Our second NCAA Division I Game of the Week is a two-part series that sees two ECAC teams go head-to-head after building up an intense rivalry last season.

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Clarkson (3-0-1) vs. St. Lawrence (2-0-2) | Friday, October 15, at 6 p.m. ET AND Saturday, October 16, at 3 p.m. ET

As two of just four schools in the ECAC to compete during the 2020-21 season, it’s safe to say that Clarkson and St. Lawrence are familiar with the other’s style of play — which means this weekend’s series is bound to be a nail-biter. St. Lawrence is coming off of a bye week, which means there’s a chance for some rust, while Clarkson will be shaking off two overtime contests from last weekend.

Despite winning their first game against St. Lawrence of the 2020-21 season by a seven-goal margin, the Golden Knights have since dropped four straight contests, including the ECAC semifinal.

Players to Watch

Clarkson: Laurence Frenette

The freshman forward has been grouped with Caitrin Lonergan and Gabrielle David to start the season, which isn’t too shabby of a line in our opinion. Throughout the first four games of her collegiate career, she’s tallied two goals and registered two assists, good for third on the team in total points.

St. Lawrence: Nara Elia

A graduate transfer from BU, Nara Elia is poised to make a huge impact for the Saints both this weekend and beyond. She had the first goal in St. Lawrence’s 4-1 regulation win over Syracuse two weeks ago, and tacked on an assist for the game winner.

Our Thoughts:

Anne Tokarski: One of the fun things about this match-up is that both squads have already played Syracuse so far this season — and both skated away with one win (St. Lawrence by a score of 4-1, Clarkson by a score of 3-2 in OT) and one draw. Based on that figure and that figure alone, it looks like St. Lawrence might have the edge going into this series, but I wouldn’t put it past Caitrin Lonergan, Gabrielle David, and Laurence Frenette to change the narrative. My prediction? Series split, with St. Lawrence taking game one and the Golden Knights taking game two.

Gabs Fundaro: It’s always fun when these two get together; as I wrote in this week’s Takeaway column, this should be a good measure of how tight the race is going to be in the ECAC this season. Last year, St. Lawrence took four of five against their North Country rivals; while they’re missing some key pieces this season due to Olympic prep, they’re never an easy out. I’ll be curious to see how the Saints handle Clarkson’s top offensive players, but overall I think we’ll see a lot of back-and-forth play. Anne’s prediction of a split is probably very astute; I’ll make it fun and go for a St. Lawrence win and a tie, since both teams are showing a propensity for those early this year.

Around the (rest of the) NCAA:

Friday, October 15:

• Wisconsin at Minnesota Duluth at 1 p.m. ET (B1G+)
• New Hampshire at Boston College at 2 p.m. ET (NESN)
• Mercyhurst at Union at 3 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
• Sacred Heart at Long Island at 3 p.m. ET (NEC Front Row)
• Quinnipiac at Providence at 3 p.m. ET (College Sports Live)
• St. Cloud State at St. Thomas at 4 p.m. ET (B1G+)
• Bemidji State at Ohio State at 6 p.m. ET (B1G+)
• Franklin Pierce at Holy Cross at 6 p.m. ET (College Sports Live)
• UConn at Maine at 6:00 PM ET (College Sports Live)
• Minnesota State at Minnesota at 7 p.m. ET (B1G+)
• Merrimack at BU at 7:00 PM ET (College Sports Live)
• Connecticut Whale (PHF) at Yale at 7 p.m. ET (Not streamed)
• Saint Michael’s at Post at 8 p.m. ET (Not streamed)/

Saturday, October 16:

• Cornell at RIT at 1 p.m. ET (Stretch Internet)
• Saint Michael’s at Post at 2:15 p.m. ET (Not streamed)
• Mercyhurst at Union at 1 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
• St. Thomas at St. Cloud State at 2 p.m. ET (B1G+)
• Bemidji State at Ohio State at 3 p.m. ET (B1G+)
• Holy Cross at Franklin Pierce at 3 p.m. ET (Stretch Internet)
• Providence at Quinnipiac at 3 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
• Yale at Brown at 3 p.m. ET (Exhibition) (Not streamed)
• Metropolitan Riveters (PHF) at Princeton at 3 p.m. ET (Exhibition) (Not streamed)
• Colgate at Syracuse at 4 p.m. ET (Cuse.com)
• Minnesota at Minnesota State at 5 p.m. ET (B1G+)
• Long Island at Sacred Heart at 5:30 p.m. ET (Not streamed)
• Northeastern at Maine at 6 p.m. ET (College Sports Live)
• Boston College at New Hampshire at 7 p.m. ET (College Sports Live)/

Sunday, October 17:

• Wisconsin at Minnesota Duluth at 2 p.m. ET (B1G+)
• Merrimack at UConn at 3 p.m. ET (College Sports Live)
• Boston Pride (PHF) at Dartmouth at 3 p.m. ET (Exhibition) (Not streamed)/