Quinnipiac falls to Princeton 5-3 in home and home series opener

No. 7/8 Quinnipiac lost consecutive ECAC games for the first time since February of 2014 as they fell 5-3 on Friday night to Princeton at Hobey Baker Rink. The Bobcats battled back from three separate one goal deficits but could not rally for a fourth time. Once again the Bobcats out shot their opponent and came away without the victory. Its the third game in the last four that has happened for Quinnipiac who fall to 10-6-2 (6-3-1 ECAC). The Bobcats surprise lack of effort allowed Princeton to win for the fourth time in five games and move to 4-7-1 (2-6-1 ECAC). The loss also was damaging for Quinnipiac in the pairwise rankings as they fell to 17th.

Landon Smith (photo by Kim Klement/USA Today)

Princeton opened the scoring 5:03 into the first period on a Ryan Kuffner goal off a rebound. The Bobcats evened the score a little more than three minutes later when Kevin Duane scored on the power with assists from Kevin McKernan and Landon Smith. Quinnipiac out shot Princeton 13-10 in the opening frame. 

The Tigers retook the lead a little more than five minutes into the second period on a power play goal from Jackson Cressey. Almost four minutes later Landon Smith scored on a two on one chance from a Kevin McKernan pass to even the score at two apiece. Late in the second, the Tigers took the lead again on a goal from Alex Riche. Quinnipiac out shot the Tigers in the period 8-7. 

Kevin McKernan (photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

Exactly two minutes into the third period Thomas Aldworth scored his first goal in almost two months when his shot deflected in off a Princeton defender. Kārlis Čukste and Tommy Schutt assisted on Aldworth's goal. Princeton would take the lead in the later stages of the game when Matt Nelson scored an unassisted goal at the 15:55 mark of third. Quinnipiac got a late power play opportunity and pulled the goaltender for a six on four chance but could not cash in. The Tigers Eric Robinson added an empty net goal to seal the win for Princeton. The Bobcats out shot the Tigers 15-12 in the third period and 36-29 for the game. 

It was Princeton's first win against Quinnipiac since November 23, 2013 when they won 4-3 in Hamden. The Tigers played with more effort tonight than Quinnipiac and earned the win. The Princeton defense blocked 19 shots compared to only 9 for Quinnipiac. Senior goaltender Colton Phinney was strong for the Tigers with 33 saves on the night. Chris Truel had 24 saves in the loss and now has back to back games where he has given up four goals in a game. With the quick turnaround for Saturday's game in the afternoon its very possible Rand Pecknold turns to Andrew Shortridge to see if the Bobcats can get a better performance in goal than they got the past two games as they can ill afford to be swept this season by Princeton.

Jonathan Singer is a 2004 Quinnipiac alum. You can follow him on Twitter @jonathan_singer.

Scouting the enemy: Princeton Tigers

The No. 7/8 Quinnipiac Bobcats play a home and home series with their ECAC travel partner this weekend, the Princeton Tigers. The Tigers come into this weekend with a 3-7-1 record (1-6-1 ECAC) but have won three of their last four games. Two of those wins came on the road against Bemidji State then ranked 10th in the country and in the top three of the pairwise rankings. They had wins of 4-1 and 3-1 against Bemidji that turned some heads in the college hockey world. Last week they had an impressive come from behind win against RPI winning 6-5 in overtime after trailing 4-1. Princeton out shot RPI 30-3 in the third period and overtime to come away with the victory. Its been a tough first two seasons at Princeton for head coach Ron Fogarty who was left a bare cupboard from his predecessor Bob Prier. Fogarty won a combined nine games his first two seasons and already has the Tigers with three wins in the first half of the season and they seem to be playing better after a rough start to the season. For as good as a program Quinnipiac has had in the last 15 years it is a surprising 14-9-1 all time against the Tigers. However, the Bobcats are 8-3-1 all-time at Hobey Baker Rink including a 5-0-1 in its last six games there. Four of Quinnipiac's last six wins against Princeton have come by way of a shutout. What is the most shocking stat, is that the Bobcats own a 6-6-0 record against the Tigers at home which includes a 6-4-0 record at High Point Solutions Arena.

David Hallisey (photo by Shelly Szwast)

The Princeton offense is averaging 2.64 goals per game for the season but they have averaged four goals per game over their last four contests. The Tigers lack elite play makers up front limiting what they can do offensively. What they lack in elite skill they make up in hard work and effort for coach Fogarty hence two wins on the road against a quality opponent and a come from behind win against RPI. They are led in scoring by two players with 12 points in David Hallisey (5 goals and 7 assists) and Max Véronneau (4 goals and 8 assists). Sophomore Ryan Kuffner 10 points (5 goals and 5 assists) and Eric Robinson 8 points (5 goals and 3 assists) are other players to watch in this game. While they haven't been a top offense all season they have been pretty effective as a power play team at 19th in country scoring at a 19.64% (11-of-56) clip. All of Véronneau's goals have been power plays goals while Hallisey and Robinson have two each on the power play. One other forward of note is freshman Jeremy Germain who grew up in Hamden and is the grandson of long time men's ice hockey coach Jim Armstrong. Quinnipiac will have to do a good job of staying out of the box as this is an area where Princeton could hurt them.

Defensively, Princeton has struggled all season giving up 3.91 goals per game which is good for 55th in country. However they do kill penalties at a solid 84.1% (37-of-44) clip and they average 15 blocked shots per game so that is something they can hang their hat on. They bring good size on the blue line with eight of the nine defenseman six feet or taller. Four of the six starting blue liners are upperclassmen so they bring some experience back there. On paper Quinnipiac matches up very well against this defense as they have much more talent up front than the Tigers can contain. The Bobcats need to play fast and physical against the Tigers defense to force them into mistakes they might not normally would make.

Colton Phinney (photo by Shelly Szwast)

In goal the Tigers play senior Colton Phinney who has a lot of experience playing against the Bobcats. He has started all six games that Princeton has played against Quinnipiac the last three seasons and it would be a surprise if anyone but Phinney played in these games. Phinney is 1-5 all time against Quinnipiac but the one win came back in the 2013-14 season at High Point Solutions Arena when Princeton rallied for a 4-3 win. In ten games played this season, Phinney is 2-7-1 with a 3.93 goals against average and an .877 save percentage. The numbers don't look spectacular but he played very well in one of the wins against Bemidji State. Phinney isn't a big goaltender but is athletic enough in net. He hasn't been a goaltender that can win you a game but he does enough to keep his team in games.

Overall, Quinnipiac matches up extremely well against Princeton as they have the more talented offense, defense and are better in goal as well. Anything less than a four point weekend would be a massive disappointment for this team and the goals they have set for this season. Princeton will play hard so this is not a team to overlook as they have played Quinnipiac very competitively over the past few seasons even if the results have not been there.

Jonathan Singer is a 2004 Quinnipiac alum. You can follow him on Twitter @jonathan_singer.

Karlis Cukste to play in U20 World Junior Championships

According to Chip Malafronte of the New Haven Register, Quinnipiac freshman defenseman Karlis Cukste will be on the Latvian roster for the Under-20 2017 IIHF World Junior Championships that are set to take place at the end of December and into January. The tournament will be held in Toronto and Montreal. Latvia has a very difficult bracket as they have to face Canada, Russia, Slovakia and the United States.

Karlis Cukste (photo courtesy of USHL)

Cukste, a 2015 5th round draft pick by the San Jose Sharks, has four goals and four assists in 17 games played this season for the Bobcats and has been a key player for them both on the power play and penalty kill. He will miss two games in Three Rivers Classic with one of them a key matchup against Boston College. It's possible he will also miss games against Harvard and Dartmouth on January 6th and 7th as the tournament ends January 5th.

Jonathan Singer is a 2004 Quinnipiac alum. You can follow him on Twitter @jonathan_singer.

Quinnipiac recruiting notes 12/5/2016

It was frustrating home weekend slate of games for the Quinnipiac Bobcats as they out shot RPI and Union combined 105 to 32 yet only came away with two ECAC points on the weekend. After winning 4-1 Friday night against RPI, the Bobcats were stymied against Union in a 5-2 loss on Saturday. Now lets move on to this weeks Quinnipiac recruiting notes.

1998 defenseman Zach Metsa scored his first goal of the season for the Merritt Centennials but he did so in dramatic fashion, with an overtime winner to beat the Victoria Grizzlies 3-2 on Saturday night. Metsa has 17 points (1 goal and 16 assists) in 30 games played with many of his assists coming on the power play. Metsa will be NHL draft eligible for the first time in 2017.

Zach Metsa (photo by Merritt Centennials)

1997 forward Matt Creamer had a goal and assist in two games for the Nanaimo Clippers this weekend. This season he has nine goals and seven assists in 30 games played. That surpasses his production from a season ago when he had only six goals and two assists in 47 games played. Creamer is expected to join the Bobcats in the fall of 2017.

1997 Odeen Tufto ended his four game scoreless streak with an assist in a 6-2 loss for Fargo against the Sioux Falls Stampede. Tufto has 11 points (3 goals and 8 assists) in 21 games played for the Force this season. Tufto will join the Bobcats in the fall of 2017.

It was a rebound performance for 1999 goaltender Keith Petruzzelli after he gave up 8 goals in a game to Team USA. On Friday he gave up two goals in a loss to the Lincoln Stars as he made 28 saves. Five out of the last six games for Petruzzelli have been very good outside of the game against Team USA.

1997 Ryan Finnegan returned for his first game in almost a month for the New Jersey Hitmen Premier team due to an undisclosed injury. He had an assist in his return in a 6-1 win over the P.A.L Junior Islanders Premier Team. He has ten points (3 goals and 7 assists) in 6 games this year for the Hitmen after being traded to them from Alberni Valley of the BCHL.

1998 forward John DeRoche had three assists in Friday's 5-2 win for the Topeka RoadRunners. In seven games played he has four goals and four assists. Since his trade from the USHL to the NAHL he is at a 1.14 point per game clip and his confidence is rising.

A couple of teammates committed to Quinnipiac had a pair of games this weekend. 2001 forward Ethan Phillips played in one of the two games this weekend an had an assist. In 30 games played he has 40 points (17 goals and 23 assists). Fellow commit, 2001 forward P.J. Fletcher missed the weekend for the South Kent with an undisclosed injury. On the season he 31 points (13 goals and 18 assists) in 32 games played.

Dom Fensore (photo by the Scouting News)

Another set of teammates both committed to Quinnipiac played multiple games this weekend. 1999 forward Corey Clifton had a goal and four assists in four games for the North Jersey Avalanche 18U playing in their Tier I hockey schedule. Clifton is averaging a point per game (4 goals and 15 assists) in 19 Tier I games this year. 1999 goaltender Justin Robbins had 21 saves in a 2-1 victory against the Boston Advantage on Saturday while he had 26 saves in a 3-1 win against the New Hampshire Monarch's on Sunday. Robbins has been really good in Tier I play so far this year. In 12 games played he is 10-1 with a 1.99 goals against average and a .929 save percentage.

2001 defenseman Dom Fensore is averaging 1.3 points per game from the blue line for the P.A.L Junior Islanders 16U team. He had another goal this weekend in a 5-3 win over the CP Dynamo 16U team. Fensore has three multi point games in his last five for the Islanders. Two of his six goals have come shorthanded and he also has a power play goal.

2001 defenseman Nicholas Kent had two assists this weekend for the Delta Hockey Academy Elite 15's. On the season he has 13 assists in 16 games played. The California native has yet to find the back of the net as a season ago with the Delta Bantam team he had seven goals from the blue line.

2002 forward Jacob Quillan is heating up for the Steele Subaru Major Midget team. This weekend he had a goal and an assist in two wins for the team. He has points in six of his last eight games with two of those game multi point games. In 19 games played this season he has three goals and nine assists.

Jonathan Singer is a 2004 Quinnipiac alum. You can follow him on Twitter @jonathan_singer.

Quinnipiac falls 5-2 to Union despite 54 shots on goal

The No. 5/7 Quinnipiac Bobcats put up 54 shots on Union, yet still came away empty handed without two ECAC points in a 5-2 loss on Saturday night at High Point Solutions Arena. It was a frustrating night who struggled to find the back of the net as they out shot their opponent for the fifth straight game. During that span of five games, the Bobcats are only 2-2-1 despite massive shot differentials in four of those five contests.

Alex Sakellaropoulous (photo by Peter K. Barber/Daily Gazette)

The Bobcats in the last four games have 183 shots on goal yet only seven goals to show for that shot total. The lack of a high end finisher is likely to hurt this team this season. In the past the team has had the likes of Sam Anas, Travis St. Denis, Matthew Peca, Connor and Kellen and Brandon Wong to as guys that could put the puck in the net when the team really needed a goal.

The Dutchmen came into the game 9-3-2 but had yet to beat anyone of consequence outside of an opening win on the road at Michigan. They turned some heads last night in the ECAC with their win over the Bobcats where they now are a serious challenge to Quinnipiac, Saint Lawrence, Harvard and Clarkson as a team that can definitely win this conference.

Quinnipiac got on the board first on the power play when Kevin Duane redirected a Connor Clifton shot past Union goaltender Alex Sakellaropoulos at the 16:44 of the period. Derek Smith also got an assist on the goal. The Bobcats out shot Union 19 to 4 in that opening period.

Union tied the score 4:25 into the second period on a power play goal by Nick DeSimone on assists from Ryan Walker and Ryan Scarfo. A little under eight minutes later Union found the back of the net yet again on the power play when Jeff Taylor made it 2-1 on his goal from Spencer Foo and Mike Vecchione. Almost five minutes later it was Nick DeSimone again with the goal from Spencer Foo and Matt Krug to give the Dutchmen a 3-1 lead heading into the third period. Union scored three goals on that period on five shots while the Bobcats had another 14 shots on goal that period.

Mike Vecchione (photo by Peter K. Barber/Daily Gazette)

Union once again got on the scoreboard at the 6:15 mark of the third period with a Cole Maier goal from Ryan Walker. Rand Pecknold pulled Chris Truehl (8 saves) in favor of Andrew Shortridge after the fourth goal from Union. Quinnipiac got on the board once more when freshman Karlis Cukste's one timer off a pass from Andrew Taverner found the back of the net. Alex Whelan also got an assist on Cukste's goal. Union captain Mike Vecchione sealed the win with an empty net goal. Alex Sakellaropoulos finished the night with 52 saves and was clearly the star on the ice for the Dutchmen.

This is Quinnipiac's first home ECAC loss since December of 2014 when they lost to Harvard. You have to give Union a lot of credit for finishing the limited opportunities they had and for Sakellaropoulos coming up big for the Dutchmen all night. With the loss the Bobcats fall back into a second place tie with Union only one point behind Saint Lawrence for the ECAC lead. The loss also dropped Quinnipiac from 9th to 15th in the pairwise rankings.

Jonathan Singer is a 2004 Quinnipiac alum. You can follow him on Twitter @jonathan_singer.

Third period outburst leads Quinnipiac to 4-1 win

The No. 5/7 Quinnipiac Bobcats exploded for three third period power play goals on Friday night en route to a 4-1 win over RPI at High Point Solutions Arena. The win upped the Bobcats record to 10-4-2 (6-1-1 in ECAC play). With the win and coupled with a Saint Lawrence 4-2 loss to Harvard, Quinnipiac now moves into first place in the ECAC with 13 points with Saint Lawrence a point behind in second followed by Clarkson and Union in third place. The game was chippy on both sides with RPI being called for 14 minor penalties and Quinnipiac 12. The officials didn't really have control of this game and at times RPI took some cheap shots especially with the knee on knee trip of Quinnipiac's Karlis Cukste.

Landon Smith (photo by Kim Klement/USA Today)

The Bobcats got the scoring started 4:27 into the first period when Brogan Rafferty fed Tanner MacMaster for a backhanded goal on Cam Hackett that came off a two on one opportunity. Landon Smith got a secondary assist on MacMaster's goal who returned to action after missing the previous five games with a lower body injury. MacMaster would depart later in the game due to another lower body injury. Quinnipiac dominated the first period with 13 shots compared to 6 for RPI.

The teams went scoreless in a second period that saw the teams combine for nine penalties. Quinnipiac pounded another 13 shots on Cam Hackett who was really strong for RPI in this game. The Engineers finished the second period with 4 shots on goal. Quinnipiac goaltender Chris Truehl didn't see much action in the first two periods of this game making only ten saves.

Bo Pieper (photo by Zack Whittman/Tampa Bay Times)

In the third, RPI got on the board 4:22 into the period when defenseman Jared Wilson scored his team leading eighth goal of the season when he took a pass off the face off and blasted it past Truehl for the goal. Almost thirty seconds later the Bobcats almost retook the lead but Hackett came up big, robbing Landon Smith of a goal. The Bobcats took the lead for good at the 7:47 mark of the third when Tim Clifton put home a wrister past Hackett on the power play. Chase Priskie and K.J. Tiefenwerth got the assists. Less than three minutes later it was Bo Pieper cleaning up a Kevin Duane shot off the post to score on the power play giving the Bobcats a 3-1 lead. A little more than two minutes later the Bobcats capped the scoring once again on the power play when Luke Shiplo cleaned up a Cam Hackett rebound in front for a wide open goal. Landon Smith picked up his third assist of the game (He also assisted on the Bo Pieper goal) and Bo Pieper also had an assist on the Shiplo goal.

The Bobcats completely dominated the shot total in the third with 25-5. They finished the game out shooting the Engineers 51-15. Chris Truehl had 14 saves for his 8th win of the season and rarely had to break a sweat tonight. Quinnipiac was the dominant team throughout this game and the only reason this was a 4-1 game was Cam Hackett and the Bobcats hitting at least five posts on the night. The Bobcats return to action tomorrow night to face the Union Dutchmen fresh off a 7-3 win against Princeton tonight.

Jonathan Singer is a 2004 Quinnipiac alum. You can follow him on Twitter @jonathan_singer.

Scouting the enemy: Union Dutchmen

On Saturday the No. 5/7 Quinnipiac Bobcats welcome the No. 18/18 Union College Dutchmen to High Point Solutions Arena for a match up between two teams in the upper half the ECAC Hockey standings. Coming into this weekend, the Dutchmen are 8-3-2 (4-1-1 ECAC) prior to Friday's game against Princeton. Union is tied for third place in the ECAC with both Clarkson and Cornell. Union is coming off back to back disappointing seasons with last year being the program's first losing season since the 2006-2007 campaign. Head coach Rick Bennett is entering his sixth season with the team and has an impressive resume to boot. He's taken the Dutchmen to two ECAC regular season titles, three ECAC tournament titles, three NCAA tournament appearances, two Frozen Fours and capped it off with a National Championship in the 2013-2014 season. This season, Bennett has the team positioned to compete for an ECAC crown and a possible return to the NCAA's. The question is whether the teams fast start is more of an illusion than a reality. They had a win on the road at now .500 Michigan and a tie at home against Saint Lawrence. Other than those two teams they haven't played anyone yet of note.

Mike Vecchione (photo by Peter R. Barber/Daily Gazette)

Offensively, the Dutchmen are good at scoring goals hence by the 3.69 goals per game they average which is good for 7th in the nation. That ranks them second in the ECAC though behind Harvard (4.22 goals per game). However, you can say those numbers have been inflated a bit due to some of the teams they have played (AIC, Sacred Heart, RIT, Niagara, RPI and Brown). That is not exactly a murderers' row of top college hockey teams. They really also have been a one line team so far this season with Mike Vecchione, Spencer Foo and Sebastian Vidmar accounting for 65 of the Dutchmen's 130 points this year. That is fifty percent of the Dutchmen offense this year which is a staggering amount. Vecchione the senior captain, is leading the nation in scorer with 26 points (14 goals and 12 assists) with four of them coming on the power play and two shorthanded. He is a weapon on the ice and been really good in his time with the Dutchmen where he will be a priority NHL free agent after the season. Foo is another forward in the top ten in the nation in scoring with 21 points (6 goals and 15 assists). Four of his six goals have come via the power play. Vidmar is tied for 15th in the nation in scoring with 18 points (7 goals and 11 assists). They have gotten offense from senior blue liner Jeff Taylor (3 goals and 9 assists) along with a pair of sophomore forwards Brett Supinski (1 goal and 8 assists) and Cole Maier (4 goals and 2 assists). They are not a great power play team converting at just 14.44% (13-of-90) which is good for 43rd in the nation. And nine of those goals have been scored by the top three guys which shows they likely have one really good power play line. What might hurt Union is they are truly a one line team so far and they have only seen a team with a really good defense once this year in Saint Lawrence. Saturday will be another challenge for Union to show that they are more than just a one line team. The focus for the Bobcat defense should be none other than the Vecchione-Foo-Vidmar line. If they can shut them down, it forces to the Dutchmen to find offense in other places that they have not been able to tap into yet this season. 

Spencer Foo  (photo by John Carl D'Annibale / Times Union)

One defense the Dutchmen come into this weekend a team that is in the middle of the pack in the country. They are giving up 3.08 goals per game which is tied for 37th in the country. They have a penalty kill that is in the middle third of college hockey at an 82.5% clip (47-of-57). They are not an elite shot blocking team as they average 12 blocks per game this season and in five of their thirteen games they have had single digits in blocked shots. They have a good mixture of players with size and speed but they lack higher end talent in the back end. Associate captain Jeff Taylor (2014, 7th round Pittsburgh) has played well on the blue with 12 points and is a plus 9. Junior J.C. Brassard is the only other blue liner that is a plus player (plus 5). Greg Campbell, Vas Kolias and Nick DeSimone are all solid players but need to step up a bit more for the Union defense to improve. Quinnipiac's offense has the ability to play fast against them and they must win the the fore-check game especially in the Union end and in the neutral zone. 

In goal the Dutchmen have given the majority of the workload to senior Alex Sakellaropoulos. He's played in the last four games for Union and is likely the starter on Saturday. On the season he has a 7-1-1 record with a 2.64 goals against average and a .906 save percentage. He's a big frame goaltender listed at 6'3 and 215 pounds so he covers a lot of the net with his size. He has had moderate success in his four years with the Dutchmen but has not really elevated his game to make a difference for Union. The backup is sophomore Jake Kupsky a 2015 7th round pick by the San Jose Sharks who has played in four games this season but none since November 1st. 

Quinnipiac's mission in this game has to be to play outstanding defense to shut down the top line of Union and play as the aggressor on offense. If they do that there is no reason they shouldn't come away with two points from this game, as Quinnipiac on paper has the better team and is much deeper than Union.

Jonathan Singer is a 2004 Quinnipiac alum. You can follow him on Twitter @jonathan_singer.