2024–25 Clarkson Golden Knights men's ice hockey season

The 2024–25 Clarkson Golden Knights Men's ice hockey season was the 103rd season of play for the program and 64th in ECAC Hockey. The Golden Knights represented Clarkson University in the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season, played their home games at Cheel Arena and were coached by Jean-François Houle in his 1st season.

With Jean-François Houle's return to the program in the wake of Casey Jones' departure, a good deal of changes were afoot for the Golden Knights. Aside from the normal roster turnover, the team was now operating under a different system of play that seemed to cause some ups and downs early in the season. Graduate transfer Ethan Langenegger stepped into the void in goal and remained the primary starter for the entirety of the season. A stronger performance in goal was needed as Houle's style was not quite as oppressive on the back end, with the team allowing about 2.5 more shots against per game, however, they were still among the best teams in the nation in limiting scoring chances for their opponents.^[1]

The first five weeks of the season saw the team post a decent record in non-conference play, albeit against weak opposition, and they continued to post good results as the club started their ECAC schedule. The team took a small break after Thanksgiving to participate in the Adirondack Winter Invitational. Both of their opponents were ranked clubs from Hockey East and, though the Knights performed well in the matches, they lost both to finish third. After the disappointing result, Ayrton Martino finally grew accustomed to the new system and began scoring on a pace that hadn't been seen since Nico Sturm was on the team. Martino recorded points in eight consecutive games from late November until mid-January and helped the team post a solid 5–2–1 record during that stretch. When he failed to score in two games at the end of the month, the team's offense looked unable to cope and lost both games in spite of a strong defensive effort.

After slipping in the rankings, Martino began a second scoring streak, this time recording points in 10 consecutive games and leading the Knights on a 7-game winning streak.^[2] Even more important, Clarkson was able to bookend the stretch with two victories over league-leading Quinnipiac and lift themselves into the top-20 of the PairWise. Unfortunately, The overall weakness of ECAC Hockey prevented the team from having any real chance for an at-large bid despite ending the year 11 games over .500.

Clarkson's second-place finish gave the team a bye into the quarterfinal round and gave them an relatively easy match against Harvard. The Knights were able to limit the Crimson to just 17 shots in the first game but the visitors made the most of their opportunities by twice getting a lead. Clarkson's offense was entirely dependent on Martino once more with the senior assisting on all three of the teams goals in the third period. After the narrow win, Clarkson was able to shake off the rust and just out to a two-goal lead before their attack stalled and Harvard was able to score the next three goals, the last coming in overtime, to even the series. The deciding game proved to be a goaltending battle that Harvard led for over 35 minutes of game time. Clarkson's only goal in regulation game thanks to a power play marker from Martino but it was enough to push the match into extra time. The game went back and forth but this time it was Clarkson's turn to celebrate when Luka Sukovic scored into an empty cage thanks to a lucky bounce.^[3]

After escaping the tightly-contested series, the Knights continued their run against Dartmouth at the Herb Brooks Arena. Despite only being able to get 15 shots on goal for the game, Clarkson was able to score 4 goals and ride a strong performance from Langenegger to the win. By making their first championship appearance in 6 years, Clarkson was not just one win away from returning to the NCAA tournament. Unfortunately, they ran into Cornell in the midst of the Big Red recovering their championship form. Cornell got out to a 2-goal lead early in the first period and never looked back. Clarkson was able to find the back of the net once in the second but they could not secure the equalizer. They pulled Langenegger in desperation at the end of the third but the Big Red swiftly deposited the puck into the empty net and The Golden Knights' season came to a close.^[4]

As of August 9, 2024.^[5]

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Note: USCHO did not release a poll in week 12 or 26.^[8]
Note: USA Hockey did not release a poll in week 12.