Womens Hockey Series of the Week: No. 12 Vermont vs. No. 9 Clarkson

On Friday, Vermont hosts Clarkson in their first regular season game. Clarkson is currently 4-0 in the 2023-24 season with wins over Merrimack and Boston College. Vermont held an exhibition game this season against McGill where they won 6-0 but they will officially begin their season against the Knights.

Last season, Vermont was 22-11-3 while Clarkson was 29-11-2.

These two teams have played against each other since 2003. The Knights have won 15 of the games while the Catamounts have only won two. There have also been three ties. The last matchup between these two teams before this weekend was in 2017 where Clarkson won 4-0.

Vermont has plenty of players to watch out for during this season. Captain of the Catamounts, Natálie Mlýnková had a great season last year with 42 points in 36 games. She led the team with seven powerplay goals and two shorthanded goals.

Sara Levesque is one of the star defenders for this team as she led them last season with 57 blocks. She is also serving as one of the alternate captains for this season.

Lastly, Evelyne Blais-Savoie was +/- +21 last season with 22 points and two powerplay goals.

The key players for the Knights include Anne Cherkowski, Haley Winn and Darcie Lappan. Cherkowski had 52 points in 40 games. She had eight powerplay goals which led the team and was +/- +23. Winn had 23 points but was great at protecting her goalie as she had 60 blocks. Lappan led the team in game-winning goals with six. She also put up 40 points in 42 games.

In the first four games of Clarkson’s season, Dominique Petrie leads the team with six points while both Winn and Nicole Gosling are +/- +6. Alexie Guay is the current leader in the blocks category with five.

Not only are the players something to watch but so are the coaches. Jim Plumer joined the Catamounts in 2012 and he has coached them to many victories. Plumer won the Hockey East Coach of the Year in 2022 which was the season he led the team to new heights. He continues to improve the team and help the players be successful after their collegiate seasons are over.

Matt Desrosiers is the head coach for Clarkson. He became head coach in 2014 after being the co-head coach from 2008-2014. Under Desrosiers, Clarkson has won four ECAC Hockey regular season titles, three conference tournament championships, made twelve NCAA Tournament appearances, went to the Frozen Four five times and won the NCAA National Championship in 2014, 2017 and 2018. He is looking to continue to grow this team and add more championships to their name.

Friday will be a fun game to watch as Vermont looks to start their regular season with a win and Clarkson looks to stay undefeated.

Kassandra Vasellas is a freshman majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact her, email kmv5506@psu.edu