POTSDAM — The Clarkson University men's hockey team will play in Albany after all. It just comes a week later than many expected.
Clarkson (21-12-4) is the No. 3 seed in the East Regional of the NCAA Tournament and will play No. 2 St. Cloud State (19-15-5) in a first-round game at 4 p.m. Friday at the Times Union Center. The game will be televised on ESPNU.
The Golden Knights won the ECAC Hockey regular-season championship and planned to play in the league semifinals last Friday in Albany but were eliminated a week ago by Colgate in the quarterfinals.
"If you had to choose between the two (weekends), this is the week we want to go," Clarkson coach George Roll said. "Our goal all along was to get into the national tourney. To go to a place where we've had success is comfortable for us, as well as the expected fan support."
The success Roll spoke of is Clarkson's ECAC Hockey Tournament championship won in the building last season. The Golden Knights' return trip to the NCAA Tournament marks the first time since 1997 and 1998 that Clarkson has made it to the NCAAs two straight seasons.
"I think the way our (ECAC Hockey) season ended, the biggest thing was just getting in," Roll said. "It was a matter of let's try and get in first, then worry about where we're going."
Clarkson also finds itself playing a familiar opponent in a game that will start the NCAA Tournament. The Golden Knights split a nonconference series with St. Cloud State in Cheel Arena on Nov. 23-24 and lost two games to the Huskies in Minnesota last season.
"Both teams are familiar with one another," Roll said. "I think it's pretty evenly matched from our results this year. A big key for us is they are so good on special teams. We have to shut down their players."
St. Cloud State won the opening game at Cheel Arena 4-1 on Nov. 23, as Hobey Baker candidate Ryan Lasch, the nation's third-leading scorer, picked up two goals. Clarkson took game two 3-2 thanks to a goal from Nick Dodge with 5 minutes, 28 seconds remaining.
It will be the first time Clarkson has played an NCAA Tournament game against a foe it beat during the regular season since 1991. The Golden Knights beat Boston University 5-3 during the regular season that year and lost to the Terriers 7-3 in a national semifinal.
"I think both teams like to go after it offensively," Roll said. "They have a lot of guys who have skill up front and like to go end-to-end. It's very similar to the way we like to play."
Should Clarkson defeat the Huskies on Friday, it will play either No. 1 Michigan (31-5-4) or No. 4 Niagara (22-10-4). The Wolverines are the top overall seed in the tournament and Niagara features former Salmon River standout Ted Cook.
Seeding the rest of the NCAA field proved to be a challenge for the committee, which had to ensure No. 5 Colorado College and No. 12 Wisconsin were able to play in the regionals they are hosting. The Badgers also made the field despite their 15-16-7 overall record.
The top seed most affected by the two host schools was No. 4 New Hampshire, which features Potsdam native Joe Charlebois. The Wildcats will travel to the Colorado Springs, Colo., regional, instead of playing in nearby Worcester, Mass.
