Knights Host Big Red; Shoot for ECAC Semis

It is difficult to defeat a team twice in one year. To beat it three times requires domination. However, the fifth-seeded Cornell hockey team will try to buck the odds and beat number-four Clarkson for the third and fourth times this season.

The Big Red (13-9 ECAC, 15-11 overall) defeated the Golden Knights (13-7-2, 16-12-2) twice in the regular season. The two teams will do battle again this weekend in a two game ECAC quarterfinal series in Potsdam, N.Y. The winner will advance to next week's semifinals at Boston Garden against the winner of the Harvard-RPI contest.

The Golden Knights gained home ice on the merits of a five-game winning streak that culminated in last Friday's 6-5 win at Dartmouth. Harvard snapped Clarkson's streak with a 7-5 victory at Bright Center last Saturday.

Clarkson rests its hopes on Jarmo Kekalainen. The junior right wing has scored 42 points (17 goals, 25 assists). Other scoring threats include Dave Trombley (10-28-38) and Shawn Lavoy (20-16-36). John Fletcher (.886 save percentage, 4.06 goals-against average) will be in the net, backed by Jason Poirer (.888 save percentage, 3.87 g.a.a.).

Cornell has been erratic this season, looking spectacular in an 8-2 win over Boston University and showing its other side in a 4-1 loss at Yale. The Big Red has split its last five weekends, losing the Friday game each time.

Rob Levasseur (26-9-35) leads the Cornell attack, and forwards Casey Jones (6-25-31) and Trent Andison (16-14-30) have proved to be potent this season. Sophomore Corrie D'Alessio (.887,3.37) will tend the goal.

In a quarterfinal matchup last year at Lynah Rink in Ithaca, N.Y., the visiting Golden Knights won the first game, lost the second and then defeated the Big Red in a 10-minute mini-game. Clarkson went on to upset top-seeded Harvard in the semifinals and fell to St. Lawrence in the finals.

Cornell had revenge on its mind in both meetings this season. Levasseur netted two goals to help the visiting Big Red to a 5-4 victory in the third game of the season. In the second meeting between the two squads, Cornell came through in the clutch with a 3-2 win, as Andison found the goal at the 4:35 mark of overtime.