Q&A with University of Hockey Blog

The last time Quinnipiac and North Dakota played was the 2016 National Championship Game

In anticipation of this weekends home opening massive series against North Dakota in which fans will be in the building for the first time in 601 days, I had a chance to do a Q&A with the University of Hockey Blog who focuses on all things North Dakota hockey. Thanks again to them for taking the time to do this and you can follow them on Twitter @UofHockeyBlog.

@QHockeyBlog: What are your expectations for this weekends series between Quinnipiac and North Dakota especially with students being back in the building in Hamden for the first time in 601 Days.
 

@UofHockeyBlog: My expectations are that it’s going to be a tight, possibly lower scoring battle between two good teams. As far as the crowds go, North Dakota is no stranger to them as they played in front of reduced crowds of about 4,000 last season and a full building for their three home games and one exhibition so far this season.  I’m sure Quinnipiac will come out fired up with the crowd behind them. This will make it important for North Dakota to handle the first push, because in their last game they gave up two goals in the first 90 seconds or so. It’s one thing to play from behind like that at home but on the road it could be too much to overcome.

@QHockeyBlog: North Dakota is coming off back to back 20 plus win seasons. What are the expectations like in Grand Forks this season for this North Dakota team. Is it national championship or bust? 

@UofHockeyBlog: I’m not sure the expectations have been set because it’s tough to say how a team that turned over half their roster will gel together.  They lost eight of their top nine scorers from last season and both goalies. Rather than bring a massive freshmen class, North Dakota hit the transfer portal and picked up two of the leading scorers from the WCHA, a very good starting goalie and some assistance on defense as well. That being said to replace guys that are already producing in the NHL is never an easy thing to do. This weekend, I think will be big in determining what sort of trajectory we expect North Dakota to take this year. If they get swept, it’ll be gut check time but if they split most sane Fighting Hawk fans would be happy with that. If they sweep convincingly, then North Dakota fans might start looking at Frozen Four tickets.

@QHockeyBlog: The team lost 60% of its goal production from last season to graduation/early departures. Tell us who are some of the players us as Quinnipiac fans need to watch out for in this series?

@UofHockeyBlog: Jake Sanderson on the back end, is the 5th overall pick from the 2020 draft by Ottawa, is someone I think will be a big variable in how this series goes. I’m looking at the scores from Quinnipiac's first few games and it appears they can really shut down teams defensively. North Dakota admittedly doesn’t have the firepower coming from the forwards like they did the past couple years. That being said, I think scoring will have to be supplemented from the talented players on the back end like Jake Sanderson. In the forward group, Riese Gaber, may be smaller in stature but he’s a pitbull on the ice and can beat any goalie in the country with his shot. As far as freshman go, Jake Schmaltz has been really good to start his North Dakota career. He’s scored goals and assisted on the game tying goal with 30 seconds left last Saturday, so he’s a gamer.  

@QHockeyBlog: North Dakota has 9 NHL draft picks. How do you think this team compares talent wise to the 2015-2016 National Championship team which was the last time these two teams faced?   

@UofHockeyBlog: I’m not sure many teams compare favorably with that 2015-16 national championship team. That team seemed to have the rare quality of having younger high draft picks (Boeser, Schmaltz) and skilled upperclassmen (Caggiula, Stecher) that developed later and held the younger talent accountable every day.  I don’t think it’s a coincidence that we under-performed the following season after those older guys were picked up by NHL teams.

@QHockeyBlog: So far four games into the season what do you think are the strengths of this North Dakota team?   

@UofHockeyBlog: The strengths so far seem to be work ethic as I haven't seen guys taking shifts off along with the physicality and resiliency in the comebacks they’ve produced.
 
@QHockeyBlog:What would you say are the weaknesses so far in this young season?   

@UofHockeyBlog: I think experience is the main weakness I see. We could see some growing pains as they figure out how to add 14 guys to their roster in the most effective manner. Whether it be on the power play, penalty kill, or in the line pairings, finding the guys that click together could take longer but a 3-0-1 start isn’t a terrible start all things considered.

@QHockeyBlog: What are you thoughts on how transfer goaltender Zach Driscoll from Bemidji State has played so far this season?   

@UofHockeyBlog: Speaking as someone with no idea what to look for, I think he’s looked solid in most situations so far. He seems to be well positioned and stays calm under duress. I haven’t seen any weak goals yet. I know he’s a smaller goalie than North Dakota has had lately but he seems to fill the net fairly well.

@QHockeyBlog: The North Dakota fan base is one of the most passionate fan bases in all of college hockey if not number one. From you view do you think that the fan base respects Quinnipiac going into this series as it is a match-up of two top ten teams and I say that because North Dakota is 4-0 all time against Quinnipiac with two NCAA tournament wins? 

@UofHockeyBlog: I think you have two types of North Dakota fans. Casual fans that go to games and don’t follow the team much past that. Then there are the diehards that follow every single press conference and re-watch all of the games and highlights. The casual fan may look at Quinnipiac and dismiss them as a school we’ve never lost to in the past so it should be an easy sweep.  The diehard fans that follow college hockey understand that it will be a tough series and a road split would be a fine result as long as North Dakota is scoring goals and trending in the right direction.  That being said, it sure would be nice to keep North Dakota's unbeaten streak against the Bobcats alive. Thanks for having me! 

You can follow the BobcatsHockeyBlog on Twitter @QHockeyBlog.

ECAC Quarterfinal: Quinnipiac vs Princeton

Quinnipiac will face Princeton this weekend if the games do indeed get played

I had my preview with Yale just about done and then the news of the Bulldogs bailing out out of the ECAC tournament forced me to revise in an instant. Quinnipiac has a new opponent this weekend if the games even get played due to the outbreak of the coronavirus with 11th seeded Princeton heading to Hamden after the ECAC had to reseed the tournament awarding byes to Cornell and Clarkson to Lake Placid while Quinnipiac faces Princeton and RPI faces Colgate. The winners will join the other teams in Lake Placid barring a further shutdown of the ECAC Tournament or the NCAA in general. This weekend will be played without fans as the NCAA is limiting crowds to all events.

Broadcast Information: ESPN +

Tale of the Tape:

#3 Quinnipiac Bobcats (#14 USCHO/#17 Pairwise) 21-11-2 (14-6-2 ECAC)
2.76 Goals scored per game (Tied 29th nationally)
2.29 Goals allowed per game (Tied 15th nationally)
18.4% Power Play (Tied 30th nationally)
82.5% Penalty Kill (23rd nationally)
Cleary Cup Championships: (4) 2019, 2016, 2015, 2013
Whitelaw Cup Championships: (1) 2016
NCAA Tournament Appearances: (6) 2019, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2002
NCAA Frozen Four Appearances: (2) 2016, 2013

#11 Princeton Tigers 6-20-5 (2-16-4 ECAC)
2.12 Goals scored per game (56th nationally)
3.22 Goals allowed per game (36th nationally)
21.9% Power Play (16th nationally)
79.4% Penalty Kill (42nd nationally)
Cleary Cup Championships: (0)
Whitelaw Cup Championships: (3) 2018, 2008, 1998
NCAA Tournament Appearances: (4) 2018, 2009, 2008, 1998
NCAA Frozen Four Appearances: (0)

Key Players:

Quinnipiac: Odeen Tufto, F (38 points), Wyatt Bongiovanni, F (25 points), Alex Whelan F (24 points), Nick Jermain, F (21 points), Peter Diliberatore, D (21 points), Karlis Cukste, D (18 points) Ethan de Jong (18 points), William Fallstrom, F (17 points), Zach Metsa, D (17 points), Keith Petruzzelli, G (2.01 GAA & .920 save percentage, 3 shutouts)

Princeton: Jackson Cressey, F (22 points), Corey Andonovski, F (19 points), Luke Keenan, F (18 points), Liam Grande, F (15  points), Derek Topatigh, D (14 points), Spence Kersten, F (12 points), Mark Paolini, D (11 points), Jeremie Forget, G (2.79 GAA, .912 save percentage, 1 shutout)

ECAC Playoff History:

First playoff meeting

The Skinny:

This is a match-up that was put together just a few days prior to the start of the Quarterfinals due to Quinnipiac's rival Yale withdrawing over concerns of the coronavirus. While we were all looking forward for a few more games against Yale, Quinnipiac now welcomes the Princeton Tigers who upset Dartmouth last weekend to reach this point. This is a mismatch in terms of talent and records on the ice as Quinnipiac is 15 wins better this season than Princeton which has really struggled since its surprise Whitelaw Cup win two years ago. With not much time to prepare for a new opponent it will be interesting to see how both teams adjust on such short notice.

The Bobcats come into this series fresh off a first round bye, rested and relatively healthy. The status of Jayden Lee isn't known yet but if he is back in the lineup that is a big boost on the back end. Quinnipiac is a deeper lineup with many different players that can beat you. While the offense isn't as potent as it was a year ago it is capable of putting the puck in the net in quick spurts. The Bobcats defense is also rounding into form as they have been strong in their last 10 games only allowing three or more goals twice to Clarkson and RPI both teams still playing this weekend. Sprinkle in the dominance of Keith Petruzzelli and Quinnipiac could easily get hot in the ECAC tournament and win the Whitelaw Cup.

The Tigers come into Hamden with their worst team in four years when they won just five games in Ron Fogarty's second season. Not much has gone right for Princeton this season outside of two upset wins last weekend against Dartmouth on the road. Earlier this season Princeton stunned St. Cloud State and AIC for wins. The other two wins came against lowly St. Lawrence. The Tigers lack the elite scoring they had in past seasons but if there is one thing they can hang their hats on its the power which is a very solid 21.9% on the season. The Tigers will need some breaks and get on the power play in order to have a chance to win this series. The defense has not been good this season allowing 3.22 goals per game but they have been saved at times by the solid play of sophomore Jeremie Forget whose 2.79 goals against and .912 save percentage has been a relief for the Tigers on the back end.

The Prediction:

While Quinnipiac and Princeton played some tight games this season back in December, the Bobcats have been rolling in the second half while the Tigers have struggled all season and needed two overtime wins to reach the ECAC Quarterfinals. The run ends this weekend for the Tigers against a stronger Quinnipiac team.

Qunnipiac in 2

You can follow the BobcatsHockeyBlog on Twitter @QHockeyBlog.

Weekend Preview: Brown/Yale

Senior Alex Whelan will play his final two regular season home games this weekend

The final games of the regular season take place this weekend as Quinnipiac is still fighting to clinch a first round bye along with keeping its slim chance of an at-large bid alive. In order to do that they will need to sweep the weekend slate of games. Quinnipiac is also closing in on the third seed for the ECAC tournament. One more Quinnipiac win or an RPI loss or a Bobcats tie combined with a RPI loss or tie will clinch a first round bye for the Bobcats in the ECAC playoffs.

Brown Head Coach: Brendan Whittet (11th year)

2019-2020 Brown record: 7-18-2 (7-11-2 ECAC)

All-time vs. Brown: Quinnipiac leads 24-10-7

Brown Key Players: Justin Jallen (F), Brent Beaudoin (F), Michael Maloney (F), Bradley Cocca (F), Zach Giuttari (D), Tony Stillwell (D), Luke Krys (D), Gavin Nieto (G)

The Bears are heading for the 9th losing season in 11 years under head coach Brendan Whittet but Brown has played better in its last nine games with a 4-3-2 record. That includes a tie against this Quinnipiac team they will face in Hamden. Brown has been a thorn in the side of Quinnipiac dating back to last season when they took three of four games from the Bobcats including the sweep in the ECAC Quarterfinal series. Brown has a chance to play spoiler once again and win over Quinnipiac would probably end any at-large hopes the Bobcats may have.

The Bears offense still has struggled to score goals at just 1.74 per game this season. Justin Jallen  still leads the team with 9 goals while and Brent Beaudoin is second on the team with seven goals and scored both goals against Quinnipiac in the teams last meeting. While the Bears have been anything but elite offensively, they have the ability to stay in the game and make it close against Quinnipiac especially with how the Bobcats have played down to its competition in recent weeks. If Brown is going to win their 4th in a row at the People's United Center they are going to need goals on the man advantage and greasy goals as well.

Defensively Brown is giving up 2.81 goals a game but give credit to the Bears defense. Over the past five games they have been very solid outside of a stinker of a performance when they allowed five goals to Dartmouth. They have held good offensive teams like Quinnipiac, Harvard and Cornell to just six goals with one of those goals being an empty net one. They have made it tough on some good teams to score and expect the same this weekend when they face the Bobcats.

Gavin Nieto has played well during this winning stretch in the last nine games for Brown especially his last three games in which he gave up a total of four goals in three games. If Nieto is playing at a high level, its been tough to score goals on the Bears and Quinnipiac witnessed that at the beginning of the month when Nieto made 29 saves in a tie against the Bobcats.


Yale Head Coach: Keith Allain (14th season)

2019-2020 Yale record: 12-13-2 (9-9-2 ECAC)

All-time vs. Yale : Quinnipiac leads series 23-7-5

Yale Key Players: Curtis Hall (F), Tyler Welsh (F), Justin Pearson (F), Kevin O'Neil (F), Luke Stevens (F), Phil Kemp (D), Jack St. Ivany (D), Corbin Kaczperski (G)

The Bulldogs are likely headed for another season around the .500 mark and its fourth straight season missing the NCAA tournament. Times have been tough for Yale whose program has seen a decline after making six tournament appearance in eight seasons including winning the 2013 National Championship. Yale just can't sustain a prolonged winning streak and has been up and down this season. They played tough against Quinnipiac in their last meeting at Ingalls Rink falling 3-2 in overtime. While Yale doesn't have any at-large chances along with very little chance to win the conference tournament they do however have a chance to spoil the Bobcats final regular season home game of the year.

Yale's offense has only averaged 2.56 goals per game this season. They lack offensive depth in order to have multiple scoring lines. Sophomore Curtis Hall is very talented and his 14 goals lead the Bulldogs. Justin Pearson is tied for the team lead in scoring with Hall at 23 points and is just behind him with 13 goals. Hall and Pearson are clear building blocks as the two are currently both sophomores. Tyler Welsh is in the midst of a breakout season with 22 points as a junior and fellow junior Kevin O'Neill has 15 points. While this season isn't over yet, the Bulldogs do have some nice pieces returning for next season as they look to rebound.

Since these two teams last met, the Yale defense hasn't got any better and is still giving up 3.19 goals per game. Its surprising since they have some good talent back there with Phil Kemp and Jack St. Ivany who are both draft picks. Yale definitely expected more from Graham Lillibridge over his two years in New Haven as he was a really good player in junior hockey. The Bulldogs did a solid job on defense less than a month ago when these teams met but with Quinnipiac fighting for not only ECAC position but an outside chance at a NCAA berth you have to think the Bobcats will be very motivated at home against their Whitney Avenue rivals and be aggressive against a Yale defense that clearly has not been good this season.

Senior Corbin Kaczperski has not been a difference maker this season as he has struggled with consistency. On the season he has a 2.97 goals against average and a low save percentage of 900. Kaczperski has regressed each season he has been at Yale and is unlikely to steal a game against Quinnipiac as he just hasn't played that well against the better teams that Yale has faced.

You can follow the BobcatsHockeyBlog on Twitter @QHockeyBlog.

Weekend Preview: RPI/Union

Quinnipiac heads to the New York Capital Region this weekend

Its a big weekend for Quinnipiac hockey as they head to the New York Capital Region for an important road trip needing wins to help in the pairwise rankings along with some help from teams around them. At this point they cannot slip up if they want a potential at-large berth, otherwise they will have to win the ECAC tournament to reach the NCAA tournament for the second consecutive season.

RPI Engineers

RPI Head Coach: Dave Smith (3rd Season)

2019-2020 RPI record: 13-15-2 (9-8-1 ECAC)

All-time vs. RPI: Quinnipiac leads 16-7-9

RPI Key Players: Chase Zieky (F), Patrick Polino (F), Mike Gornall (F), Ture Linden (F), Todd Burgess (F), Zach Dubinsky (F), Will Reilly (D), Simon Kjellberg (D), Cory Babichuk (D), Owen Savory (G)

The Engineers have seen vast improvement in the three years since Dave Smith has been at the helm. Its 13 wins currently, are the most since they had 18 wins in the 2015-2016 under former coach Seth Appert. RPI has a marquee win against Clarkson this year, but still has some troubles with the teams that are better than them. All in all you have to be impressed with how Smith has molded the Engineers in this time in Troy. This will definitely be a team that will be a tough out come the ECAC tournament next month.

While they don't have a player with double digit goals, they have a lot of balance scoring in their lineup with 12 players with 10 or more points this season. The Engineers only score 2.60 goals per game which is far from great. They are getting strong production from seniors Chase Zieky (20 points), Mike Gornall (17 points), Patrick Polino (15 points), Todd Burgess (14 points) and Jake Marrello (13 points). The biggest question is can the seniors elevate their game over the next month to become a factor in the playoffs? RPI's power play has not been good at just 15.1% this season.

RPI's defense has been solid this season allowing 2.83 goals per game. Will Reilly is the leader on defense with a plus 10 rating and second on the team with 17 points. But its the youth on defense that is playing well including freshman Cory Babichuk and Simon Kjellberg. The Engineers defense is clearly one of the reasons the team has played close to .500 this season. RPI's penalty kill is very solid at 83.8% which is 15th nationally.

Owen Savory has been one of the big reasons why RPI has been a very solid team this season and has a chance to make noise come March. While his record of 9-9-2 is far from impressive, his 2.38 goals against and a .920 save percentage are impressive. He has 3 shutouts to boot as well. Since the turn of the calendar to 2020, he has given up one goal or less in seven of the nine games he has played including three shutouts. His two worst games were to Western Michigan (6 goals) and Cornell (3 goals). He is in a groove right and definitely someone who can steal a game.

Union Dutchmen

Union Head Coach: Rick Bennett (9th Season)

2019-2020 Union record: 7-20-3 (5-12-1 ECAC)

All-time vs. Union: Quinnipiac leads 17-16-5

Union Key Players: Anthony Rinaldi (F), Sean Harrison (F), Gabriel Seger (F), Vas Kolias (D), Dylan Anhorn (D), Darion Hanson (G)

It has been a trying season for the Union Dutchmen who are in the midst of their worst season in the Rick Bennett era and worst since the days when Kevin Sneddon was the programs head coach. Its been a massive struggle for Union who have only two wins since the calendar turned to 2020. The lack of talent at Union is a real factor and you have to wonder if Rick Bennett regrets not taking a bigger job when his name came up in the past. Quinnipiac has not won at Union since November of 2014.

Union's offense has been downright awful at 1.80 goals per game. Senior Anthony Rinaldi (20 points) is having a nice season while Union has found a nice player with freshman Gabriel Seger (16 points) but not having Jack Adams due to injury has hurt and Parker Foo missed half the season and has not put up big points like he was expected to. Sean Harrison is the only other forward who has double digit points at 12. The Dutchmen power play which in years past was strong has been terrible this year at 11.8%. Frankly, Union just can't score goals and it is hurting them on the ice.

Union defensively hasn't been great this season allowing 3.07 goals. However, they have found a nice young piece in freshman Dylan Anhorn (13 points, plus 3) to build around. Senior Vas Kolias has had another double digit point season but is a minus 13 this year. Junior Brandon Estes who was very good as a sophomore has taken a step back this season going from 21 points a year ago to just 7 this year. The penalty kill has struggled at just 78.6% this season.

Darion Hanson's play is down this season but its due to a weak defense in front of him. If he wasn't the teams goaltender they would probably have given up the most goals in the country this season. That why having Hanson back there as a veteran presence has helped to a degree. His 2.82 goals against and a .904 save percentage are very average but the team in front of him is just not very good so his numbers are going to look worse. He held Quinnipiac to just two goals the last time these two teams met back in Hamden in mid November.  

You can follow the BobcatsHockeyBlog on Twitter @QHockeyBlog.

Weekend Preview: Clarkson/St. Lawrence

Quinnipiac returns home for a huge game against Clarkson on Friday

Clarkson Head Coach: Casey Jones (9th season)

2019-2020 Clarkson record: 20-6-2 (13-3-0 ECAC)

All-time vs. Clarkson: Quinnipiac leads series 16-13-3

Clarkson Key Players: Haralds Egle (F), Jack Jacome (F), Devin Brosseau (F), Josh Dunne (F), Greg Moro (D), Connor McCarthy (D), Frank Marotte (G)

With only three losses since mid November and 20 wins in total this season, the program is on pace to have the best season of the Casey Jones era. At 9th in the pairwise rankings, Clarkson is inching closer to a third straight NCAA appearance for the first time since the late 1990's. Jones has this program as one of the elite programs of the ECAC and expect them to be in the upper echelon for a very long time. For Quinnipiac, this game is a must win considering the Bobcats are on the bubble at 14th in the pairwise which is too close to the cut line. Much like the Cornell game a couple of weeks ago, a win could propel this team a few more spots higher in the pairwise rankings.

Clarkson this season is averaging 2.93 goals per game which is a little bit low for a team as good as the Golden Knights. The offense is built around seniors Haralds Egle (30 points) and Devin Brosseau (27 points). Sophomore Josh Dunne has 12 goals and third in points with 26. Zach Tsekos and Jack Jacome are other solid contributors for Clarkson. The Golden Knights power play has scored 26 goals this season at a clip of a shade just under 23.9%. Clarkson has the ability to change a game in an instant and Quinnipiac saw that when these teams met a month ago when Jack Jacome scored two goals 23 seconds apart to give the Golden Knights a lead they would not relinquish.

Clarkson is built to win on defense. Giving up just 1.75 goals per game, the Golden Knights defense is third best in the nation behind Minnesota State and Cornell. While Connor McCarthy is the only player putting up big numbers from the blue line, the Golden Knights are just getting consistent play from guys like sophomore Brian Hurley along with Seniors Jordan Schneider and Greg Moro. Sophomore Michael Underwood is tied for second on the team with a plus 10. Clarkson isn't flashy, they just get the job done and do a really good job preventing other teams from scoring. They also boost the nations number one penalty kill at 92.9%.

Frank Marotte continues to be one of the top goaltenders in all of college hockey. He has played in every game for Clarkson this season and his .940 save percentage and 1.67 goals against are both second in college hockey in those categories. Simply put he is difficult to score on but part of that is the players he has in front of him. Quinnipiac has shown it can beat a strong goaltender when it put five goals on Cornell's Matthew Galajda just a few short weeks ago.

St. Lawrence Head Coach: Brett Brekke (1st year)

2019-2020 St. Lawrence record: 3-21-4 (1-14-1 ECAC)

All-time vs. St. Lawrence: Quinnipiac leads 16-15-5

St. Lawrence Key Players: Zach Risteau (F), Keenan Suthers (F), Jordan Steinmetz (F), Andrew McIntyre (F), Jake Stevens (D), Bo Hanson (D), Daniel Mannella (G)

St. Lawrence hasn't found the win column in three months coming into this weekend dating back to November 9th when they beat Union 3-2 in overtime. Since then they are 0-15-3. It has been a rough first season for new head coach Brett Brekke but he cannot be judged with this team as it lacks talent and players he recruited. For Quinnipiac, this is a must win at home and a game they surely cannot lose if they want to make the tournament. A loss would have a massive negative impact and would almost certainly end any at-large hopes for them. A month ago Quinnipiac just squeaked by St. Lawrence 3-2 up in North Country.

The Saints are the worst offensive team in all of college hockey averaging just 1.64 goals per game. Sophomore Zach Risteau (21 points) is St. Lawrence best offensive player but he has been held scoreless in his last six games. Junior Keenan Suthers is tied for the team lead with seven goals while freshman Jordan Steinmetz has 10 points. Its an offense that lacks high talent and players that put a scare in you. St. Lawrence has a power play that has struggled at 13.9% this season with only 15 goals scored via the man advantage.

The Saints defense has gotten tad better since these two teams last met. St. Lawrence is down to giving up 3.25 goals per game which is more than a quarter of a goal better than a month ago. Its baby steps for the Saints but the improvement on paper has been real. Bo Hanson is the best defencemen that St. Lawrence has and he found the back of the net the last time these two teams played. At 76.1%, the Saints boost one of the nations worst penalty kills so look for that to be an area that Quinnipiac exploits on Saturday night.

Over the second half of the season, St. Lawrence has rotated games between senior Daniel Mannella and freshman Francis Boisvert. It was Mannella who played against Quinnipiac up in Canton a month ago and kept the Saints in the game. It remains to be seen who Brent Brekke starts as he could go either way.

You can follow the BobcatsHockeyBlog on Twitter @QHockeyBlog.

Weekend Preview: Yale/Brown

Quinnipiac has a big road trip against Yale and Brown this weekend

Yale Head Coach: Keith Allain (14th season)

2019-2020 Yale record: 9-11-1 (6-7-1 ECAC)

All-time vs. Yale : Quinnipiac leads series 22-7-5

Yale Key Players: Curtis Hall (F), Tyler Welsh (F), Justin Pearson (F), Kevin O'Neil (F), Luke Stevens (F), Phil Kemp (D), Jack St. Ivany (D), Corbin Kaczperski (G)

It has been another middling season for one of the Bobcats biggest rivals as the Bulldogs are likely to finish .500 or below for the fourth straight season. The teams best win was a 3-1 win against a solid Maine team that probably will fall short of the NCAA tournament. Since winning a surprise national championship in 2013, Yale has seen its program really fall down in the ECAC and nationally. The question is can they ever get back to one of the elite teams in the league and the country? They face Quinnipiac at probably the wrong time as the Bobcats have won 10 of their last 12 games and have owned Yale over the last half decade plus.

Yale's offense has been a struggle this season to get going. Just like a season ago when they were essentially one a trick pony with Joe Snively, the same is pretty much this year in terms of scoring as Curtis Hall (15 points) has taken Snively's place as the go to player. His 13 goals lead Yale with four of the goals being of game winning goals. He is also second on the team with three power play goals. Junior Tyler Welsh and Justin Pearson are tied with Hall for the team lead in points with 15 apiece. Pearson does lead the Bulldogs with five power play goals. Junior Kevin O'Neil (11 points) and senior Luke Stevens (9 points) help pace the offense that is only averaging 2.38 goals per game good for 45th in the country. They have a middle of the pack power play at 18.5% which is 33rd nationally.

The Yale defense was expected to be a strength of the team has really struggled this season allowing 3.19 goals per game which is 46th nationally. They have good talent back there in Jack St. Ivany, Phil Kemp, Graham Lillibridge and Billy Sweezy but can't seem to keep goals out of the net. While St. Ivany has just about matched his point total from a year ago his plus minus has really taken a step back. A year ago he was a plus 8 for the season and now he is a minus 10. Yale has juggled through nine defencemen this year so its hard to get consistency when you can't get a set lineup. The Bulldogs have struggled on the penalty kill at 76.9% good for 50th in the country.

Gone is Sam Tucker who transferred to Boston University with a year left of eligibility. Senior Corbin Kaczperski has struggled this season with a 2.92 goals against average and a .900 save percentage. His 19 games are the most he has seen in a season as he had split time with Sam Tucker the past two seasons. His worst games have been against teams with high powered offenses in Cornell, Harvard and Sacred Heart. He will play solid against the bad teams and most likely falter against good ones.



Brown Head Coach: Brendan Whittet (11th year)

2019-2020 Brown record: 5-16-0 (5-9-0 ECAC)

All-time vs. Brown: Quinnipiac leads 24-10-6

Brown Key Players: Justin Jallen (F), Brent Beaudoin (F), Michael Maloney (F), Bradley Cocca (F), Zach Giuttari (D), Tony Stillwell (D), Luke Krys (D), Gavin Nieto (G)

A season after taking a step forward with just the second winning season in the Brendan Whittet era that ended with a trip to Lake Placid, Brown finds itself towards the bottom of the ECAC standings once again. The team that knocked Quinnipiac out of the ECAC tournament in stunning fashion comes into this weekend having lost 11 of its last 13 games. The two lone wins came against Union and St. Lawrence, both of which are the two worst teams in the league. The Bobcats come in as the superior team and need to play like it.

Brown's offense is the worst in the nation this season at 1.67 goals per game. Justin Jallen (9 goals) and Brent Beaudoin (5 goals) are the only two players on the roster with five or more goals this season. Only twice this season have the Bears scored four or more goals and both times were in wins against Colgate and Yale. Its been a challenge for Brown to score goals and with the Bobcats defense improving each and every week along with Keith Petruzzelli having a strong year, it is likely Brown will have a lot of trouble scoring goals. One area where the Bears may be able to score is on the power play where they are converting at an 18.6% clip good for 32nd in the country. If Quinnipiac stays disciplined and out of the box I really can't see the Brown offense challenging them.

Defensively the Bears are middle of the pack defensively at 2.90 goals per game. Brown has taken a step back defensively as players such as Zach Giuttari and Tony Stillwell haven't played as well in their own zone as they did a year ago. Coupled with the fact that the Bears have played three freshman for a combined 51 games on the back end and the struggles are to be expected. The Bears defense is solid enough to keep them in a game but more often than not they will lose because of their poor offense. Brown's penalty kill is solid at 81% this season good for 28th.

Gavin Nieto has gotten the majority of the starts for the Bears and despite a losing record, he has a 2.67 goals against and a .909 save percentage for the season which is pretty respectable given the state of the team. Nieto has proven that he can play big against Quinnipiac with his strong play in last years ECAC Quarterfinal series in which he held the Bobcats to just four goals over two games helping Brown to a shocking sweep in Hamden.

This is an important weekend for the Bobcats as a sweep is a must. The Bobcats at-large hopes rest on not losing against any of the bad teams in the ECAC and these two teams aren't very good. Quinnipiac needs to come out of this weekend not only healthy but with four points.

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Weekend Preview: Cornell/Colgate

Alex Whelan and the Quinnipiac Bobcats have their most important game this weekend

Cornell Head Coach: Mike Schaefer (25th Season)

2019-2020 Cornell record: 14-1-4 (9-1-2 ECAC)

All-time vs. Cornell: Cornell leads 23-17-4

Cornell Key Players: Morgan Barron (F), Cam Donaldson (F), Ben Berard (F), Michael Regush (F), Brendan Locke (F), Yanni Kaldis (D), Sam Malinski (D), Alex Green (D), Matthew Galajda (G)

The biggest game of the season for Quinnipiac takes place when they host the #1 team in the country in Cornell. Sitting at 19th in the pairwise rankings, this is essentially a must win game for any at-large chances for Quinnipiac. A win would be a huge for the Bobcats giving them the quality win they need to try to get back into the top 16. Cornell is off to one of its best starts in years and has just a lone road loss to Dartmouth this season. The Big Red are unbeaten in their last eight games going 4-0-4 over that time span. They are pretty much a lock at this point for the NCAA tournament.

The Big Red have a strong offense at 3.37 goals per game which places them 10th in the country. Junior forward Morgan Barron is having a strong season averaging 1.11 points per game. Brenden Locke and Cam Donaldson have 17 and 16 points respectively while defencemen Yanni Kaldis has 16 points from the blue line. Sophomore Michael Regush is second in the team with 8 goals. At 25.3%, Cornell has a top 10 power play and can strike at any time. Staying out of the penalty box is a must for Quinnipiac.

The Big Red have the #1 defense in the country and for good reason. They have loads of talent on the back in with Yanni Kaldis, Alex Green along with freshman Sam Malinski and Travis Mitchell. Cornell is giving up 1.47 goals per game which is one of four teams in all of Division I giving up less than two goals per game. They are extremely tough to score on. One area of weakness for Cornell is the penalty kill where they are just 79% for the season. Despite a weak penalty kill, Cornell is disciplined and doesn't take many penalties. 

Matthew Galajda is in top form this season and is well on his way to winning the ECAC goaltender of the year. Playing in every game this season Galajda has a 1.46 goals against average and .940 save percentage which places him in second in both categories. He also has two shutouts to boot. He has a strong track record of success against Quinnipiac with a 5-1 record in six starts. Goals surely will be a tough chore for the Bobcats against him.

Colgate Head Coach: Don Vaughan (27th Season)

2019-2020 Colgate record: 8-10-6 (6-3-3 ECAC)

All-time vs. Colgate : Quinnipiac leads 23-17-2

Colgate Key Players: Bobby McMann (F), Colton Young (F), Ben Sharf (F), Jared Cockrell (F), Paul McAvoy (F), Nick Austin (D), Trevor Cosgrove (D), Mitch Benson (G)

Colgate is having a very solid season under long time head coach Don Vaughan after multiple losings seasons. While they are still under .500 for the season, the Raiders are a respectable 6-3-3 in ECAC play this season and can play with anyone in the conference on any given weekend. Just ask Quinnipiac who got beat 3-1 by Colgate back in November. While lacking high end talent, the Raiders have played hard this season with solid wins against Lowell, Harvard, Quinnipiac and a tie with Providence. Don't overlook this Raiders team.

Offensively it has been a struggle for Colgate as they are averaging 2.12 goals per game this season. Senior Bobby McMann is the leading scorer with 14 points while senior Ben Sharf has given the Raiders unexpected production with 13 points. Freshman Colton Young (12 points) has been a nice find for Colgate but they just lack high end talent up front to score at will against teams. The Raiders also have by far the worst power play in the country at a measly 4.5%. 

The Raiders defense has been the key to a solid season for them. Giving up just 2.50 goals per game, they have been able to win games by limiting the opposing team on the scoreboard. For Colgate to win this game, it will have to be on the back end limiting Quinnipiac chances in the the offensive zone. Nick Austin, Trevor Cosgrove and Jacob Panetta have been consistent on the blue line this season and will need to be this weekend as well. The Raiders also must avoid the penalty box as their penalty kill is just 77.3% for the season. 

Colgate has seen a goaltender rotation between sophomores Mitch Benson and Andrew Farrier with both playing well this season. Colgate's record is better with Farrier in between the pipes and he has started the last four games going 1-1-2 in the stretch. His 2.18 goals against and .925 save percentage lead the team as well. Benson has a 2.38 goals against and a .918 save percentage on the season. When these two teams met back in November, it was Farrier who got the win with a 33 save effort.

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Weekend Preview: UConn Huskies @ Connecticut Ice

Quinnipiac plays in the first ever Connecticut Ice Tournament this weekend

UConn Head Coach: David Berard (6th season)

2019-2020 UConn record: 6-11-5 (5-10-3 Atlantic Hockey)

All-time vs. UConn: Quinnipiac leads series 19-11-2

UConn Key Players: Vladislav Firstov (F), Ruslan Iskhakov (F), Jachym Kondelik (F), Benjamin Freeman (F), Carter Turnbull (F), Wyatt Newpower (D), Yan Kuznetsov (D) Carter Berger (D), Tomas Vomacka (G)

UConn has been an up and down team under 7th year coach Mike Cavanaugh. The Huskies have just one winning season during his time in Storrs and that was in his first season. Despite getting some talented players they have yet to put it all together. Part of it is the fact they don't have a home rink on campus which is hurting them now. Cavanaugh is a good recruiter but I am not so sure if he's a great in game coach because the results have not shown with the talent that he has.

Up front the Huskies have a bunch of talent in Russians Vladislav Firstov (16 points) and Ruslan Iskhakov (15 points). Both are NHL second round picks. Senior Benjamin Freeman lead the team with 11 assists. Sophomores Jachym Kondelik and Carter Turnbull have 14 and 12 points respectively. With the amount of talent they have up front this is an offense that should be scoring more than 2.78 goals per game which is 30th in the country. The Huskies also have a brutal power play at 15.4% which is 47th in the country.

The defense of the Huskies has been a train wreck this season and part of that is due to having a ton of youth back there. UConn is giving up 3.30 goals per game which is 51st in the country. Its surprising considering the talent they have back there in 4th round pick Carter Berger and Yan Kuznetsov a top prospect for the 2020 draft. But with six of the eight defensemen on the roster underclassmen struggles were likely expected. UConn also boosts one of the worst penalty kill units in the country at 74.7% which is 56th nationally.

UConn was hoping that goaltender Tomas Vomacka would improve upon his impressive freshman season in which he had a 2.32 goals against and a .922 save percentage. But that has been far from the case this year as Vomacka has really struggled for the Huskies. The 2017 5th round pick of the Nashville Predators has a 3.37 goals against average which is more than a goal than he let up last season. Its his save percentage that is very considering at .893 down. UConn was expecting him to cover up for a young defense and he really has been the opposite of that. The talent of Vomacka is there, he just needs to show it on a consistent basis

Based on where Quinnipiac is in the pairwise rankings at the moment, 17th, its imperative that not only do they beat UConn, they win the Connecticut Ice Tournament as they can ill afford mediocre to bad losses at this point in the season.

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Weekend Preview: Holy Cross

Karlis Cukste play a lone game against Holy Cross on Friday

Holy Cross Head Coach: David Berard (6th season)

2019-2020 Holy Cross record: 6-11-5 (5-10-3 Atlantic Hockey)

All-time vs. Holy Cross: Quinnipiac leads series 25-5-4

Holy Cross Key Players: Neil Robinson (F), Logan Ferguson (F), Conner Jean (F), Anthony Vincent (F), Alex Peterson (F), Dalton Skelly (D), Matt Slick (D) Mike Higgins (D), Matt Radomsky (G)

Holy Cross has been a weird team to figure out this season. While they have a losing record they have beaten Providence and Sacred Heart twice along with a tie against Northeastern. Sixth year coach David Berard has one winning season since replacing Paul Pearl at the helm of the Crusaders back in the 2014-2015 season. Barring a big second half turnaround, its likely Holy Cross will have their fourth straight losing season.

The Holy Cross offense this season has been less than average at 2.55 goals per games which is 37th in the country. Senior Neil Robinson and junior Logan Ferguson lead the way with 16 points. Sophomore Conner Jean leads the team with 10 goals including three on the power play. Its an offense that lacks high end talent but they have started off the month of January on fire offensively with 19 goals in their last four games which includes three wins and a tie. The Crusaders power play isn't every good at just 16% which is 43rd nationally. The biggest question is which Holy Cross offense shows up this weekend against Quinnipiac.

Defensively it has been a struggle for Holy Cross as they have given up 3.18 goals per game which is 45th nationally. They have a decent penalty kill at 81.5% which is 29th nationally. Much like they lack high end talent up front, the same can be said for on the blue line as well. Senior Dalton Skelly has 10 points but is a minus 9. Young defensemen in Matt Slick and Mike Higgins each have six point and are a plus 3 each.

Holy Cross has had goal-tending issues this season playing all three of their goalies on the roster which has contributed to the teams record. Freshman Matt Radomsky has been the best of the bunch with an .895 save percentage and a 2.90 goals against average. He has played 19 games this season for the Crusaders and is expected to be in between the pipes for Holy Cross against Quinnipiac. If Holy Cross is going to have a chance to win, Radomsky is going to need to play his best hockey much like he did against Providence and Sacred Heart in wins.

This is a game Quinnipiac must have and have convincingly. They are superior across the board in talent and they need to make sure they don't play down to their competition which happened last weekend in a win against St. Lawrence.

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Weekend Preview: St. Lawrence/Clarkson

Quinnipiac heads to North Country for an important ECAC weekend

St. Lawrence Head Coach: Brett Brekke (1st year)

2019-2020 St. Lawrence record: 3-15-3 (1-8-0 ECAC)

All-time vs. St. Lawrence: Series tied 15-15-5

St. Lawrence Key Players: Zach Risteau (F), Keenan Suthers (F), Jordan Steinmetz (F), Aleksi Peltonen (F), Jake Stevens (D), Bo Hanson (D),  Emil Zetterquist (G)

Its a new era of St. Lawrence hockey as the Saints have moved on from the disastrous three year tenure of Mark Morris whose last two years saw the worst two seasons in the programs history. Enter new coach Brett Brekke who was previously an assistant coach at rival Clarkson. Prior to that Brekke had stints at Miami (OH) and Cornell. He has brought new life to the program even if the results on the ice are not there yet which is to be expected. Brekke is in the midst of probably having to turn over the roster after this season and bring in players that he wants in lieu of the players that Morris recruited. Making matters worse is that St. Lawrence has yet to play a game at Appleton Arena due to on going renovations that have delayed the opening of the renovated rink. This weekends game will be played at Roos House on the campus of SUNY-Canton.

For St. Lawrence it has been another offensive struggle as they have scored just 1.90 goals per game. Sophomore Zach Risteau has been the Saints best player averaging a point per game this season. After him, the Saints are limited with a lack of talent but they have some nice young pieces in freshman Jordan Steinmetz (10 points) and Aleksi Peltonen (7 points) who should get better over the years. Very similar to limiting Drew O'Connor of Dartmouth, Quinnipiac must do the same thing with Risteau in keeping him off the scoreboard. The Saints power power play has struggled at 14.9% this season. 

The Saints defense is the fourth worst in all of college hockey at 3.57 goals per games and overall is the worst in the ECAC. Their best blue liner is Bo Hanson who doubles as the teams second leading scorer with 10 points. St. Lawrence has rotated all eight defensemen this season but has yet to find consistency. They have a penalty kill at 78.6% this season which could be a problem with a resurgence in the Bobcats power play.

Its been a goaltender rotation for St. Lawrence who have started three different goaltenders this season for extensive action. Both Emil Zetterquist and Daniel Mannella have been the two best as both have a .911 save percentage. Mannella has the only shutout for St. Lawrence this season and split playing time last weekend with Francis Boisvert the other goaltender for the Saints.

Clarkson Head Coach: Casey Jones (9th season)

2019-2020 Clarkson record: 13-4-2 (7-2-0 ECAC)

All-time vs. Clarkson: Quinnipiac leads series 16-12-3

Clarkson Key Players: Haralds Egle (F), Jack Jacome (F), Devin Brosseau (F), Josh Dunne (F), Greg Moro (D), Connor McCarthy (D), Frank Marotte (G)

For Clarkson, it has been another good start to the season for 9th year coach Casey Jones team. Coming into this weekend they are 13-4-2 and in second place in the ECAC. However they are only 13th in the pairwise which is a dangerous spot to be in come tournament time. Clarkson is coming off a split of last weekend against RPI and Union having been upset at home by the Engineers 3-1.

Clarkson hasn't been as good offensively as they have in the past but they still have key seniors Devin Brosseau (23 points) and Haralds Egle (21 points) leading the way. This season they are only averaging 2.89 goals per game. Sophomore Josh Dunne has picked up where he left off a season ago and is poised to have even a better offensive season. Jack Jacome (9 points) is also a dangerous offensive player. The power play for the Golden Knights has been very good at 23.4% with Dunne, Egle and defensemen Connor McCarthy combining for 14 power play goals.

While the offense may have slipped a bit, the defense has not. The Golden Knights boast the 4th best defense in the country at 1.79 goals allowed per game and their penalty kill is also outstanding at 91.2% which is 4th best in the country as well. Four upperclassmen lead the way in Connor McCarthy, Shane Kuzmeski, Greg Moro and Jordan Schneider. This is a defense first team with the way they have played on the blue line and in goal this season.

Robert Morris transfer Frank Marotte has more than plenty filled the shoes of the departed Jake Kielly. He has a 1.67 goals against average and a .940 save percentage which is good for 4th in the country in both categories. He has started every game for the Golden Knights this season and has two shutouts as well. The Bobcats have faced Marotte once before in the finals of the Three Rivers Classic when Marotte had 43 saves in a 5-2 Robert Morris win in the tournament finals.

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Weekend Preview: Harvard/Dartmouth

Sophomore Zach Metsa is coming off a breakout game on Sunday against Princeton

Harvard Head Coach: Ted Donato (16th Season)

2019-2020 Harvard record: 7-4-1 (6-2-0 ECAC)

All-time vs. Harvard: Crimson leads series 16-14-5

Harvard Key Players: Casey Dornbach (F), Jack Badini (F), Jack Drury (F), John Farinacci (F), Nick Abruzzese (F), Henry Bowlby (F), Reilly Walsh (D), Jack Rathbone (D), Henry Thrun (D), Mitchell Gibson (G)

A team that got off to a 6-0 start has slumped in the last month to a 1-4-1 record in its last six games. The losses came against the likes of Boston College, Boston University, Cornell and Colgate and a win and a tie out west against Arizona State. Its possible that Quinnipiac is catching the Crimson at the right time in the midst of a bit of a struggle but Harvard has the talent to easily break out of that slump quickly.

The Harvard offense in its four game losing streak slumped to just two goals per game. This past weekend against Arizona State was more like the Crimson offense as they scored four goals each game. The top six for the Crimson is explosive with Jack Badini, Nick Abruzzese, John Farinacci, Jack Drury and Casey Dornbach all having strong years. Austin Wong has finally returned from injury boosting the offense up front and Henry Bowlby continues to give secondary scoring. The Crimson still boost a top ten power play at 23.8% despite not being as strong as it was a season ago.

The top four on the back end for Harvard have been very good with Reilly Walsh, Jack Rathbone, Henry Thrun and Ryan Siedem combining for 36 points and a plus 25. The bottom pairing has been interchangeable with four different players taking those spots but its really about the top four for the Crimson which might be the best in the ECAC and one of the best in the country. While this six game stretch was tough on them they played well in the first of two games against Arizona State last weekend. The struggles on defense in those four losses moved Harvard down to 19th in total defense, one spot ahead of Quinnipiac. The Crimson penalty kill is 9th in the country at just a shade under 87.2%

Michell Gibson has seen the majority of the games this season over Cameron Gornet including starting the last four games. The freshman has outplayed Gornet with a 2.28 goals against and a .931 save percentage versus 2.81 and .924 for Gornet. Their is a lot of upside with Gibson being a 4th round draft pick in 2018 by the Washington Capitals. Gibson held Quinnipiac to just two goals in the teams last meeting a 7-2 win by Harvard.

Dartmouth Head Coach: Bob Gaudet (23rd Season)

2019-2020 Dartmouth record: 6-4-2 (4-2-1 ECAC)

All-time vs. Dartmouth: Quinnipiac leads 20-10-3

Dartmouth Key Players: Will Graber (F), Drew O'Connor (F), Quin Foreman (F), Matt Baker (F), Jeffrey Lossurdo (F), Tanner Palocsik (D), Brendan Demler (D), Joey Matthews (D), Adrian Clark (G)

With a solid first half of the season, the Dartmouth Big Green have positioned themselves nicely for a potential first round bye and home ice in the ECAC playoffs and a chance at its first NCAA tournament appearance since 1980. They are currently #22 in the pairwise rankings with games against good ECAC teams still on the table to make up ground.

Dartmouth is one of the better scoring teams in the country at 3.17 goals per game which places them in the top 15. Sophomore Drew O'Connor has been dominant for the Big Green with 15 points in 12 games including three of his seven goals on the power play. He also leads the team in shots with 52. Quinnipiac's focus needs to be on Drew O'Connor. If they can shut him down you make it very difficult for Dartmouth to win games.  Quin Foreman, Jeffrey Losurdo and Matt Baker have combined for 28 points so far this season. The Big Green have a strong power play just a shade under 23.7% so its important for Quinnipiac to stay disciplined and out of the penalty box. 

Defensively, the Big Green have given up 3.17 goals which is in the bottom third in the country. However the defense has played well at times most notably in a huge win against Cornell. The consistency has just not been there for them as one game they can look really good and the next really bad. Freshman Tanner Palocsik has been one of their best defensemen with a plus two and eight assists this season. The penalty kill for Dartmouth has been below 80% this season and is an area Quinnipiac could exploit.

Goaltender Adrian Clark has played well with a 6-3-2 record and a .911 save percentage this season. His goals against average is just 2.76 but take out three bad games against New Hampshire, Colgate and Northeastern and he has been really good this season. He made 27 saves in a tie against Quinnipiac earlier this season. His signature win came against previously undefeated Cornell when he saved 39 of 40 shots in a 2-1 win over the Big Red.

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Weekend Preview: Princeton Tigers

Captain Karlis Cukste and Quinnipiac open the second half of the season this weekend

Princeton Head Coach: Ron Fogarty (6th season)

2019-2020 Princeton record: 2-8-3 (0-4-2 ECAC)

All-time vs. Princeton: Quinnipiac leads series 17-12-1

Princeton Key Players: Jackson Cressey (F), Corey Andonovski (F), Christian O'Neill (F), Lima Grande (F), Spencer Kersten (F), Derek Topatigh (D), Matthew Thom (D)  Ryan Ferland (G)

Quinnipiac is set to open the second half of the season this weekend with a home and home with the Princeton Tigers. It has been a tough start to the season for Ron Fogarty's team struggling to a 2-8-3 record in the first half of the season. The Tigers got cleaned out after last season losing four of their top five scorers which accounted for 127 of the 229 points for Princeton. Gone are Ryan Kuffner, Max Veronneau, Alex Riche and Josh Teves and it has been a struggle to replace that production so far for Princeton. A team that failed to live up to expectations last year has really fallen off this season with the lack of high end talent up front and inconsistent play on the back end.

When you lose the likes of Kuffner, Veronneau and Riche up front, its expected that goals will be hard to come by. So far that has been the case for Princeton who have averaged 1.92 goals per game this season. Senior Jackson Cressey (11 points) and sophomore Corey Andonovski (11 points) have led the way for the Tigers this season but they aren't getting a lot of help from the younger players who need to step up for Princeton in order to replace the talent that was lost. The Tigers power play which used to be a huge strength has fallen off to 15.5% this season.

Princeton's defense this season is giving up 3.15 goals per game. The Tigers just have not much consistency on the blue line as they have been moving different players in and out of the line up. Captain Derek Topatigh has probably been Princeton's best defensemen on this young season. Having Reid Yochim limited to just five games has hurt as well. He has really taken a step back from his strong freshman season when he had 14 points. Since his strong freshman year he has only two assists in his last 36 games played. Princeton however has excelled on the penalty kill at 84.8% this season so that is an area where they can look to have an edge on Quinnipiac.

Goal-tending has been an issue for the Tigers as Ryan Ferland has really struggled this season with a 1-5-2 record and a 3.12 goals against average in eight games. This has opened the door for both sophomore Jeremie Forget and freshman Aidan Porter getting some playing time. Forget has actually been the Tigers best goaltender going 1-1 in four games with a 1.98 goal against average. The lack of consistent goal-tending is one of the reasons why Princeton has struggled so far this season.

After sweeping the Tigers last season, Quinnipiac comes into this series in a must win position and need to sweep Princeton again. They are 10th in the ECAC standings and need to add ECAC points in order to potentially avoid going on the road in the first round.

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Weekend Preview: Massachusetts Minutemen

Ethan de Jong and Quinnipiac have a home and home series with Massachusetts

UMass Head Coach: Greg Carvel (4th season)

2019-2020 UMass record: 8-3-1 (4-3-1 Hockey East)

All-time vs. UMass: Quinnipiac leads series 8-5-2

UMass Key Players: Mitchell Chaffee (F), John Leonard (F), Bobby Trivigno (F), Oliver Chau (F), Reed Lebster (F), Zac Jones (D), Colin Felix (D) Marc Del Gaizo (D), Matt Murray (G), Filip Lindberg (G)

No team had a bigger turnaround in the 2018-2019 season than Massachusetts. A season after winning just 17 games, the Minutemen improved by 14 wins to set a program record with 31. They also made the first ever Frozen Four in program history but fell short of the National Championship when Minnesota Duluth beat them in the title game to repeat as champions. Cale Makar has departed after a 49 point season which culminated in the Hobey Baker Award. They also lost Mario Ferraro early to the pros while key forward Jacob Pritchard and Brett Boeing graduated. Massachusetts still returns a ton of talent to a team that is likely to reach the NCAA tournament again.

Losing Jacob Pritchard was big for Massachusetts but they returned a lot of talent up front. Mitchell Chaffee already has 10 goals in 12 games played this season including three power play goals. John Leonard is also off to another good start with seven goals while Oliver Chau who had a down season last year already has eight points. Massachusetts is getting some good freshman production from Reed Lebster and Cal Kiefiuk who each have seven points. The Minutemen power play has struggled this season much like Quinnipiac's and that will happen when you lose players like Cale Makar and Mario Ferraro. They are right behind Quinnipiac in power play percentage at just a shade over 13%.

While a defensive drop was expected a bit with the losses of Makar and Ferraro, it has not been that much as the Minutemen are tied for 10th in the country in goals allowed at 2.08. Freshman Zac Jones is the teams second leading scorer with 11 points while sophomores Ty Farmer, Colin Felix and freshman Matthew Kessel provide solid depth. They have been solid defensively and this has been without their best returning defensemen in the lineup, Marc Del Gaizo who has played only two games this season. When he gets back to full health, this defense should be even better. The penalty kill is an area when Massachusetts has excelled this season at 88.7% which is 8th best in the country. Expect the Minutemen to make it hard on a Quinnipiac offense that has been struggling to score goals this season fight and claw for every inch of the ice this weekend.

The Minutemen have probably the best goalie tandem in the country between Matt Murray and Filip Lindberg. They are pretty even statistically so its essentially a coin flip who Greg Carvel will go with. Matt Murray has the better goals against at 1.84 compared to 1.97 for Lindberg but its the save percentage where Lindberg has Murray beat at .915 compared to .902. The save percentage numbers are down for the two of them but when you lose players like Makar and Ferraro that should be expected.

These are two different teams than the ones that split a series last year and while Massachusetts may not be as good as last year, they still look like they are an NCAA team while Quinnipiac has shown inconsistent play from week to week and hasn't looked like a team that will be playing in late March. At this point in the season with how the Bobcats have played and who they have lost to, these could be considered must win games if this team wants any chance at an at-large tournament berth. Otherwise the only path might be to win the league tournament in Lake Placid.

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Weekend Preview: Cornell/Colgate

Keith Petruzzelli, the reining ECAC goaltender of week has a big test against Cornell

Cornell Head Coach: Mike Schaefer (25th Season)

2019-2020 Cornell record: 6-0 (4-0 ECAC)

All-time vs. Cornell: Cornell leads 22-17-4

Cornell Key Players: Morgan Barron (F), Cam Donaldson (F), Max Andreev (F), Michael Regush (F), Brendan Locke (F), Yanni Kaldis (D), Sam Malinski (D), Alex Green (D), Matthew Galajda (G)

Quinnipiac has what likely will be their biggest test of the season when they travel to Lynah Rink to face #2 Cornell who are also #1 in the pairwise rankings. The preseason ECAC pick to win the league, the Big Red are also one of the teams that has a real chance to get to Detroit for the Frozen Four. This has a chance to be the best Cornell team since 2003 when they reached the Frozen Four. They are that talented as they are a team that can score, play defense and have a top goaltender. Factor in a home ice advantage and this will surely be a difficult match-up on paper for Quinnipiac.

The Big Red have the second best offense in the county at 4.83 goals per game behind the Harvard Crimson. Led by junior Morgan Barron who is off to a blazing start with 12 points in six games, Cornell features seven players averaging more than a point per game. Brendan Locke and Max Andreev each have seven points on two goals and five assists. Cam Donaldson and Michael Regush are off to good starts as well with six and five points respectively. Prized freshman commit Matt Stienburg a third round pick of the Colorado Avalanche has yet to get going with only one assist in six games. Cornell has by far the best power play in the country with a deadly 42.3% conversion rate. It is imperative that Quinnipiac stays disciplined and out of the penalty box. 

The Cornell defense is also one of the stingiest in the country giving up just 1.67 goals per game. Pre-Season All-ECAC first team pick Yanni Kaldis has gotten better each and every season he has been in Ithaca. The senior captain has six points but it has been his fellow defensemen in freshman Sam Malinski (9 points, plus 8) and Alex Green (7 points, plus 4) that have really elevated this team on the defensive end. Junior defensemen Matt Cairns hasn't yet broke out offensively but has been very steady with a plus five rating. The most shocking stat for Cornell is their struggles on the penalty kill at just 70% for the season. For a team that prides itself defensively this is a number that needs to improve if they want to make a deep tournament run this year.

Matthew Galajda couldn't match his freshman year statistics but could you really expect him to? After posting a 1.51 goals against and a .939 save percentage as a freshman, Galajda had a slight drop-off to a 1.85 goals against and a .921 save percentage as a sophomore. The junior is off to a stellar start once again with a 1.67 goals against and a .926 save percentage in six games and is the backbone of the Big Red. He should be someone who sees serious NHL interest in the spring.

Colgate Head Coach: Don Vaughan (27th Season)

2019-2020 Colgate record: 2-6-1 (0-1-1 ECAC)

All-time vs. Colgate : Quinnipiac leads 23-16-2

Colgate Key Players: Bobby McMann (F), Colton Young (F), Josh McKechney (F), Jared Cockrell (F), Paul McAvoy (F), Nick Austin (D), Trevor Cosgrove (D), Mitch Benson (G)

Colgate is coming off its third losing season in the last four years and the return on the four year old Class of 1965 Arena has yet to prove to be beneficial for the Raiders. They are still struggling to attract elite talent to Hamilton despite having a shiny new rink. This season the Raiders are off to a 3-6-3 start but have competed hard and lost some close games and beat and tied some good teams including UMass Lowell and Providence. They are lacking in talent and it is hurting them.

Just as it has been a problem in past years the offense once again is struggling for Colgate. Averaging just 1.66 goals per game, the Raiders desperately need to find players that can score goals. Freshman Colton Young looks like a nice find as he has six points on the year as the teams leading scorer. Colgate doesn't have one player averaging a point per game let a lone three quarters of a point per game. They are the 4th worst offense in the country and only Union is worse than them in the ECAC. Their best player Bobby McMann is off to a slow start and needs to get going for the Raiders. Colgate by far has the worst power play in the country at 2.27% (1 of 44).

Colgate has been able to stay in games because of its defense. On the season, the Raiders are allowing 2.58 goals per game and a lot of that is due to the fact they have four upperclassmen back on the blue line. Nick Austin, Trevor Cosgrove, Jacob Panetta and Paul Meyer have logged a ton of minutes for the Raiders and have helped keep the puck out of the net. This is a Colgate defense that also has done a nice job on the penalty kill at 82.2%

Sophomore Mitch Benson has done a very solid job this season for Colgate with a 2.37 goals against average and a .913 save percentage which are better numbers than he posted a season ago. Benson is the backbone of the Colgate defense and has shown to be the most consistent Raider player this season. If Colgate wants to beat Quinnipiac, he is going to have to play a big part in making that happen with a strong performance.

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Weekend Preview: Union/RPI

Joe O'Connor and the Quinnipiac Bobcats return to Hamden after a four game road trip

Union Dutchmen

Union Head Coach: Rick Bennett (9th Season)

2019-2020 Union record: 2-10-0 (1-3-0 ECAC)

All-time vs. Union: Series tied 16-16-5

Union Key Players: Anthony Rinaldi (F), Owen Farris (F), Gabriel Seger (F), Sam Morton (F), Vas Kolias (D), Dylan Anhorn (D), Darion Hanson (G)

It's been 15 years since Union lost over 20 games in a season but they are on pace to eclipse that amount. Not since the early days of Nate Leaman have the Dutchmen been this bad but they are in the midst of a 2-10 start and haven't been competitive in many of the games. This is exactly the type of opponent that a struggling Quinnipiac team needs to face but they Bobcats have struggled against Union in the last three seasons going 0-5-1 against them. There is no better time to change that than this weekend Union having lost their last three games. 

No team was gutted up front as much as the Dutchmen were. Gone are Cole Maier, Ryan Walker, Brett Supinski and Sebastian Vidmar to graduation. Liam Morgan the top returning scorer bolted for pro hockey in Europe while Jack Adams and Parker Foo are both hurt. Union has very little up front outside of Anthony Rinaldi. This is a team that is struggling to score goals averaging only 1.5 per game this season. However is Quinnipiac good enough defensively to keep Union struggling offensively? The power play is another area of concern as they are converting on just 4 of 52 chances which is good for 7.69%.

Defensively this Union team has struggled giving up 3.42 goals per game this year as senior Vas Kolias has really struggled on the blue line. Freshman Dylan Anhorn has been their best defender and only plus player on the roster at a plus 2. Its been a rotating door of defensemen for Rick Bennett as he has yet to find consistency with a specific group of players. If there is one bright spot its the penalty kill has been solid at 84.3% this year.

Junior Darion Hanson's numbers are down but that is because the defense in front of him has really struggled. He is probably Union's best chance at an upset as he has the ability to steal games like he did a year ago as he was dominant in two games against Quinnipiac going 1-0-1 and allowing just two goals total in those games. For Union to pull an upset, Hanson will need to be stellar.

RPI Engineers

RPI Head Coach: Dave Smith (3rd Season)

2019-2020 RPI record: 4-4-0 (2-2-0 ECAC)

All-time vs. RPI: Quinnipiac leads 15-7-9

RPI Key Players: Chase Zieky (F), Patrick Polino (F), Jake Marrello (F), Ottoville Leppanen (F), Todd Burgess (F), Zach Dubinsky (F), Will Reilly (D), Simon Kjellberg (D), Owen Savory (G)

The Dave Smith era is in its third season and the Engineers are trending upwards. The first two seasons produced six and ten wins respectively and with four wins already RPI is likely to exceed last years win total by a lot. Of their four losses, RPI was competitive in three of them only struggling in a 5-2 home loss against Connecticut. For a once proud program it is good to see RPI one of the better teams again in the ECAC. While they have not made the NCAA's since 2011, the program is definitely heading in the right direction and a Lake Placid appearance should be something the Engineers strive for this season as Dave Smith looks to continue to make his mark on the RPI program.

For a team that struggled to score in the past, its been a 180 this season. RPI is averaging 3.50 goals per game which puts them in the top 15 in the country. Four players are averaging over a point per game. Its been the seniors of Chase Zieky, Patrick Polino and Jake Marrello that have led the way so far for the Engineers as they have combined for 22 points. Sophomore Ottoville Leppanen is off to a fine start with six points while freshman Zach Dubinsky has four. RPI is getting contributions from everyone and its showing with their play. Quinnipiac needs to be wary of the RPI power play which has excelled this season to a tune of 26.67% (8 of 30).

RPI is solid defensively and has a young defense much like Quinnipiac and the Engineer defensemen will probably will improve as the season goes along as well. Senior Will Reilly is the leader back on the blue line and also the teams leading scorer who is also a weapon on the power play. Quinnipiac will need to account for him whenever he is on the ice. Freshman Simon Kjellberg, a New York Rangers draft pick has given some added skill and size to the blue line.

Sophomore goaltender Owen Savory is one of the better goaltenders in the ECAC. Named to the ECAC All-Rookie team at the end of last season, Savory has picked up where he left off. Coming into this weekend he is 3-3 with a 2.36 goals against and a .917 save percentage. Last season he stopped 35 shots against Quinnipiac in a 2-1 loss at the Houston Field House. Savory will clearly make it tough on Quinnipiac as outside of one game in which he allowed four goals against Massachusetts he has only allowed two goals in each of his other five starts. He will definitely play a factor in this game. 

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Weekend Preview: Dartmouth/Harvard

Zach Metsa and the Quinnipiac defense have a tall task this weekend in ECAC play

Dartmouth Head Coach: Bob Gaudet (23rd Season)

2019-2020 Dartmouth record: 0-2-0 (0-1-0 ECAC)

All-time vs. Dartmouth: Quinnipiac leads 20-10-2

Dartmouth Key Players: Will Graber (F), Drew O'Connor (F), Quin Foreman (F), Matt Baker (F), Jeffrey Lossurdo (F), Brendan Demler (D), Joey Matthews (D), Adrian Clark (G)

Dartmouth is a team that reached the ECAC quarterfinals despite finishing under .500 for the season. After dropping hard fought last year in a sweep to Harvard, the stakes are raised for the Big Green as they return one of the best lines in the league and one of the heaviest in Will Graber, Quin Foreman and Drew O'Connor. The Big Green should be able to get a home ice series in the ECAC playoffs but are now shooting for a top four spot. Head coach Bob Gaudet has been there since 1997 but has yet to get Dartmouth to the NCAA tournament a place they haven't been since 1980. They have some talent but they are going to need some breaks along the way if they will end that drought. Coming off back to back to losses to Harvard and the University of New Hampshire, the Big Green are hungry for a win.

There is no question that the Big Green can score goals. They put up seven goals in two games even though they dropped both to Harvard and UNH. They have one of the best lines in the league that will present fore-checking problems for Quinnipiac who really struggled last weekend against Arizona State in that area. The Bobcats biggest concern will have to be Graber, O'Connor and Foreman. This line hurt Quinnipiac when they played up in Hanover again and with the Bobcats struggles on the blue line factored in with inconsistent goal-tending this season, could be a cause for concern for Quinnipiac. How can Quinnipiac stop this offense? It starts by having puck possession and an aggressive fore-check. That could help mitigate Dartmouth's top scoring line. Quinnipiac would also be wise to stay disciplined and out of the penalty box as the Big Green have a strong power play so far converting on 25% of their chances.

So far the Dartmouth defense has shown they have issues giving up 12 goals in two games played. Part of the reason is they just don't have a ton of talent back there. They graduated their best defensemen in Connor Yau who was very solid for them last year. This is truly an area where Quinnipiac needs to exploit and they have the forwards that can do it. The Dartmouth penalty kill has struggled this at 70% but Quinnipiac has been awful on the power play and might not be able to exploit that as they had trouble against Arizona State who was not very good going into last weekend as well.

Dartmouth will likely need Adrian Clark to play at a high level to cover up for a less talented defense but he's a good enough goaltender where he can be a difference for the Big Green in this game. While his first game was a struggle against a good Harvard team, he was really solid a season ago with a 2.31 goals against average and a .910 save percentage. Clark was very strong in the win last year over Quinnipiac in Hanover but struggled in the rematch in Hamden later in the season.

Harvard Head Coach: Ted Donato (16th Season)

2019-2020 Harvard record: 1-0-0 (1-0-0 ECAC)

All-time vs. Harvard: Crimson leads series 15-14-5

Harvard Key Players: Casey Dornbach (F), Jack Badini (F), Jack Drury (F), John Farinacci (F), Nick Abruzzese (F), Reilly Walsh (D), Jack Rathbone (D), Henry Thrun (D), Cameron Gornet (G)

No team in the ECAC has more talent than the Crimson in my opinion and that is still with the early departures of Adam Fox and John Marino on the blue line. Whether that translates on the ice leading to a Cleary Cup or Whitelaw Cup is another story. Harvard brought in a seven player freshman class with five of them being NHL draft picks. It may take some time for some of the younger players to gel but when they do watch out. Harvard could be a sleeper team for the Cleary or Whitelaw Cup titles but lack of experience and goal-tending could keep them from either of those titles.

The Harvard offense is explosive and will cause teams lots of problem if they can't play strong defense. The Crimson have a lot of skill up front with Jack Badini, Nick Abruzzese, John Farinacci, Jack Drury and Casey Dornbach. They have strong depth in players Colton Kerfoot, Henry Bowlby and Nathan Krusko who have the ability to score. The Crimson are deep enough where 7th round draft pick Austin Wong didn't even play in the opener against Dartmouth. What's impressive about Harvard is they blasted the Big Green with seven goals yet none of them came by way of the power play. While they don't have Adam Fox putting up points anymore they have more than enough offense to be an upper echelon team in scoring not just in the ECAC but nationally as well.

Out are Adam Fox and John Marino, in come Henry Thrun and Ryan Siedem. Filling the shoes of Adam Fox is not going to happen. He was that special of a player. But the Crimson should still have one of the better top four's in the ECAC. Led by Reilly Walsh and Jack Rathbone, both of these are strong puck movers in their own end that they will be able to help Thrun and Siedem settle in by mid-season. Quinnipiac's best chance at a mismatch with the Harvard defense is the Crimson's bottom pairing of Marshall Rifai and Benjamin Foley both who have very little game experience.

Goaltender Cameron Gornet did a very solid job filling in for the injured Michael Lackey last season and got the start for the Crimson against Dartmouth. Gornet made 44 saves in the 7-3 victory against the Big Green. Last season Quinnipiac saw Gornet early and he struggled against the Bobcats in a 5-3 loss at Harvard. He didn't play in the second meeting as Michael Lackey beat the Bobcats in Hamden. While he may not start against Quinnipiac, freshman goaltender Mitchell Gibson is a Washington Capitals 4th round pick and is likely to push Gornet this season for the job.

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