Thursday, November 29, 2018

Weekend Preview: Princeton Tigers

Quinnipiac returns to ECAC play with a huge series against Princeton


Princeton Head Coach: 
Ron Fogarty (5th season) 46-79-14

2018-2019 Princeton record: 3-4-1 (3-2-1 ECAC)

All-time vs. Princeton: Quinnipiac leads series 15-12-1

Priceton Key Players: Ryan Kuffner (F), Max Veronneau (F), Alex Riche (F), Jackson Cressey (F), Josh Teves (D), Reid Yochim (D), Ryan Ferland (G)

Not enough can be said about the job that Ron Fogarty has done in the last four seasons with Princeton. He took over a program that won just 25 games the prior three seasons and and after two tough years had them in the NCAA tournament in year four with an ECAC championship to boot. The Tigers are a team primed to make another run to an ECAC title along with getting back to the NCAA tournament and they have the pieces in place to do it.

Despite graduating two big offensive pieces in David Hallisey (38 points) and Eric Robinson (31 points), two of the ECAC premier players returned for their senior seasons despite NHL interest. Ryan Kuffner scored 29 goals a season ago on the way to a 52 point season while fellow linemate Max Veronneau topped him with 55 points. Both are off to terrific starts with 14 and 11 points respectively in 8 games. Fellow senior Alex Riche has 8 points while junior Jackson Cressey has 7 points. They might not have the offensive depth they had a season ago with the two big losses but Kuffner and Veronneau are game changers and need to be defended at all times on the ice. The Tigers are the second best power play team in the country at 33.3% with Kuffner and Riche having three goals a piece on the man advantage. It will be key for Quinnipiac to stay disciplined and out of the penalty box in this series.

Princeton returns top defender Josh Teves who had 33 points and was a plus 16 a season ago is already off to a strong start with 8 points in 7 games. Derek Topatigh already has three goals from the back end and is a plus 3 this season. Reid Yochim who a season ago had 14 points as a freshman hasn't scored a point in 8 games and is a minus 1. As a team the Tigers are giving up 2.8 goals per game. The Princeton penalty kill is outstanding at 89.7% which ranks them #1 in the country. Goals for Quinnipiac could be hard to come by in this series especially on special teams.

Sophomore goaltender Ryan Ferland has been solid in net for Princeton going 3-4-1 with a 2.69 goals against average and a .917 save percentage. Quinnipiac saw Ferland twice a season ago beating him 6-2 at the Hobey Baker Rink before losing to him 5-3 in Hamden. He is a goaltender that will keep Princeton in the game and that is all you can ask from your goaltender.

Coming off a sweep last weekend Quinnipiac heads back into conference play for the final time in 2018 before ending the first half next weekend against UMass Amherst. Four huge ECAC points are at stake for the teams that sit one and two in the conference standings. A Quinnipiac sweep would put some distance between them and the teams below them. To me a split in this series is at least a must and anything more would be gravy.

You can follow the BobcatsHockeyBlog on Twitter @QHockeyBlog.

Q&A with Quinnipiac signee Logan Britt

Logan Britt during his time with the Aberdeen Wings in the NAHL

Back in late July, Quinnipiac picked up a verbal commitment from an Illinois born defenseman in Logan Britt, who played his midget hockey with Team Illinois before playing the past two seasons with the Aberdeen Wings in the NAHL. This season, Britt has moved to the top junior league in North America the USHL with the Lincoln Stars. He is the Stars third leading scorer this season with 11 points (3 goals, 8 assists) in 18 games played. Britt will be part of the 2019-2020 freshman class. Thanks to Logan for taking the time to do this Q&A.

BobcatsHockeyBlog: First off you officially signed your National Letter of Intent to play at Quinnipiac. How does it feel to be officially committed now to the university for the 2019-2020 season?

Logan Britt: It’s an awesome feeling knowing that it’s official. I couldn’t have done it without my family and all the support they have provided me throughout my whole hockey career so far. I’m very excited to get started.

BobcatsHockeyBlog: Tell us about your overall recruiting experience with Quinnipiac? When did they first get in touch with you? Did you take a campus visit and what were your thoughts about it?

Logan Britt: They first got in touch with me this past summer around July. I then took a visit later that month and the campus was beautiful. I loved everything about it. I really enjoyed my visit and I’m excited to spend the next four years at Quinnipiac

BobcatsHockeyBlog: Did any other NCAA schools show interest in you and if so what other schools. What separated Quinnipiac from those others schools?

Logan Britt: Some of the other schools that had shown interest were RPI and the University of New Hampshire. A couple things that separated Quinnipiac from the rest was the coaching staff, the facilities, and it’s a beautiful place to go to school.

BobcatsHockeyBlog: Prior to playing in the USHL this season you spent the last two seasons with Aberdeen in the NAHL. What was that experience like for you?

Logan Britt: My time in Aberdeen was awesome. Coach Langer and Coach Bohn were a big part of my development into junior hockey and they really helped me a lot in my journey.

BobcatsHockeyBlog: You moved to the USHL this season which is considered the best junior hockey league in North America for developing college bound talent. How has your experience been so far with the Lincoln Stars and what have they done for your development?

Logan Britt: My time in Lincoln so far has been really great. The team is a good group of guys and it really makes coming to the rink every morning enjoyable and gets everyone excited to work hard.

BobcatsHockeyBlog: Some players don't play at a higher level in junior hockey. What were some of the reasons you decided to move on from the NAHL and play this season in the USHL?

Logan Britt: With making my decision I wanted to get ready for college hockey. I thought that the USHL would help my development in the best way.

BobcatsHockeyBlog: Tell us about your overall game. What are some of your strengths as a player on the blue line? Are you more of a defensive defenseman or someone that likes to join the rush and play more of an offensive style?

Logan Britt: Some of my strengths are my passing, hockey IQ, and vision on the ice. I would call myself more of a puck moving defenseman that defends well but also likes to jump up and join the offensive side of the play.

BobcatsHockeyBlog: With this being your last season of juniors prior to coming to Quinnipiac what are some of the areas of your game that you want to improve upon prior to making the jump to college hockey?

Logan Britt: Obviously I want to get faster on the ice and also get stronger off the ice. Those are the two big ones knowing that I’ll be playing against older kids.

BobcatsHockeyBlog: Have you been able to watch any Quinnipiac games for afar this season? What are your thoughts on how they have played so far?

Logan Britt: I have not been able to watch any games this season because we play games on Friday and Saturday as well. I know that they have had a hot start to the season, so it’s awesome to see.

BobcatsHockeyBlog: Is there any player out there in the game today that you try to model your game after?

Logan Britt: Growing up I watched a lot of Chicago Blackhawks games so one player I used to watch a lot and still do is Duncan Keith.

BobcatsHockeyBlog: To this point in your life who has been your biggest influence to get you to this point where you will play NCAA Division I hockey in a year?

Logan Britt: My family for sure. They have helped me so much to get to where I am today. My parents have supported and sacrificed so much through my journey. I’ll forever appreciate what they have done for me to chase after my dream.

BobcatsHockeyBlog: Tell us the type of person that the Quinnipiac community will get on and off the ice?

Logan Britt: I am a hardworking and determined player on the ice. Off the ice I consider myself to be a good kid that likes to crack some jokes and enlighten the mood.

BobcatsHockeyBlog: What are some of the things that Logan Britt likes to do when he is not on the ice?

Logan Britt: I love to hangout with my teammates and bond together. I enjoy watching movies and I’m a big dog person so I love playing with my dog. I occasionally play Fortnite with the guys and friends back home.


You can follow the BobcatsHockeyBlog on Twitter @QHockeyBlog.

Wednesday, November 28, 2018

Defenseman CJ McGee commits to Quinnipiac

CJ McGee during his time with Don Bosco Prep

The Quinnipiac Bobcats picked up another verbal commitment today this time from 1999 born defenseman CJ McGee who announced it via a twitter post. McGee is the second Pearl River, NY native to commit to the Bobcats following Liam McLinskey. The 1999 born is a 6'0, 181 pound left shot defenseman currently with the Shreveport Mudbugs after being a tender to them before the season. He is off to a blazing start with 17 points (5 goals, 12 assists) in 22 games played and is a plus 11. His 17 points rank him tied fo first on the Mudbugs in scoring and he is also 5th among NAHL defenseman for points.

3.5⭐️CJ McGee to Quinnipiac. Strong skater with four-way mobility to defend and escape the forecheck. 1999 D makes smart reads and commands the OZ blue line where he can rip the puck. Nice two-way game w/upside. A- at NAHL Showcase and B+ at Nationals

Prior to playing with Shreveport, McGee played five seasons for the North Jersey Avalanche program from bantam all the way to the U-18 level. He also was a two year captain at Don Bosco Prep in NJ. When McGee tendered to play in Shreveport last March for this season the Mudbugs director of scouting Mike Grattan said this about McGee. "CJ is a top two-way defender that we have been tracking over the last few seasons. He is a leader and is the type of player and person that will excel in Shreveport."

McGee is the third former Don Bosco Prep player to commit in the past few seasons following John Campomenosi and current Bosco senior  Liam McLinskey. Congrats to CJ and his family and welcome to Bobcat Nation.


Links

Eliteprospects Player Page
NAHL Player Page


You can follow the BobcatsHockeyBlog on Twitter @QHockeyBlog.




Monday, November 26, 2018

In the Pipeline: 11/26/2018

Thanksgiving is over and it was a good one for Quinnipiac fans. They swept Maine over the weekend paying them back for the Black Bears sweeping the Bobcats a season ago in Hamden. The team moves to 11-2 on the season and is ranked #9 in the USCHO and USA Hockey polls. They are also ranked 7th in the important pairwise rankings. There was some future Bobcats in action even with the holiday break so lets see how some of them did over the past week.

Justin Robbins has 4 straight wins for the Chicago Steel

BCHL commits

Jayden Lee picked up two more assists this past week for the Powell River Kings. On the season he now has 17 points (1 goal, 16 assists) in 26 games played.

PJ Fletcher picked up a goal in two games played for the Wenatchee Wild. On the season, Fletcher has 11 points (3 goals, 8 assists) in 28 games played with his production really picking up since the middle of October.

Wyatt Head picked up a lone assist in two games last weekend. The prior week failed to mention that he had three assists. On the season, Head is the 5th leading scorer on West Kelowna with 23 points (3 goals, 20 assists) in 28 games played.

USHL commits

Logan Britt had a strong week with a goal and two assists in three games played for the Lincoln Stars over the past week. In 18 games played, Britt has 11 points (3 goals, 8 assists). Expect a Q&A with Britt to be posted on Wednesday.

Justin Robbins is on a hot streak. He has won his last four games for the Chicago Steel and was strong in two wins over the weekend making 37 of 40 saves in the two games. He is 8-5-1-0 on the season with 3.42 goals against and an .880 save percentage in 15 games played.

Evan Fear had one good game and a game that he gave up six goals in. Last Wednesday against Central Illinois he gave up six goals on just 22 shots before being pulled in the third period. Saturday was a much better outing when he made 37 saves in a 6-3 win over Muskegon. On the season he is 6-4-2-0 with a 3.21 goals against and a .908 save percentage. He has one shutout.


Midget, Prep & High School Commits

Jack Silich had a goal and four assists in five games in a tournament this weekend for the Chicago Mission U-15 team as they ended up losing to the Don Mills Flyers in the semifinals. On the season he has 61 points (24 goals, 37 assists) in 43 games played.

Liam McLinskey started play for the Don Bosco Prep hockey team. This past weekend he had two assists in two games as Don Bosco won both of them. He is coming off a 21 point junior season.

You can follow the BobcatsHockeyBlog on Twitter @QHockeyBlog.

Two Bobcats win ECAC Hockey weekly awards

Odeen Tufto is the ECAC player of the week for November 26th
After its second straight weekend sweep, Quinnipiac men's ice hockey has picked up two more weekly awards as was announced the ECAC league office in a press release. Odeen Tufto took home the ECAC player of the week after a three goal and three assist weekend against the Maine Black Bears. Tufto had a monster game on Friday when he had three goals and two assists and followed the game with an assist on Ethan de Jong's goal on Saturday night. Tufto leads Quinnipiac with 18 points on 9 goals and 9 assists after a 41 point freshman season a year ago. This is the second ECAC player of the week for Tufto who won the award last season for the week of January 16, 2018 when he was also named the rookie of the week as well.

Ethan de Jong (left) won ECAC rookie of the week

A week after Wyatt Bongiovanni took the ECAC rookie of the week award, it was another Quinnipiac freshman claiming the award this week in Ethan de Jong. The North Vancouver, B.C. native had two goals and one assist in two games over the weekend. He is riding a three game point streak (2 goals, 2 assists) and has 10 points (3 goals, 7 assists) in 13 games played on Quinnipiac's top line this season. Congrats to both Odeen and Ethan on their ECAC weekly awards.


You can follow the BobcatsHockeyBlog on Twitter @QHockeyBlog.

Saturday, November 24, 2018

Quinnipiac sweeps weekend series from Maine, moves to 11-2

Quinnipiac swept the weekend series against Maine in Orono
Almost a year after the Maine Black Bears came to Hamden and swept the Bobcats in convincing fashion, Quinnipiac returned the favor this weekend as they blew out Maine 7-2 on Friday night followed by a 2-0 shutout win on Saturday night. The win moved Quinnipiac's record to 11-2-0 (4-2-0 ECAC).

Friday night saw Quinnipiac score thirty seconds into the game as they never looked back. They scored three straight goals, two from Odeen Tufto and one from Alex Whelan before Maine cut into the Bobcats lead. They responded with three unanswered goals with Tufto recording a hat trick on the power play. Freshman Ethan de Jong and Wyatt Bongiovanni also scored for Quinnipiac in that stretch. Maine got one back with five minutes to play in the third period before Joe O'Connor capped the scoring with a quick wrist shot past Jeremy Swayman off a Daniel Winslow face-off win. '

Tufto had a five point night behind a hat trick and two assists while Chase Priskie and Brandon Fortunato had two assists apiece and Ethan de Jong had a goal and an assist.  Andrew Shortridge was strong in between the pipes with 33 saves for his fourth win of the season in as many starts.

Quinnipiac earned its redemption after being swept a season ago by Maine
Saturday night was a much closer game as both teams played a stronger defensive game keeping grade A chances to a minimum. The teams played a scoreless first period mustering on 15 combined shots on goal. It wasn't until almost mid-way through the second period when Scott Davidson rushed the net with a shot that Swayman saved but the rebound found the stick of Michael Lombardi who slipped a back hand pass into the slot which found Zach Metsa who slid the puck past a diving Swayman for his first collegiate goal. Metsa became the sixth different Quinnipiac freshman to score a goal this season.

Quinnipiac goaltender Keith Petruzzelli made the save of the game with 3:40 left in the second period when a puck was in the air heading behind him in which he swiped it out of the air while falling backwards. The Bobcats got an insurance goal from Ethan de Jong just a little over two minutes in the third period off a rebound from Tufto's initial shot.

After the goal Quinnipiac had to face a flurry from Maine as they pressured the Bobcats constantly in the third period with 11 shots on goal. Maine struck iron twice in this game as it happened right after the Metsa goal in the second period along with another chance in the third period. Petruzzelli was a rock tonight for the Bobcats and was Quinnipiac's best player on the ice. He made 23 saves for his second consecutive shutout and third of the season. Maine deserves a ton of credit for battling hard in the second game of this series and taking it to Quinnipiac at times on Saturday night.

Quinnipiac now returns home to play a home and home series with ECAC travel partner Princeton as they will meet in Hamden on Friday night followed by a game the following night in Princeton at the Hobey Baker Rink.


You can follow the BobcatsHockeyBlog on Twitter @QHockeyBlog.

Friday, November 23, 2018

Weekend Preview: Maine Black Bears

Odeen Tufto and the Quinnipiac Bobcats head to Maine with a 9-2 record

Maine Head Coach: 
Red Gendron (6th season) 71-103-22

2018-2019 Maine record: 4-5-1 (2-3-1 Hockey East)

All-time vs. Maine: Quinnipiac is 4-7-1 against Maine

Maine Key Players: Chase Pearson (F), Mitchell Fossier (F), Jacob Schmidt-Svejstrup (F), Tim Doherty (F), Eduards Tralmarks (F), Rob Michel (D), Brady Keeper (D), Jeremy Swayman (G)

After an 18-16-4 season a year ago, the expectations in Orono are raised a bit in the 6th season of the Red Gendron era. It was Maine's first winning season after three consecutive losing seasons. The Black Bears have the talent in place to compete as they just need to show it on the ice. A year ago Maine came into Hamden and came away with an impressive sweep of Quinnipiac that closed out the first semester for the Bobcats with a losing record. Quinnipiac is a different team than a year ago with more scoring and more confidence than they did when these teams last met.

The Black Bears return nine out of their top ten scorers from a season ago with only Nolan Vesey graduating from last years roster. Despite that they are struggling a bit to score goals this season averaging just 2.4 goals per game. Chase Pearson leads the team with 7 goals and 11 points while Tim Doherty has 5 goals. Freshman Jacob Schmidt-Svejstrup is off to a good start with 6 points after having a strong season for Fargo in the USHL last season with 26 goals and 43 points. Mitchell Fossier has been great at dishing the puck so far with a team leading 7 assists. The Black Bears offensive struggles expand to special teams where the power play is converting at a tune of 14.6%.

Defensively Maine has been solid to average at times giving up 2.8 goals per game. The penalty kill has been strong at 85%. Three seniors lead the way in Rob Michel, Keith Muehlbauer and Sam Becker. Sophomore Brady Keeper is also one to watch as he was strong offensively and defensively last season with 22 points and a plus 17. Overall the team is a minus two for the season so there is still some work to get done to make that unit more effective. Its an area that Quinnipiac needs to exploit.

Boston Bruins draft pick Jeremy Swayman is the Maine goaltender back as a sophomore after having an impressive freshman season with a 2.72 goals against average and a .921 save percentage. The numbers this season for Swayman are similar with a 2.79 goals against average and a .920 save percentage. Outside of two poor games against Minnesota Duluth when he gave up seven goals and another game against UConn when he allowed five, he has been very steady for Maine this season. Last season against Quinnipiac he was huge in goal for Maine making 95 saves in a weekend sweep of the Bobcats in Hamden last December. 

A week after Quinnipiac had an impressive road sweep over Cornell and Colgate, the Bobcats can't sit on their 9-2 record. This series won't be easy at all but they need to go to Orono and return the favor to what Maine did to them a season ago to help build the pairwise resume along with momentum for two huge series the two following weekends.


You can follow the BobcatsHockeyBlog on Twitter @QHockeyBlog.

Wednesday, November 21, 2018

Q&A with Quinnipiac commits Christophe Fillion and Christophe Tellier

Quinnipiac recently picked up a pair of commitments from two Quebec born players in Christophe Fillion and Christophe Tellier who are currently playing for the Wenatchee Wild in the BCHL. Natives of Sherbrooke, Quebec they have taken the path to play with each other at multiple stops and are set to do it again as Quinnipiac Bobcats starting in the 2020-2021 season. I had a chance to catch up with the both of them for a Q&A about many different things including their recruitment, hockey in general and off the ice as well. Thanks to both of them for taking the time to do this.

Christophe Tellier (L) & Christophe Fillion (R)

@QHockeyBlog: First off congratulations to the both of you. What are your emotions like for the both of you after making the decision to commit to Quinnipiac?

Christophe Fillion & Christophe Tellier: Both of us are really excited to join the Bobcat family. It has always been a dream for us to play college hockey together.

@QHockeyBlog: Tell us about your overall recruiting process? Has Quinnipiac been following you both for awhile?

Christophe Fillion & Christophe Tellier: Yes, I believe they have been following us for quite awhile. I know that when we both played in Iowa with the Iowa Wild AAA program they came to a few games. Obviously, this year, they have been to a few games and associate coach Joe Dumais probably watches all our games online too.

@QHockeyBlog: Did you have a goal of playing together in college?

Christophe Fillion & Christophe Tellier: Yes we did. Every team we would talk to we would tell them that we were a package deal.

@QHockeyBlog: What other NCAA schools showed interest in you and did the fact that you came together as package deal scare some programs away?

Christophe Fillion & Christophe Tellier: Two schools that showed a lot of interest were the University of Nebraska-Omaha and Minnesota State at Mankato. The fact that we came as a package deal probably scared a few schools away, but we don’t really which ones.

@QHockeyBlog: With you both from Sherbrooke, Quebec what was the reason you both went the NCAA path as opposed to many in the province who go major juniors in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League?

Christophe Fillion & Christophe Tellier: We decided to take the college route instead of playing major junior because education is really important for both of our families. If hockey doesn’t work out for us after college, well we will still have a great education and we will be able to get an excellent job down the road.

@QHockeyBlog: I asked this to your fellow province-man and future Bobcat teammate Yaniv Perets but why don’t we see more kids from Quebec go the NCAA route?

Christophe Fillion & Christophe Tellier: At a young age, I feel like a lot of kids say they want to play college hockey, but as soon as they get interest from a QMJHL team, they show up to a camp thinking they are going to make the team and they loose their eligibility.

@QHockeyBlog: Two part question one for Christopher Fillion and one for Christophe Tellier. What are your strengths currently as a players?

Christophe Fillion: For me, I would say that my hockey sense and my scoring instinct are my strengths.

Christophe Tellier: For me, I would say that I have a play-making instinct and that I have pretty good stick-handling abilities.

@QHockeyBlog: What went into your decision to play junior hockey in the BCHL as opposed to say the NAHL or USHL where you Christopher Fillion played two games last year?

Christophe Fillion & Christophe Tellier: We decided to play junior hockey in the BCHL because it is a really good offensive league and we thought it would be a better fit for us.

@QHockeyBlog: Within the next year and a half prior to coming to Quinnipiac University for the 2020-2021 season, what do you both want to improve upon as players?

Christophe Fillion & Christophe Tellier: We probably both want to just become better athletes and work on our defensive game.

@QHockeyBlog: Who to this point in your lives has been the most influential in getting you to this point for an NCAA Division I opportunity?

Christophe Fillion & Christophe Tellier: For both of us, I would say that our parents are a huge part of our success because of all the support they have given us over the years.

@QHockeyBlog: Off the ice what are some of the things that you both like to do when you are not playing hockey?

Christophe Fillion & Christophe Tellier: Off the ice we both like to golf once in a while. I (Fillion) was actually on the golf team at my prep school so I am pretty good at it. Also, we like to play video games.

@QHockeyBlog: Final question and I asked this same one to Yaniv Perets as well. With me being a Boston Bruins fan obviously Montreal is our hated rival but I’ve been to the Bell Centre for a Bruins and Habs game and I’m not sure there is another arena that can match that atmosphere. Is this something you would agree with and are both of you big fans of the Canadiens?

Christophe Fillion & Christophe Tellier: Yes we agree. We have been to quite a few Montreal Canadians games and it is hard to beat. Everyone is just so loud!


You can follow the BobcatsHockeyBlog on Twitter @QHockeyBlog.

Monday, November 19, 2018

In the Pipeline: 11/19/2018

After a weekend road sweep that saw Quinnipiac come from behind to beat Cornell and shutout Colgate, the Bobcats are back in the top 10 of the country in both the USCHO and USA Hockey polls. After down year in the 2017-2018 campaign, Quinnipiac looks to have to that season behind them as they look to return to their success in the middle part of the decade. Quinnipiac has six challenging games to close out the first semester with a road series at Maine followed by home and homes with Princeton and UMass Amherst. One game at time for this team has to be the mentality going forward. Now lets take a look at how some future Bobcats did over the past week. 

Corey Clifton with the Surrey Eagles

BCHL commits

Christophe Fillion picked up two assists in three games played for the Wenatchee Wild this week. In 26 games played he has 21 points (11 goals, 10 assists).

Jayden Lee picked up two more assists this past week for the Powell River Kings. He now has multi point games in four of his six. On the season he now has 15 points (1 goal, 14 assists) in 23 games played. He also signed his National Letter of Intent to play with Quinnipiac for the 2020-2021 season.

PJ Fletcher picked up a goal in three games played for the Wenatchee Wild. He also signed his National Letter of Intent to play with Quinnipiac. On the season, Fletcher has 8 points (2 goals, 6 assists) in 26 games played. He is committed for the 2020-2021 season.

As his brother and former Quinnipiac alum Connor was debuting for the Boston Bruins, Corey Clifton had a very solid weekend with three assists in three games for the Surrey Eagles. Clifton is the Eagles third leading scorer with 18 points (4 goals, 14 assists) in 29 games played.

USHL commits

Logan Britt picked up one assist this past week for the Lincoln Stars. In 15 games played, Britt had 7 points (2 goals, 6 assists). He is a minus 2 for the season on the blue-line.

Justin Robbins picked up a win in a 32 save effort in a 4-3 overtime win for Chicago against Madison. In 13 games played, Robbins is 6-5-1-0 with a 3.74 goals against and a .875 save percentage.

NCDC commits

Yaniv Perets struggled this past weekend. He went 1-1 on the weekend but gave up 8 goals in two games played. On the season Perets is 14-3-0-1 with a 2.10 goals against average and a .939 save percentage. He signed his National Letter of Intent with Quinnipiac this past weekend.

John Campomenosi picked up an assist this weekend for the Jersey Hitmen in one game played. The New Jersey native has 7 points (1 goal, 6 assists) in 22 games played this season.

Connor Tait had two goals in a win on Saturday for the Jersey Hitmen. The Maryland native has 9 points (5 goals, 4 assists) in 18 games played this season.

Cam Boudreau had one assist for the Junior Bruins in three games this past weekend. The New Hampshire native this season has 9 points (2 goals, 7 assists) in 23 games played.

Jacob Quillan and the Yale U-16 New England Champions

Midget Commits

Jacob Quillan was part of the Yale U-16 team that won the New England Midget Regionals and will take part in nationals in the spring of the 2019.

Jack Silich had one assist in just one game played for the Chicago Mission U-15 team over the weekend. On the season he has 58 points (24 goals, 34 assists) in 39 games played.

You can follow the BobcatsHockeyBlog on Twitter @QHockeyBlog.

Wyatt Bongiovanni named ECAC Rookie of the Week

Wyatt Bongiovanni (center) has won his first ECAC award

After a three point game in a 5-0 win against the Colgate Raiders in which he had two power play goals, Quinnipiac freshman forward Wyatt Bongiovanni has been named the ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Week as announced in a press release by the league. The Michigan native has gotten off to a good start for the Bobcats with 7 points (5 goals, 2 assists) in 11 games on Quinnipiac's top line. He has two multi point games on the season along with two power play goals.

Bongiovanni came to Quinnipiac after the playing the previous season with the Muskegon Lumberjacks (USHL) in which he nearly average a point per game last season despite missing games due to injury. He finished his USHL career with 79 points (32 goals, 47 assists) in 152 games games between Muskegon, Tri-City and Des Moines.


You can follow the BobcatsHockeyBlog on Twitter @QHockeyBlog.

Sunday, November 18, 2018

Quinnipiac sweeps weekend slate, moves to 9-2

Keith Petruzzelli made 21 saves for his second shutout of the season

For the first time since February 3rd and 4th of 2017 when they beat Brown and Yale, Quinnipiac swept an ECAC regular season road weekend series. A night after an impressive 4-2 win over Cornell, the Bobcats scored three power play goals in the second period to run away from the Colgate Raiders in a 5-0 win at the Class of 1965 Arena in Hamilton, New York.

Four different Bobcats scored goals along with three having multi point games. A night after watching Andrew Shortridge have a strong effort against Cornell, Quinnipiac sophomore goaltender Keith Petruzzelli was a rock in between the pipes for the Bobcats with 21 saves for his second shutout of the season. 

Quinnipiac in early in the first didn't get on the score sheet but they showed they were a step ahead of Colgate in this game with their speed and talent. Late in the first period, Quinnipiac forced a turnover by Wyatt Bongiovanni in the offensive zone who fed a cross ice pass for a one-timer by Luke Shiplo that found the web past Colgate goalie Mitch Benson.

In the second period after Colgate's Evan Tschumi was assessed a roughing call, Quinnipiac found the back of the net again when Bongiovanni put home a rebound from an Odeen Tufto shot past Benson as he crashed the net. Less than two minutes later Quinnipiac found themselves back on the power play after Josh McKechney was given a five minute major and a game misconduct for hitting from behind.

Quinnipiac wasted no time going to work as Brandon Fortunato found a hard charging Bongiovanni who slipped a shot short side past Benson from a tough angle to push the Bobcats lead to 3-0. Just over minute later on the same power play Craig Martin batted a puck out of the air into the goal for his third tally of the season. In the third period freshman Daniel Winslow took a quick pass from Odeen Tufto and put a quick wrist shot past Benson for the Bobcats final tally of the night.

Bongiovanni with two goals and an assist led the way offensively while both Chase Priskie and Odeen Tufto had two assists apiece. With the win Quinnipiac moves to 9-2-0 (4-2-0 ECAC) which is good for first place currently in the conference standings. They will return to the ice next weekend when they travel to Orono, Maine for a non conference series against the Maine Black Bears.


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Friday, November 16, 2018

Puck luck key in Quinnipiac 4-2 win over Cornell

The Quinnipiac Bobcats scored another impressive road win beating Cornell 4-2

They say puck luck is a staple of what makes great teams. We don't know for sure if Quinnipiac is a great team yet as this season is just ten games young, but a 4-2 win tonight at Lynah Rink against Cornell gave the Bobcats another signature road win against the defending ECAC regular season champions and the team that swept them out of the ECAC playoffs eight months ago.

A bizarre bounce off the back wall from a harmless Chase Priskie shot from the just inside the red line deflected off the back of Cornell goaltender Matthew Galajda for what turned out to be the game winning goal at the 10:18 mark of the third period. The game didn't start out on Quinnipiac's terms as just forty-seven seconds into the game William Fallstrom took a hooking penalty only to see Cornell's Morgan Barron blast one past Andrew Shortridge (21 saves) for the games first goal and the only scoring in the first period.

Cornell's Beau Starrett was called for a five minute interference major against Desi Burgart which gave the Bobcats a golden opportunity. They capitalized not even a minute into it when Brogan Rafferty bombed a shot from the point past Galajda to even the score at one apiece. The momentum was short lived after Karlis Cukste took an interference call on the power play giving some four on four action. Cornell responded when Yanni Kaldis split the Quinnipiac defense and put one past Shortridge with a wrist shot in the slot to give the Big Red a 2-1 lead.

Hamden native Joe O'Connor a natural defenseman converted to forward snipe a goal high past Galajda just 4:50 into the third period. That gave Quinnipiac the momentum until they got the Priskie goal. Alex Whelan's empty net goal capped the scoring to give the Bobcats their first win at Lynah Rink in two years. Andrew Shortridge played strong with some key saves at the right time as he picked up his third win of the season. Brandon Fortunato had two assists giving him ten on the season already.

Quinnipiac (8-2-0, 3-2-0 ECAC) now travels to Hamilton, New York to face the Colgate Raiders on Saturday night as they look to go into the Thanksgiving on a high note.


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Weekend Preview: Cornell/Colgate

Craig Martin and the Quinnipiac Bobcats head to Cornell & Colgate this weekend

Cornell Head Coach: Mike Schaefer (24th Season) 441-250-91

2018-2019 Cornell record: 4-2 (2-0 ECAC)

All-time vs. Cornell: Cornell leads 22-16-3

Cornell Key Players: Mitch Vanderlaan (F), Morgan Barron (F), Cam Donaldson (F), Max Andreev (F), Michael Regush (F), Yanni Kaldis (D), Alec McCrea (D),

Headline: How Sweep It Is. That was the Cornell Daily Sun on Monday March 12, 2018 two days after Cornell dispatched Quinnipiac with ease in the ECAC Quarterfinals headlined by a 9-1 thrashing in Game 1. That headline has been in the Quinnipiac locker room all summer from all reports and now the time has come for redemption up in Ithaca, NY this weekend when Quinnipiac takes on Cornell at Lynah Rink in a matchup of ranked teams. Fast forward 8 months and the undermanned Quinnipiac team that got beat up has completely changed with 12 new faces that have helped Quinnipic off to a 7-2 start. After dropping its first two games to Michigan State, Cornell has bounced back and won four straight to come into this match-up at 4-2. Per the Cornell Daily Sun, the Big Red will be without junior forward Jeff Malott, Sophomore defenseman Alex Green while Brenden Locke and Brendan Smith are both questionable for the game.

Despite losing three of their top four scorers and no one that scored more than 10 goals, Cornell still possesses some good talent up front. Mitch Vanderlaan and Morgan Barron are two talented players up front along with sophomore Cam Donaldson. A pair of freshman in Max Andreev and Michael Regush have impressed for the Big Red. The Cornell power play has been solid this season at 20%.

Cornell had some early defensive issues in the series against Michigan State that they looked to have corrected in the last four games only allowed seven goals in those four wins. With Alex Green sidelined and Brendan Smith questionable to play, the Big Red defense will get challenged a bit this weekend and will rely a lot on Alec McCrea and Yanni Kaldis to keep things together. The teams penalty kill has been a weakness so far only killing 70.8% of opposing teams power plays. That will need to improve as Quinnipiac possesses a solid power play at 24.4% and will look to add to that this weekend.

Matthew Galajda was the goaltender and rookie of the year in the ECAC and a first team All-American a season ago and was a big part of the Cornell success a year ago. This season he had a sub .900 save percentage (.880) and a 2.71 goals against but that was due to two poor games against Michigan State. Since those two losses he has a goals against of 1.75 more in line of what we all know Galajda is as a player. Expect him to be on his game this weekend and for those Michigan State games to be just a blip on the radar this season.

Colgate Head Coach: Don Vaughan (26th Season) 409-426-99

2018-2019 Colgate record: 2-6-1 (0-1-1 ECAC)

All-time vs. Colgate : Quinnipiac leads 21-15-2

Colgate Key Players: Bobby McMann (F), Adam Dauda (F), Josh McKechney (F), Jared Cockrell (F), Nick Austin (D), Trevor Cosgrove (D), Mitch Benson (G)

Don Vaughan's team is coming off a respectable 17-17-6 campaign one year after bottoming out at 9-22-6. With the team is expected to improve they got the surprise news that star goaltender Colton Point was leaving after his sophomore season to turn professional with the Dallas Stars organization. Without Point in net that left a huge void that was expected to be a strength for the Raiders this season. The team has gotten off to a slow start at 2-6-1 but that is more because the offense has really struggled this season.

Offensively this team has been challenged this year to score goals. In nine games played this season they have only scored ten goals. That just is not going to cut it if they want to have success this season. They need more scoring from the likes of McMann, Dauda, McKechney, Cockrell among others if they want to start winning games. The power play for Colgate has been dismal as well at 11.8%. If the offense doesn't turn it around soon it could be a long season in Hamilton, NY for the Raiders.

Colgate's defense has been up and down this season. They have had games where they have looked solid and games where they have looked very poor. As a team they are giving up over three goals per game which is not a recipe for success. The defense played solid against Ohio State last weekend only really giving up three goals in two games. The fourth goal was an empty net goal. That should give them some confidence heading into a tough weekend series against Princeton/Quinnipiac who are sure to have an onslaught of shots. The penalty kill also needs to show improvement as its sub 80% at 75.9

Filling Colton Points shoes is a major task and not one that Colgate likely expected after last year. Freshman Mitch Benson has gotten the majority of the time in goal and has a .919 save percentage and 2.59 goals against average in eight games played. He's one of three freshman goaltenders on the roster for the Raiders this season and the one that is expected to get the start in goal for this weekends games.


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Wednesday, November 14, 2018

Q&A with Quinnipiac commit Evan Fear

Evan Fear with Green Bay (photo by Green Bay Gamblers)

A month ago started a flurry of new Quinnipiac commits with six committing in the last thirty plus days alone. The first of those players was goaltender Evan Fear of the Green Bay Gamblers in the USHL. Fear is a native of Winnetka, Illinois which is north of Chicago on Lake Michigan. He has an extensive junior history playing in both the NAHL & USHL over the past two plus seasons. Fear was gracious enough to give us some time for a Q&A to discuss his hockey upbringing, his current developmental path and about his overall recruitment over the past year. Thanks again for Evan and welcome to Bobcat Nation.


@QHockeyBlog: First off congratulations. What are you emotions like after making this decision to commit to Quinnipiac?

Evan Fear: Thank you! I’m extremely excited about committing to Quinnipiac University. Being a college athlete has always been a dream of mine and Quinnipiac has an amazing program and tradition that I hope to add to.

@QHockeyBlog: Tell us about your overall recruiting experience? When did you first have contact with Quinnipiac?

Evan Fear: I first spoke to Quinnipiac this past summer. They had watched me when I was in Springfield last season and were reaching out, expressing their potential interest. I took an official visit late in the summer before leaving for Green Bay. I had a great experience and stayed in touch with the staff. Head coach Rand Pecknold came to one of our preseason games and after that I then spoke with associate coach Joe Dumais after our games at the USHL showcase in Pittsburgh which kicked off the start of our regular season. It was after that I received my offer from them.

@QHockeyBlog: Were there a lot of other NCAA schools showing interest in you prior to you committing to Quinnipiac?

Evan Fear: I had conversations with a couple other schools leading into the season. Every school attends the showcase and I had a very good game so I spoke with a lot more teams that following week before I made my decision. For me Quinnipiac was always a front runner and I had an established relationship with the staff already, whereas I was only beginning the process with other schools.

@QHockeyBlog: You came through some pretty good programs in youth hockey in the Chicago area with the Chicago Young Americans, Team Illinois and the Chicago Mission. How did these programs shape you to this point where you are now heading to a division one program?

Evan Fear: I was fortunate to grow up in an area with such good hockey programs and to have had the opportunity to play with and against some really elite players. For me as a goaltender, I had great coaching at all three programs which really helped shaped my game to where it is today.

@QHockeyBlog: After playing with the Mission you moved to the Springfield Jr. Blues in the Tier II North American Hockey League (NAHL) at the age of 17 along with playing with Dubuque in the United States Hockey League (USHL). What was that experience like and the jump to both Tier I and II hockey from the midget level?

Evan Fear:  The year prior I decided to move up to U-18 hockey even though I was still eligible for U-16. I think moving up and playing with an older and stronger age group helped prepare me for the move to Springfield. Additionally starting in the NAHL was really beneficial. That league has produced a lot of good goalies because they give the opportunity to young goalies. The biggest change I had to make in my game really was just adapting to the schedule and the higher workload. I always split time at the AAA level so this was the first time I experienced more game time and had more responsibility for the teams success. Around Thanksgiving of last year, I accepted a trade to Dubuque. The jump to the USHL was a hard one. There is a reason it’s considered the best junior league in the country for college development. I had some very good games but I came into a backup role and I struggled at times with that. I was extremely happy with my time there and that was one of the closest teams I’ve ever been apart of. Our goal-tending coach at Dubuque, Matt Millar has made a lasting impact on my game and does a really good job there.

@QHockeyBlog: What went into the decision to play last season with Springfield again as opposed to remaining with Dubuque?

Evan Fear: The coaching staff that recruited me to Dubuque had moved to the college level and my goal-tending partner from the past season was returning. In preseason I lost a goalie battle for the second spot and was cut from the roster. Originally Dubuque kept me on the affiliate list so I couldn’t attempt to go to other teams in the USHL. I returned to Springfield as the coaching staff there knew me from my time with the team. It ended up being exactly what I needed. I grew as a player and had a starting role for the majority of the season as well as getting playoff experience. When I had decided to go to Dubuque I was really eager to work with Coach Millar and believed that there may not be an opportunity like this one at the Tier I level in the future but I think I lacked the starting experience I needed to thrive at the USHL level, which I gained back in Springfield.

@QHockeyBlog: This past off-season you were drafted by Green Bay and are the starter there. How has your time been going there in terms of your development?

Evan Fear: I think I needed to prove that I could play at the Tier I level to be ready for college and I want to continue proving that in Green Bay. I’ve really enjoyed my time and have laid down good ground work that I’d like to improve on. Ryan Honick worked with Springfield on a limited basis as the goal-tending coach and he works more intensively with Green Bay so that area has been great. I’ve been really fortunate to have great goal-tending coaching throughout my career, in Chicago, Coach Naumenko and Coach Rutledge really helped me while I was at the Young Americans. And Tim Anderson was my goal-tending coach with the Mission and he’s helped me throughout the summers and is someone I’ve stayed close with.

@QHockeyBlog: What would you say your strengths are as a goaltender?

Evan Fear: I play a really simple game. I believe I’m a good athlete and my off-season has helped me get stronger and faster but my game is centered around calm and positioning. So much of modern goal-tending is playing the percentage and taking up room. I believe I’m more loose than that blocking stereotype but I think it’s the direction the game has and will continue to head. I have put an importance on my feet and I like my speed. With my junior experience I think I read the game really well and have good game management.

@QHockeyBlog: Your set to enroll in the 2019-2020 season with Quinnipiac. What are some of the areas in your game that you want to improve upon before you take the next step to the division one level?

Evan Fear: I need to be stronger and more explosive for the college game. My footwork needs to improve, especially laterally. I think time at the college level will adjust me to the shots and patterns of play.

@QHockeyBlog: To this point in your life who has been your biggest influence or role model to help you get this opportunity to play division 1 hockey?

Evan Fear: All four goal-tending coaches that I referenced have helped me immensely. Aside from that, my brother plays college hockey for the University of Denver. He’s given me a lot of guidance and advice throughout my life.

@QHockeyBlog: Tell us what type of person the Quinnipiac community will get on and off the ice?

Evan Fear: I’m an extremely hard worker and passionate about hockey. I always give my best effort and love the game. I’m a very good student and a good person.

@QHockeyBlog: What does Evan Fear like to do when he is not on the ice playing hockey?

Evan Fear: I love Premier League soccer. I am a big alternative music and electronic dance music fan. I also love movies especially with the amount of down time in junior hockey. I also love Game of Thrones as I am currently reading the books.


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Monday, November 12, 2018

In the Pipeline: 11/12/2018

Another weekend split saw Quinnipiac have a shutout win over RPI on Friday night followed up by another poor performance in a 5-1 loss to Union its 5th straight loss to the Dutchmen. Despite the split on the weekend, Quinnipiac dropped only one spot in the USCHO.com poll to 14th. They now head to Cornell next week for a rematch against the team that swept them out of the ECAC Quarterfinals a year ago. But before we get into next week let's take a look at how some of the future Bobcats did over the past week.

Quinnipiac's newest commits in Christophe Tellier and Fillion

BCHL commits

Quinnipiac picked up two more commits in the BCHL this time in a pair of Quebec born players in Christophe Fillion and Christophe Tellier  of the Wenatchee Wild. Fillion in 23 games played has 19 points (11 goals, 8 assists) while Tellier in 21 games played has 18 points (7 goals, 11 assists). They are both committed for the 2020-2021 season. Stay tuned for a Q&A with the both of them coming up later this week or early next week with a lot of good stuff they had to say.

Jayden Lee picked up two more assists this past week for the Powell River Kings. He has 7 assists in his last four games played. On the season, Lee has 13 points (1 goal, 12 assists) in 21 games played.

PJ Fletcher picked up three assists in two games played for the Wenatchee Wild and has started to settle in the BCHL. In 23 games played he has 8 points (1 goal, 7 assists).

Austin Spiridakis picked up his third goal of the season for the Alberni Valley Bulldogs. The 16 year old has 5 points (3 goals, 2 assists) in 21 games played and is tied for 9th on the team in scoring despite being the youngest player on the team.

USHL commits

Logan Britt picked up one assist this past week for the Lincoln Stars. In 13 games played, Britt had 7 points (2 goals, 5 assists).

Evan Fear lost a hard fought 3-2 overtime game on Saturday against the Waterloo Black Hawks. Fear made 48 saves in a losing effort for Green Bay. On the season he is 5-3-2-0 with a 2.87 goals against average and a .917 save percentage with one shutout. Stay tuned for a Q&A with Evan Fear coming out this week.

Justin Robbins had his best start of the season for the Chicago Steel when he made 28 saves in a 3-1 win over the Madison Capitols. Robbins is 5-5-1-0 with a 3.83 goals against average and an .870 save percentage.

Oscar Plandowski continues to put up big numbers in midget hockey


NCDC commits

Yaniv Perets took a hard fought 1-0 loss for the Junior Bruins in between the pipes on Saturday. He made 24 saves in the loss. In 16 games played he is 13-2-0-1 with a 1.78 goals against average and a .948 save percentage.

John Campomenosi picked up his first career junior hockey goal for the Jersey Hitmen. In 21 games played he has 6 points this season on a goal and five assists.

Connor Tait picked up a goal and an assist in two games played for the Jersey Hitmen. In 16 games played this season he has 7 points (3 goals, 4 assists).

Midget Commits

Oscar Plandowski picked four more points in five games this past week. He now has 38 points (7 goals, 31 assists) in 30 games from the blue line.

Jack Silich had two goals and one assist in three games played for the Chicago Mission U-15 team over the weekend. On the season he has 57 points (24 goals, 33 assists) in 38 games played.

Victor Czerneckianair had a six point weekend in four games for the Selects U-16 team at the South Kent School with two goals and four assists. In 31 games played he has 45 points (21 goals, 24 assists).

Liam McLinskey picked up another goal and an assist for the Jersey Hitmen U-18 team. The Pearl River, NY native is now riding a five game point and on the season has 18 points (9 goals, 9 assists) in 16 games played.


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Sunday, November 11, 2018

For second weekend in a row Quinnipiac gets a split

Quinnipiac shutouts RPI 3-0 on Friday

Its been two weekends of ECAC Hockey play for the Quinnipiac Bobcats and after two weekends of play they are a .500 team in conference play. A week after splitting at Harvard and Dartmouth, the Bobcats once again split the weekend slate after beating RPI 3-0 on Friday night before dropping a 5-1 game to the Union Dutchmen on Saturday. Who are these Bobcats right now? Are they team that went 5-0 in early non-conference play or the team of the last two weekends? That question will be determined as the season continues on.

Friday saw the Quinnipiac defensive stifle RPI into only twelve shots the entire game along with blocking another eight. Freshman Daniel Winslow scored his first collegiate goal while Chase Priskie had two more points including a power play goal in the third period. Odeen Tufto had the other goal for Quinnipiac another one by way of the power play. The Bobcats finished 2 of 9 on the man advantage while holding RPI to 0 for 6 on their power plays. Andrew Shortridge recorded his 7th career shutout in the victory.

Saturday saw a match-up of two top 15 ranked teams between Quinnipiac and Union. A close game for two periods saw the Dutchmen blow it open in the third period in just a six and half minute span to run away with a 5-1 win. Union wasted no time getting on the board early in the game as Ryan Walker scored short side past Keith Petruzzelli (18 saves) right off a clean face-off win by Cole Maier just 3:12 into the opening frame.

On Saturday Quinnipiac fell 5-1 in for their 5th straight loss to Union

In the second period, Union doubled its lead when Josh Kosack crashed the net with a shot and banged home his own rebound past Petruzzelli for the goal. Quinnipiac's Michael Lombardi answered that goal with his first collegiate goal and point giving some momentum for the Bobcats. After an early power play in the third period that went nowhere for Quinnipiac, the teams battled for half the period with nothing to show until an odd man rush by Union led to a rebound goal by Anthony Rinaldi.

Three minutes later Rinaldi again found the back of the net again off a rebound from Petruzzelli pushing the Union lead to 4-1 before Josh Kosack capped the scoring three and a half minutes later on a nifty back-hand past Petruzzelli. Quinnipiac lost their second game of the season despite out-shooting Union 35-23 and beating them 36-26 on face-offs. Union won key face-offs twice in the Quinnipiac zone leading to goals twice and had more quality chances on net than the Bobcats. Union goaltender Darion Hanson was strong with 34 saves in the victory as the Dutchmen improve to 7-3-1 (3-3-0 ECAC) while Quinnipiac falls to 7-2-0 (2-2-0 ECAC). This was the fifth consecutive win for Union against Quinnipiac with the Bobcats not having won a game against them since January 7, 2016.

Next week Quinnipiac heads to Cornell and Colgate for a pair of ECAC games. The Bobcats return to Lynah Rink where they were swept out of the ECAC Quarterfinals a season ago.


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Friday, November 9, 2018

Pair of French Canadian born players commit to Quinnipiac

Christophe Tellier, left and Christophe Fillion, right

Quinnipiac has stayed pretty active on the recruiting despite being full blown into their season. Two more players have committed to the Bobcats as Wenatchee Wild (BCHL) teammates Christophe Tellier and Christophe Fillion committed today to the program for the 2020-2021 season. Both are 2000 born forwards and are natives of Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. The pair become the second and third Quebec born players to commit to Quinnipiac in the last two and half weeks following the commitment of goaltender Yaniv Perets.

Both players have gotten off to strong starts in their rookie season in the British Columbia Hockey League with Fillion leading Wenatchee with 11 goals and Tellier 4th in the team in scoring with 18 points. Fillion is a 5'10, 175 pound that shoots left and plays right wing while Tellier is a 6'0, 160 pound left shot center.

The two most recently were teammates with the Iowa Wild AAA U-16 & U-18 teams in the 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 seasons. Last season Fillion also played 18 games for the Janesville Jets (NAHL) and two games for the Chicago Steel (USHL) while Tellier played one game for the Minot Minotauros (NAHL). They also played together at Bishops College M15 major team in the 2013-2014 season. 

They are currently teammates in Wenatchee with fellow Bobcat commit PJ Fletcher. Congrats to both on your commitment and welcome to Bobcat Nation. 


Links:



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Weekend Preview: RPI/Union

Luke Shiplo and the Quinnipiac defense look to rebound from its loss to Dartmouth


RPI Head Coach: Dave Smith (2nd Season) 9-31-4 (181-254-63 overall)

2018-2019 RPI record: 3-4

All-time vs. RPI: Quinnipiac leads 13-7-9

RPI Key Players: Jacob Hayhurst (F), Patrick Polino (F), Brady Wiffen (F), Todd Burgess (F), Will Reilly (D), Linden Marshall (G)

A week after splitting its ECAC opening weekend slate Quinnipiac returns home to welcome RPI and Union to the People's United Bank Center. The Bobcats won in impressive fashion Friday night against Harvard before getting beaten pretty good 5-1 the following night against Dartmouth. The loss against Dartmouth which was the first of the season should be a wake up call for the Bobcats in that need to come ready to play each and every game. RPI comes to Quinnipiac in year two of the Dave Smith era with a 3-4 record having swept rival Union in impressive fashion but scoring only three goals in four losses to UMass, UConn and Clarkson. Smith has his team headed in the right direction even if the talent isn't fully there. The wins over Union definitely were eye opening showing that they can beat anyone on any given day. Even though Quinnipiac has owned RPI to a tune of a 10-1-5 record since the 2010-2011 season, this RPI team shouldn't be overlooked at all and a strong, clean game will be needed to beat them.

Scoring is an issue for RPI as they have only 15 goals in 7 games played. Junior Jacob Hayhurst is off to a strong start with 11 points in 7 games while six other players have 3 points apiece. Hayhurst can't just be the only guy getting the points. He is going to need some other players to step up around him. The question for RPI is who is going to score goals and which team will show up? If its the team that swept Union then Quinnipiac will have its hands full. If its the team that got its doors blown off against Clarkson and UMass then Quinnipiac should be in a good shape. RPI averages around 25 shots a game and Quinnipiac usually does a good job of keeping teams in the low 20's or below.

Defensively RPI has looked good in some games and really poor in its losses. They are giving a over three and half goals per game. Will Reilly is probably the team's most talented defender but over two plus seasons in Troy he is a -37. Collectively the defense is a -14 overall this season. The biggest surprise is how well they played against Union holding the Dutchmen to just five goals despite getting massively out shot both games. Honestly you don't know what defense will show up in Hamden Friday night but if you are Quinnipiac hope its the one that struggled against Clarkson and UMass.

Goaltending is an issue so far for RPI. Sophomore Linden Marshall has a goals against average of almost three and half and he has a sub .900 save percentage. RPI will need strong play from Marshall if they want to come out with a win against Quinnipiac. If he has similar play from what he has done already this year it could be a long night for RPI.


Union Head Coach: Rick Bennett (8th Season) 164-86-33

2018-2019 Union record: 6-2-1

All-time vs. Union: Quinnipiac leads 16-15-4

Union Key Players: Cole Maier (F), Brett Supinski (F), Ryan Walker (F), Sebastian Vidmar (F), Liam Morgan (F), Jack Adams (F), Anthony Rinaldi (F), Vas Kolias (D), Greg Campbell (D), Jake Kupsky (G)

Not enough good things can be said about the program that Rick Bennett has built in the seven plus seasons he has been in the capital region. Six winning seasons in seven years. Three ECAC Regular Season and tournament titles. Four NCAA appearances. Two Frozen Fours and the 2014 National Championship. Who would have thought that this was even possible a decade or more ago? The job Bennett has done led to some interest from Boston University in the off season but he remained with Union which has a lot of returning talent on its roster ready to make another run to the ECAC championship and possibly the NCAA tournament. Union has a four game winning streak against Quinnipiac.

Four of their top five scorers and eight of their top ten from a year ago return. The seniors in Maier, Supinski, Walker and Vidmar have gotten off to hot starts are are averaging a point per game or more on the season. Joining them are sophomores Jack Adams and Liam Morgan who already have combined for seven goals on the season. They are averaging almost three and a half goals per game this season with a very solid power play at 21.7%. Its definitely a quality offense that has put the third most shots up in the nation with 303.

The inexperience of Union is on the blue line with only Campbell and Kolias as the upperclassmen. Six underclassmen are part of the defensive corps including three freshman. The youth and inexperience has shown at times especially giving up nine goals in two losses against RPI along with seven goals against Nebraska-Omaha. Shots are an issue as they are allowing 227 already this season and they have one of the weakest penalty kills in the country at 70.7%.

Senior Jake Kupsky has gotten the majority of the starts but may start to be pressed by sophomore Darion Hanson due to Kupsky having a sub .900 save percentage. The two shared duties last season with Kupsky getting the majority of the starts. In his four seasons with Union, Kupsky a draft pick of the San Jose Sharks has not lived up to expectations of being a top goaltender having two prior sub .900 save percentage seasons. If Union expects to go far this year, either Kupsky or Hanson will really need to play strong in between the pipes to potentially cover up a young defense.


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