2024 Route 11 Rivalry Preview
This Friday and Saturday, the St. Lawrence University Men’s and Women’s Hockey teams will play home and away games against the Clarkson University Golden Knights. Dubbed the “Route 11 Rivalry,” the matchups between St. Lawrence and their neighbors of only about 10 miles away are always exciting and spirited games.
On Friday, Jan. 26, the Women’s team will host Clarkson at Appleton Arena with a 6 p.m. puck drop, while the Men’s team will travel to Potsdam to play at Clarkson with a 7 p.m. puck drop. Then, on Saturday, the Men’s team hosts the Golden Knights at 7 p.m., while the Women’s team plays at their place at 3 p.m.
The Women’s team has had a strong season thus far, having an 18-8-0 record and being ranked 10th nationally in the Women’s College Hockey Rankings. The Saints are currently on a five-game winning streak, with victories over Union, RPI, Syracuse, Brown, and Yale in the past two weeks. Abby Hustler ’25 has led the team in points this season, scoring 16 goals and adding 23 assists for 39 total points. Julia Gosling ’24 has also been an important contributor, leading the team in goals with 17 and adding 21 assists for 38 total points, second on the team only to Hustler. Emma-Sofie Nordstrom has started 25 games in goal for the Saints, holding opponents to an average of 2.10 goals per game and having a stellar .924 save percentage on the season. The Saints’ opponent this weekend is a formidable foe, as the Clarkson Golden Knights are ranked 3rd nationally in the Women’s College Hockey Rankings. The Saints are 0-2 to the Golden Knights on the season, losing 6-3 on Nov. 8 and 3-0 on Nov. 11. Let’s hope the Saints can turn this around and win against Clarkson this weekend.
On the Men’s side, the Saints have a record of 7-12-3 but are currently on a two-game winning streak, having beaten Brown and Yale in the past week. Felikss Gavars ’26 lead the team in points with 16 total, scoring nine goals and adding seven assists. Justin Paul ’24 is second on the team in points with 14, having five goals and nine assists. In goal, Ben Kraws has started 20 games for the Saints, holding opponents to an average of 2.55 goals per game and having an impressive save percentage of .916. The Golden Knights Men’s team has a 12-9-1 record on the season and they have not played the Saints yet, so this weekend will be the first matchup between the two teams.
Both the Men’s and Women’s games should be great games, so if you are free on Friday and/or Saturday, be sure to go to Appleton Arena to cheer on the Saints or make the drive up Route 11 to Potsdam to support them in enemy territory.