44.4% (4-9) on the power play and were prefect on the penalty-kill (7-7). Clarkson was 3-of-6 with the man-advantage against RIT, its first three power-play goal game since February 28, 2014. 
•    The Knights were consistent throughout both games, scoring three first-period goals, three more in the middle frame and four more over the final 20 minutes. 
•    This past weekend marked the first time in nine seasons, and only the second time in the past 17 years, that the Knights opened the season at home. Clarkson is 15-8-2 in its home openers at Cheel Arena.
•    Merrimack has won the last three meetings against Clarkson, including two shutouts. The Warriors swept the Knights in North Andover last year, winning 3-0 and 2-1 on November 28-29. Clarkson's last win over Merrimack was January 10, 2014, 3-2 in Potsdam.
•    UNH has won the last five meetings and eight of the last 10 games in the series to take a 24-21-2 lead in th rivalry. The Wildcats won the last game, 3-1 in Minnesota at the IceBreaker Cup on October 11, 2013. Clarkson's last win in the series was a 8-5 triumph in Potsdam on December 7, 2001.
•    Clarkson has gone 1-11-1 against Hockey East competiton in the previous three seasons, with the lone win coming against Merrimack in Janaury, 2014.
•    Clarkson has gone 9-0-1 against Atlantic Hockey teams since the 2013-14 season.
•    Clarkson's defensemen make a significant contribution to the Knights' offensive effort with two goals and six assists over the weekend.  de Haas led the way with three assists, while senior captain Paul Geiger (Stouffville, ONT) and classmate Kevin Tansey (Hammond, ONT) each connected for a goal. Sophomore Terrance Amorosa (Kirkland, QUE), who sat out Saturday's game with an injury, chipped in a pair of assists against RIT. 
•    Senior right wing Christian Powers (Carlisle, ONT) tallied his third career goal and first since November 15, 2014 with the Knights' third score against RIT.
•    Clarkson has one of the most experienced teams in the country with 25 lettermen, including eight seniors and eight juniors.
•    Clarkson, which lost only two players from last year's team, returned 86.9% of its point production from 2014-15, the fourth highest returning percentage in Division I.
•    The Knights put 45 shots on the Niagara net in Saturday's game, their highest shot total since recording 43 on October 26, 2013 in a 1-0 OT win over Colorado College.
•    Four current Golden Knights have been selected in the NHL Draft – James de Haas (2012 Detroit - 6th rd, 170), Terrence Amorosa (2013 Philadelphia - 5th rd,     189), Troy Josephs (2013 Pittsburgh - 7th rd, 209) and Kelly Summers (2014 Ottawa - 7th rd, 189).
•    Two former Knights were on NHL opening-day rosters – Mark Borowiecki '11 (Ottawa), and Willie Mitchell '99 (Florida). Several former Clarkson standouts are on AHL/ECHL rosters.
•    In its 94th season, Clarkson boasts 70 winning campaigns and a 1,377-820-146 all-time record for a .619 winning percentage since 1920-21.
•    Senior Paul Geiger, who served as captain last, will lead the Golden Knights again in 2015-16 with classmates Jeff DiNallo (Aurora, ONT) and Pat Megannety (Oakville, ONT), and junior James de Haas actomg as assistant captains.

Scouting Merrimack
Merrimack, under 12th-year head coach Mark Dennehy, officially opens its season on Friday. The Warriors skated in exhibition action in early October, defeating St. Francis Xavier 4-1 at Lawler Arena on October 3. Merrimack is coming off a 16-18-4 record in 2014-15, including an 11th-place 5-14-3 Hockey East mark.

Scouting UNH
The Wildcats opened their season this past Saturday with a convincing 7-3 victory over American International at the Whittemore Center. UNH also skated past St. Francis Xavier 6-4 in an exhibition game in Durham on October 4.  Guided by 26th-year head coach Dick Umile, UNH will look to improve upon last year's 19-19-2 overall record and 10-11-1, eighth-place Hockey East mark.

The Series:
Clarkson and Merrimack will face off for the third straight year after having not played against each other in the previous 25 seasons prior to the 2013-14 campaign. The Warriors have enjoyed the better of the renewed rivalry with three straight victories over the Knights, including a pair of shutouts, to tie the all-time series 5-5. Merrimack swept the Green and Gold in North Andover, MA last season, winning 3-0 and 2-1 on November 28-29. The teams split at Cheel Arena on January 10-11, 2014  with the Knights winning the first game 3-2 before the Warriors came back the next night to post a 4-0 whitewash. The Knights won the first four games between the schools, starting with a 12-3 victory on February 25, 1967 in Potsdam. The Warriors, however, have won five of the last six meetings. 

Jeff DiNallo (1-1) and Kevin Tansey (0-2) both have a team-high two points against Merrimack. Paul Geiger and Nic Pierog are the only other current Knights to have scored a goal against the Warriors.
Steve Perry played both games in the series last year and holds a .875 save percentage and a 2.52 goals against average. Ville Runola picked up his first NCAA win with 20 saves in the 3-2 victory over Merrimack on January 10, 2014. Greg Lewis has also played one game against the Warriors, making 20 saves on 23 shots in the 4-0 loss on January 11, 2014.

The University of New Hampshire has won five straight over Clarkson and 10 of the last 12 meetings to take a 24-21-2 lead in the all-time series. In their last game, the Wildcats handed the Knights a 4-1 loss at the IceBreaker Tournament in Minnesota on October 11, 2013.  The rivalry began on January 28, 1964 with the Knights skating to a 14-2 win at Walker Arena. Clarkson's last victory in the series was an 8-5 triumph at Cheel Arena on December 7, 2001. The teams last met at the Whittemore Center on December 3, 2004 with UNH taking a 3-1 victory. 

James de Haas (goal) and Pat Megannety (assist) are the only current Knights to have recorded a point in the series. Greg Lewis has played one game against the Wildcats, making 29 saves on 33 shots at the IceBreaker game to start the 2013-14 season.
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Players Mentioned

Terrance Amorosa

#44 Terrance Amorosa

D
6' 2"
Sophomore
James de Haas

#2 James de Haas

D
6' 3"
Junior
Jeff DiNallo

#29 Jeff DiNallo

F
5' 7"
Senior
A.J. Fossen

#26 A.J. Fossen

F
5' 9"
Junior
Paul Geiger

#3 Paul Geiger

D
6' 3"
Senior
Brett Gervais

#19 Brett Gervais

F
5' 10"
Sophomore
Troy Josephs

#16 Troy Josephs

F
6' 0"
Junior
Greg Lewis

#33 Greg Lewis

G
6' 1"
Senior
Pat Megannety

#32 Pat Megannety

F
5' 11"
Senior
Steve Perry

#1 Steve Perry

G
5' 10"
Junior

Players Mentioned

Terrance Amorosa

#44 Terrance Amorosa

6' 2"
Sophomore
D
James de Haas

#2 James de Haas

6' 3"
Junior
D
Jeff DiNallo

#29 Jeff DiNallo

5' 7"
Senior
F
A.J. Fossen

#26 A.J. Fossen

5' 9"
Junior
F
Paul Geiger

#3 Paul Geiger

6' 3"
Senior
D
Brett Gervais

#19 Brett Gervais

5' 10"
Sophomore
F
Troy Josephs

#16 Troy Josephs

6' 0"
Junior
F
Greg Lewis

#33 Greg Lewis

6' 1"
Senior
G
Pat Megannety

#32 Pat Megannety

5' 11"
Senior
F
Steve Perry

#1 Steve Perry

5' 10"
Junior
G