Winners of three of its last four games, the Clarkson University Hockey team takes to the road this weekend for its first back-to-back games on opponents’ home ice this season. Guided by eighth-year head coach George Roll, associate coach Greg Drechsel and assistant coach Chris Rogles, the Golden Knights resume ECAC Hockey action this Friday with a 7:00 p.m. game vs Princeton University at Hobey Baker Rink in New Jersey, followed by a 7 p.m. contest on Saturday at TD Banknorth Center in Hamden CT against Quinnipiac University.

Led by junior captain Mark Borowiecki (Kanata, ONT) and assistant captains, senior Brandon DeFazio (Oakville, ONT) and junior Jake Morley (Ogdensburg, NY), Clarkson owns a 7-5-2 overall record and is in a three-way tie for fifth place in the league standings with a 2-2-1 ECAC Hockey mark.

This past weekend, the Green and Gold split a pair of 2-1 contests at the Denver Cup. On Friday, sophomore Cody Rosen (Kingston, ONT) made his first collegiate start in goal and performed well with a 32-save effort in the one-goal loss to Air Force. The Knights out shot the Falcons 37-34, but were unable to make the most of their opportunities. Junior Nick Tremblay (Candiac, QUE) tallied Clarkson’s lone goal, a shorthanded marker midway through the second period to tie the score. Air Force netted the game-winner late in the middle frame.

With a pair of specialty-team goals and another strong defensive effort, highlighted by the play of junior goaltender Paul Karpowich (Thunder Bay, ONT), the Green and Gold came back the next day with a one-goal victory over Lake Superior State at Magness Arena in Colorado. Morley scored the Knights’ second shorthanded goal of the weekend, and fourth of the season, and freshman Allan McPherson (Kinburn, ONT) snapped a lengthy drought on the power play for the game-winner midway through the third period. Both teams had 31 shots on goal, but Karpowich picked up the win by making nine first-period saves, 10 stops in the second and 11 more in the final frame for a 30-save outing.

Clarkson’s penalty-killing unit, which is ranked number one in the nation (90.9%), was in top form over the weekend, killing off eight opponent power plays (3-3 vs Air Force and 5-5 vs Lake Superior) while scoring two shorthanded goals.

Princeton, guided by head coach Guy Gadowsky owns a 5-4 overall record and stands in second place in the conference standings with a 5-2 league mark. The Tigers, who have played two more ECAC Hockey games than the Knights, are one point behind first-place Dartmouth. In its last action Princeton posted its second shutout over its last three games with a 3-0 victory at Quinnipiac on November 23. After and 0-3 start to the 2010-11 campaign, the Tigers have won five of their last six outings. Their only loss since November 6 was a 3-2 setback to Dartmouth on November 20 in Princeton. The Tigers, who begin a four-game home stand on Friday, are 1-1 at Hobey Baker Rink this season.

Quinnipiac, which hosts St. Lawrence on Friday, has been streaking during the early part of the 2010-11 schedule. Guided by head coach Rand Pecknold, the Bobcats have posted two, three-game winning streaks and a four-game winless (0-3-1) stretch. Quinnipiac owns a 7-6-1 overall record and a 3-3-1 conference slate, two points ahead of Clarkson in the ECAC standings. The Bobcats suffered their second straight loss when they fell at UMass 5-2 this past Saturday. Quinnipiac is 5-2 at the TD Banknorth Center.

The Series:

Clarkson holds a decisive 70-26-5 edge in the all-time series against Princeton, which began with an 8-5 Knight victory in New Jersey on January 17, 1928. Clarkson snapped a three-game losing stretch to the Tigers with a 4-3 victory in Potsdam on February 12, 2010 in their last meeting. Princeton won the opening game last season with a 4-1 triumph at Hobey Baker Rink on November 22. The Tigers swept the 2008-09 campaign, winning 4-2 at Cheel and 5-3 in Princeton. Clarkson won both games in 2007-08 and claimed the program’s 10th conference regular-season crown with a 4-3 victory in Cheel Arena on February 29. The Knights’ last win at Hobey Baker Rink was a 6-2 triumph on November 10, 2007. Lauri Tuohimaa leads the way offensively against the Tigers with six points, all assists. Scott Freeman and Brandon DeFazio both have two goals in the series. Paul Karpowich is 1-2 against Princeton with a .919 save percentage and a 3.01 GAA. Richie LaVeau is 0-1 against the Tigers with a .897 save percentage and a 4.11 GAA. George Roll is 10-6 against Princeton, while Guy Gadowsky is 6-8 against the Knights.

By virtue of its 4-1 victory at Cheel Arena on February 13, Clarkson holds a one-game advantage in the series against Quinnipiac, leading 7-6 since the rivalry first started with a 4-0 Clarkson win in Northford, CT on February 8, 2000. The Bobcats had won the previous three meetings, including a 4-2 victory at TD Banknorth Center on November 6, 2009. Quinnipiac swept its first regular-season series from the Green and Gold in 2008-09, winning 4-2 in Potsdam and 5-3 in Hamden, CT. Clarkson’s last win at Quinnipiac was a 4-1 victory on February 24, 2007. The Knights won their fifth and last ECAC Tournament title with a 4-2 victory over the Bobcats in Albany on March 17, 2007. Scott Freeman (2-5) has a team-high seven points in the series. Paul Karpowich posts a .902 save percentage, a 3.05 GAA and a 1-2 record against Quinnipiac. Richie LaVeau has one start against the Bobcats and holds a .900 save percentage, a 3.10 GAA and a 0-1 record. George Roll is 6-5 against Quinnipiac, while Rand Pecknold is 6-7 against the Knights.

Knight Notes:

After playing just one game on an opponent’s home ice this year, an 8-0 loss at Nebraska-Omaha to start the season on October 8, Clarkson will play three straight road games beginning with its return to ECAC Hockey action this weekend at Princeton and Quinnipiac … This past weekend out in Colorado the Knights split a pair of 2-1 games on the neutral ice of the Magness Arena at the Denver Cup … Clarkson saw a modest two-game winning streak snapped with Friday’s one goal loss to Air Force, but came back with its third win over the past four games with Saturday’s victory over Lake Superior .. . Clarkson boasts the number-one ranked penalty-killing unit in the nation, having allowed just seven power play goals in 77 attempts (90.9%) by their opponents. The Knights have not allowed a power-play goal over the past 14 periods and have killed off 20 straight man-advantage opportunities … Clarkson has also scored four shorthanded markers, equaling the number of power-play goals they have scored … The Knights snapped an 0-of-14 drought on their power play when Allan McPherson (Kinburn, ONT) connected for the winning goal midway through the third period in the victory over Lake Superior State … Clarkson is 4-of-54 (7.4%) on the man-advantage, ranking 58th in Division I … Paul Karpowich posted his eighth 30-save outing of the season with 30 stops in the win over the Lakers in his only action of the weekend at the Denver Cup. Karpowich made two crucial saves in the final seconds to preserve the one-goal victory. He also had five saves while Clarkson was shorthanded, helping to lead the Knights’ number-one ranked power play unit as they killed off all five Lake State power plays. Karpowich has started 13 of 14 games and posts a .924 save percentage, a 2.55 goals against average and a 7-4-2 record with one shutout … Cody Rosen made his first collegiate start in Friday’s game against Air Force and posted 32 saves on 34 shots in the 2-1 loss … The Knights are 7-0-2 when scoring first and 7-0-1 when leading or tied after two periods … Jake Morley leads the Green and Gold in shorthanded tallies with two after scoring the Knights’ first goal against Lake Superior while a man down. He has four goals and four assists this season, equaling last year’s point total (5-3) … Nick Tremblay equaled his goal total from 2009-10 with his third goal of the season, a shorthanded marker, for Clarkson’s lone goal in Friday’s loss to Air Force … McPherson is a leading contributor to the offensive production out of the Knights’ freshman class with six points on three goals and three assists. He has tallied five points (2-3) over the past four games … The Knights’ rookies have accounted for 38% of Clarkson’s offense with 14 goals and 22 assists … Matt Zarbo (Grand Island, NY) leads the freshmen with nine points (5-4) and is second on the team in scoring behind Brandon DeFazio’s 10 points (3-7) … Rookie David Pratt (Napanee, ONT) is Clarkson’s top scoring defenseman with six points (1-5) through eight games.