[1] Cleaver began attending Clarkson University in the fall of 1977, after using up his final year of junior hockey eligibility.
Cleaver's numbers decreased slightly but he was still a key contributor for the best offensive squad in ECAC Hockey.
[2] The Golden Knights finished the season atop their conference standings With Cleaver leading the top offense in the east with 68 points.
[3] Unfortunately, Cleaver could not shake the Golden Knights out of their postseason doldrums; After escaping with a narrow victory in the quarterfinals, Providence ended their championship bid with a 3–4 overtime loss.
Clarkson, however, did have some good news as the NCAA tournament had been expanded to 8 teams that season and the Golden Knights received an at-large bid.