60 Days. 60 Teams. 600 Words (or Less): Clarkson

Clarkson

2018-19 Record: 26-11-2 (13-7-2, T-3rd in ECAC)
Head Coach: Casey Jones, 9th Year
Top returning scorer: Haralds Egle (19G-21A)
Top returning goaltenders: Nicholas Latinovich (Jr.)

I'm just going to warn you at the top of today's profile that, yes this is a new one. Yes, Clarkson shares a lot in common with yesterday's team. No, it's not a repeat. I swear.

With each passing season...kidding. Clarkson, in better shape than its North Country counterpart, advanced to back-to-back NCAA Tournaments, winning the ECAC conference tournament and overcoming the loss of several key players from 2017-18. That trend continues for the Golden Knights in 2019-20. First Team All-American forward Nico Sturm decided to forgo his senior season and sign with the Minnesota Wild. Two-time Mike Richter Award finalist Jake Kielly did the same, signing with the Vancouver Canucks after CU lost to Notre Dame in the NCAA first round.

Kielly's loss slightly changes the markup of a team that has been tough for opposing offenses to crack and get Grade A opportunities. Most of the defense returns. The Golden Knights were one of six schools to allow two or fewer goals per game, and the only one to do so each of the past two seasons. Kielly had five shutouts.

What's New: While Nicholas Latinovich made two appearances, a different pair of goaltenders are at the forefront to replace Kielly. Former Omaha goalie Kris Oldham sat out last season after transferring. Former Robert Morris goalie Francois Marotte, the Colonials' three-year starter, enters Potsdam as a graduate transfer. He has a .917% save percentage during his college career.

Also eligible to play after a year sitting out is former Sacred Heart forward Zach Tsekos. Among the four first-year players head coach Casey Jones brings in is Bruins 2018 6th round draft pick Dustyn McFaul (F) and Coyotes 2019 6th round draft pick Anthony Romano, who led Clark Cup champion Sioux Falls in scoring.

The Golden Knights continue traveling to the Midwest with road series against Michigan, Wisconsin and Michigan Tech. Arizona State comes to Cheel Arena for its second-ever trip to the North Country.

Closing Thoughts: As Clarkson builds upon recent success, the number of recent All-American and award winners continue to stand out. Jones keeps developing one after the other. Sturm's linemate Harald Egle is the ECAC returning scorer. Josh Dunne had a 14 goal rookie season and Devin Brosseau comes back for his senior year.

This sounds familiar to yesterday's school, however, sometimes the Pairwise (or in this case, teams losing in the same spot) is fun like that. The same thing happens with the next two being Minnesota schools who unfortunately repeated their 2018 fates.

The Golden Knights have plenty of talent and took measures to limit the losses of Sturm and Kielly. If Marotte or Oldham can secure the net, Clarkson should remain in good shape. Even if it takes some time.

Clarkson had its share of early bad losses last season, falling to both St. Lawrence and Canisius. CU was 26th at the holiday break behind such teams as Miami, North Dakota, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan Tech. None of those teams made the NCAA Tournament nor did any team further back at that point. Buoyed by a defense giving up .32 goals per game less, Clarkson's 17-4-2 second-half run left the Golden Knights fifth in the final Pairwise.

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