After suffering their first shutout of the year, the Saints return to Appleton Arena, and the ECAC, but still face a ranked opponent, as the Clarkson Golden Knights drop into Canton for the first of a two game series. Its been a rough year record wise for SLU, but in the ECAC, they have played well, going 5-2-1. This series with Clarkson is crucial, as the two teams are tied in the league standings.
SLU owns the overall lead in the rivalry 16-12-4, but have dropped 5 of the last 6 games to Clarkson, but are 13-3-1 against the Golden Knights at home.
For the Saints to beat Clarkson, its going to take a complete game, for 60 minutes. Erica Howe is one of the best goaltenders in women's college hockey with a 1.11 GAA and .942 save percentage, and they have 3 scorers with more than 20 points; Carly Mercer and Erin Ambrose both have 24, while Jamie Lee Rattray has 30. The power play advantage goes to SLU, but the Clarkson penalty kill is better statistically than SLU's.
The teams are roughly the same offensively, so the winner of the games will be the team who is better on defense. Beating Clarkson on defense is no easy task, but with points at a premium, and the games being such a rivalry, coach Chris Wells will sure to have the players ready to compete on every shift, something that is very important when it comes to defense. I've emphasized shot blocking recently, and the team continues to impress me with their willingness to help out their goalie, another part of the defensive game that will be needed to beat Clarkson. The Golden Knights are a good team, but so are the Saints. If they come out ready to compete and play solid defense, it should result in two very competitive and very entertaining games.
SLU owns the overall lead in the rivalry 16-12-4, but have dropped 5 of the last 6 games to Clarkson, but are 13-3-1 against the Golden Knights at home.
For the Saints to beat Clarkson, its going to take a complete game, for 60 minutes. Erica Howe is one of the best goaltenders in women's college hockey with a 1.11 GAA and .942 save percentage, and they have 3 scorers with more than 20 points; Carly Mercer and Erin Ambrose both have 24, while Jamie Lee Rattray has 30. The power play advantage goes to SLU, but the Clarkson penalty kill is better statistically than SLU's.
The teams are roughly the same offensively, so the winner of the games will be the team who is better on defense. Beating Clarkson on defense is no easy task, but with points at a premium, and the games being such a rivalry, coach Chris Wells will sure to have the players ready to compete on every shift, something that is very important when it comes to defense. I've emphasized shot blocking recently, and the team continues to impress me with their willingness to help out their goalie, another part of the defensive game that will be needed to beat Clarkson. The Golden Knights are a good team, but so are the Saints. If they come out ready to compete and play solid defense, it should result in two very competitive and very entertaining games.
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