Power play key in Quinnipiac's 5-2 win over Harvard

No. 7/8 Quinnipiac swept the ECAC home weekend slate capped by a 4-2 win over No. 10/10 Harvard University on Saturday night at High Point Solutions Arena. I made it down to Hamden for the game tonight.

The Bobcats got on the board early in the first period at the 1:14 mark on a power play goal from freshman Brogan Rafferty whose hard wrist shot beat Harvard goaltender Merrick Madsen. Chase Priskie and Tim Clifton both assisted on the goal. The Crimson tied the game seven minutes later when a Viktor Dombrovskiy wrist shot beat Chris Truehl who looked to be a bit out of position. Harvard's Luke Esposito and Alexander Kerfoot got the assists. The score remain tied heading into the first intermission.

Craig Martin (photo by Eric Hylden/Grand Forks Herald)

Harvard took the lead just 24 seconds into the second period when Sean Malone back handed a shot that Truehl initially denied but left a rebound for Malone to clean up on another backhand. It seemed at times tonight that Truehl had some puck handling issues and had some rebound struggles. This is something that will need to be cleaned up by him going forward. The Bobcats tied the game at the 12:38 mark in the second on a Craig Martin wrist shot that went in between Madsen's pad and blocker for a very weak goal. Scott Davidson and Karlis Cukste both had assists on the goal. Four and half minutes later the Bobcats took the lead on a power play goal from Luke Shiplo on a shot in the slot which proved to be the game winning goal.

In the third period the Bobcats defense tightened up against the talented Crimson offense. They killed off two penalties with one being late in the third period when Derek Smith was sent off for cross checking at the 17:16 mark. Tommy Schutt's unassisted hustle play empty net goal sealed the win for the Bobcats.

A night after having 54 shots on net the Bobcats could only muster 21 shots but it proved to be enough. Harvard had 32 shots and dominated 5 on 5 for much of the game and showed they might be one of the most talented teams in this year in the ECAC but Chris Truehl was solid in making 30 saves for the win. The weekend sweep saw the Bobcats move to 7-3-1 and into a 3rd place tie with Clarkson in the ECAC along with the power play scoring five goals and the penalty kill unit killing off a five Harvard power play chances. They also beat the final two unbeaten teams in the country in Dartmouth and Harvard so once again the 1969-1970 Cornell Big Red can celebrate being the last team to go undefeated in college hockey.

Quinnipiac returns to action next weekend when they head on a upstate New York road trip to Cornell on Friday and Colgate on Saturday before heading over to Belfast, Northern Ireland over Thanksgiving for a the Friendship Four tournament.

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

Landon Smith's hat trick leads Quinnipiac to 6-3 win over Dartmouth

No. 7/8 Quinnipiac returned home to its friendly confines of High Point Solutions Arena for their ECAC home opener and exploded for six goals in a 6-3 win over the Dartmouth Big Green. Junior Landon Smith led the Bobcats with a natural hat trick in the victory. The Bobcats honored the military on Veteran's Day by wearing their camouflage jersey's.

Landon Smith (Kim Klement/USA Today Sports)

Dartmouth got on the board early in the first period when sophomore Kevan Kilistoff redirected a shot from the point by Cam Roth past goaltender Chris Truehl 1:01 into the game. The Bobcats tied the score on a power play goal by freshman Karlis Cukste at the 7:48 mark in the first. Just under four minutes later the Big Green retook the lead when John Ernsting cleaned up a rebound from Truehl and put it in.

A little more than five minutes into the second period the Bobcats once again scored on the power play when Tim Clifton scored his team-leading sixth goal of the season. With 1.8 seconds left in the second period junior Bo Pieper scored to give the Bobcats their first lead of the game heading into the second intermission. 

Chase Priskie (photo by Matt Dewkett)

In the third period Landon Smith took over the game, scoring three goals to put the game out of reach for the Big Green. He scored his first goal at the 3:57 mark of the period on assists by Luke Shiplo and Andrew Taverner, The Bobcats fourth goal would prove to be the game winner when the Big Green responded a little under four minutes later on a goal by Cam Strong to cut the lead to 4-3. Smith then scored two goals in under two minutes with one of them coming on the power play. Chase Priskie looks to be rounding back into form as he had three assists with two of them on the power play while both Karlis Cukste and Tim Clifton finished with a goal and assist apiece. K.J Tiefenwerth also had two assists on the night and Chris Truehl had 21 saves in the victory. 

It looks as if the weekend off prior to the North Country trip did wonders for the Quinnipiac special teams which struggled to begin the season. In its last three games the Bobcats are 5-for-20 on the power play which is a 25% clip and has also killed 31 of its last 32 penalties over its last five games for 96.9% clip. Quinnipiac also put its most shots of season on goal with 54 shots on Dartmouth's Devin Buffalo who had 48 saves. 

Quinnipiac returns to action on Saturday against the No. 10/10 Harvard Crimson who are fresh off a 5-2 win over Princeton and now are 4-0-1 on the season.

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

Scouting the enemy: Harvard Crimson

On Saturday the No. 10/10 Harvard Crimson travel to Hamden to face the No. 7/8 Quinnipiac Bobcats. Ted Donato's team is off to a 4-0-1 start (they won at Princeton on Friday) but two of those wins were against a second year Division I team in Arizona State both blowout wins out in Arizona. Returning from out west, Harvard opened ECAC play last weekend with a 1-1 tie against Colgate a team picked towards the bottom of the ECAC and beat rival Cornell 4-3 the next night. The Crimson are coming off consecutive trips to the NCAA tournament but have not won an NCAA tournament game since 1994. They were swept a season ago by the Bobcats in the regular season.

Ryan Donato (photo by Elan Kawesch/Harvard University)

Harvard lost 97 points between the loses of a trio of senior forwards in Jimmy Vesey, Kyle Criscuolo and Colin Blackwell but already they are the top scoring team in the country at 4.50 goals per game tied with Lake Superior State. They still return some fire power up front led by sophomore Ryan Donato (2014 2nd round, Boston) who has four goals and four assists. Senior forwards Luke Esposito (2 goals and 4 assists) and Tyler Moy (2015 6th Round, Nashville) (3 goals and 4 assists) both are tied with Donato for the team lead in scoring. Sophomore Lewis Zerter-Gossage leads the team in goals with five (7 total points) and senior Sean Malone (2013 6th round, Buffalo) (2 goals and 4 assists) round out the top forwards for Harvard. Freshman defenseman Adam Fox (2016 3rd round, Calgary) has six assists from the blue line. It's not the biggest team up front with similar size players to Quinnipiac's roster but it has some very good talent and speed. The Crimson have the 7th best power play in the country at 25.71% converting on 7 of 27 chances. It is key that Quinnipiac stays disciplined in this game and not take penalties in order keep the strong Harvard power play off the ice. 

Adam Fox (photo by Tom Sorensen)

Harvard has some very talented players on defense led by two freshman studs in Fox and John Marino (2015 5th round, Edmonton). Fox is a shorter defenseman but is a tremendous passer hence the six assists he already has. He is not overly physical and isn't the most elite skater but he makes up for that lack of quickness with his passing ability from the blue line. Marino brings some size from the blue line along with someone who is mobile and good in transition. Junior Wiley Sherman (2013 5th round, Boston) brings enormous size with his 6'7, 200 lb frame. Harvard looks to be dressing seven defenders a night in their first four games of the season so far with sophomore Viktor Dombrovskiy, senior Clay Anderson, junior Jake Horton (playing up at forward) and sophomore Jacob Olson all seeing action in three or more games. They are another good defensive team as they are 3rd in the country in defense at 1.50 goals per game but two of the games were against Arizona State which doesn't have a lot of talent at this point in their Division I existence. The Harvard penalty kill is off to an uneven start as they area 40th in the country at 83.3% (30-of-36). Quinnipiac has struggled on the power play so they might have a good opportunity to improve upon it against the Crimson. One thing the Crimson do well is score shorthanded goals as they already have three of them in four games this year. 

Merrick Madsen (photo by  Shelley M. Szwast)

Harvard has also gotten outstanding play from junior goaltender Merrick Madsen (2013 6th round, Philadelphia). In four games played this season, Madsen has a 4-0-1 record with a 1.57 goals against average and .931 save percentage with 1 shutout. He is coming off a very good sophomore season in which he went 18-7-3 with a 2.00 goals against average and a .931 save percentage. It will be a challenge getting pucks behind the 6'5 Madsen. Last year the Bobcats did not face Madsen. Both of Harvard's losses to Quinnipiac were started by current sophomore Michael Lackey. I would expect Madsen gets the start especially when Lackey gave up nine goals to the Bobcats in his two games against them a season ago. Getting traffic in front of Madsen will be key especially with his height and ability to see the puck.

Both Quinnipiac and Harvard are expected to challenge for the regular season crown in the ECAC so Saturday's match-up should be a good test between two very good teams. Harvard last won at High Point Solutions Arena back in the 2014-15 season when they won 5-2 in a penalty infested game.

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

Scouting the enemy: Dartmouth Big Green

No. 7/8 Quinnipiac returns home to the friendly confines of the High Point Solutions Arena this weekend for the team's ECAC home opener. They kick things off with the Dartmouth Big Green who are off to a surprising 2-0-1 start to begin the season. Bob Gaudet's team welcomes eleven freshman to a program coming off a surprise ECAC semi-final appearance in Lake Placid a season ago where they fell to Quinnipiac. Already, the Big Green has an impressive home win against the Michigan Wolverines along with a win over Colgate and a tie with Cornell. Now comes a stretch of seven games away from Hanover, NH starting with the Bobcats on Friday night.

Carl Hesler (photo by Dartmouth Sports Information)

Offensively, Dartmouth does not bring a lot of size or elite talent up front. Gaudet does a good job getting the most of the talent he has to work with and that has led to some success for him at Dartmouth, yet he is still seeking his first NCAA tournament appearance at his alma mater (he took Brown to the NCAA's in 1993). So far, its a lot of the upperclassmen doing the damage for Dartmouth with junior Carl Hesler (1 goal and 2 assists), senior Troy Crema (2 goals) and junior Corey Kalk (1 goal and 1 assist). Crema two goals both have been game winning goals which is 2nd in the nation. Freshman Cam Strong has a goal and and assist while three other freshman have also recorded assists. Senior Grant Opperman has 56 points in 99 career games. Seven underclassmen have started at least two games up front so they are definitely an inexperienced team on offense. They average two goals per game and have a power play that is only scoring at 6.25% clip (2-of-32). To beat Quinnipiac on the road, the Big Green will surely need to score more than two goals. The Bobcats should be able to be physical with these forwards and eliminating defensive zone turnovers would be a good way to not have any odd rush chances in which Dartmouth could capitalize on.

Defensively, the Big Green are off to a fantastic start as they lead the nation in team defense at one goal per game. They haven't brought any offense from their defense yet but so far that has not been needed. This is a pretty young defense with five underclassmen (2 freshman and 3 sophomores) on the roster. Four of those five have seen game action this year. Josh Hartley is the lone senior of the group with juniors Tim Shoup and River Rymsha the other two upperclassmen. The defense brings solid size and has played very well in front of goaltender Devin Buffalo. Dartmouth has also killed off penalties at an 85.7% clip (18-of-21) which is good for 23rd in the nation.

Devin Buffalo (photo by Dartmouth Sports Information)

Junior goaltender Devin Buffalo is off to an excellent start. In three games played he is 2-0-1 with a 0.97 goals against average and a .957 saver percentage and one shutout on the season. The defense along with Buffalo have done a good job of not allowing a lot of shots this season. They are giving up an average of 23 shots per game on the season. They have also blocked a total of 38 shots. Those numbers show that the Dartmouth defense is not giving much space to the opposition and that Buffalo is making sure he is doing his job in net.

Quinnipiac is going to have be the one that is the hunter in this game. They need to win face-offs, win battles for loose pucks and find ways to score off the power play and get greasy goals on Buffalo. The Bobcats have the talent offensively to win this game, they just need some of these players to step up and produce more offensively. Defensively they need to play a sound, physical game and avoid turning over the puck in their own zone. It's been almost 10 years since the Bobcats have lost at home to Dartmouth when they dropped a 5-4 game on February 9, 2007.

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

Quinnipiac Hockey recruiting notes 11/8/2016

This weeks recruiting notes comes out a day late as yesterday was a travel day back from the west coast where I was attending a wedding in beautiful San Diego. Enough about myself, lets get on to this weeks notes.

Ryan Finnegan (photo by Dan Hickling)

1997 forward Ryan Finnegan is off to a sizzling start since moving over the New Jersey Hitmen Premier team of the USPHL. In 5 games he has 9 points so far (3 goals and 6 assists) which is a 1.8 points per game clip. He was finally held scoreless in New Jersey's 5-0 win on Sunday against the Springfield Pics. Finnegan looks to be getting back on track after struggling in 16 games for Alberni Valley of the BCHL where he had only four assists.

Quinnipiac picked up a commitment on October 31st from 1996 forward Matt Forchuk for the fall of 2017. The 5'10, 170 pound forward is leading the Alberta Junior Hockey League in scoring for the Canmore Eagles. In 17 games he has 31 points (11 goals and 20 assists). He has also racked up 50 penalty minutes on the season. He should bring some scoring depth to next years team and plays with an edge. Neutral Zone has rated him a 3.5 star prospect.

Neutral Zone @_Neutral_Zone  NZ's #37 ranked 1996's (NCAA Eligible) in North America. 3.5 star prospect @11Forchuk of @TheAJHL commits to Quinnipiac for fall of 2017.

Matt Forchuk (photo by Pam Doyle Photography)

With 6 points in his last 5 games (5 goals and 1 assist) 1997 forward Matt Creamer is on a hot streak. He has already bested his 2015-16 season in which he had 8 points (6 goals and 2 assists) in 47 games. This season, Creamer already has 13 points (8 goals and 5 assists) in 21 games played and also serves as a alternate captain for the Nanaimo Clippers.

1998 forward Johnny DeRoche is no longer on the Cedar Rapids (USHL) roster after the Rough Riders have gotten off to a brutal 0-11-2 start. It's been reported he has been shipped to the Topeka RoadRunners of the NAHL but is not yet on the roster. He is set to report next week as Topeka was off this week. Regardless, he was off to rough start with Cedar Rapids only recording one assist in 10 games for them after having 14 points (5 goals and 9 assists) in 39 games a season ago for Cedar Rapids.

2002 forward Jacob Quillan had a two point weekend for the Steele Subaru Major Midgets. He also recorded his first goal of the season this past weekend. In 13 games he has 1 goals and 6 assists but is also the youngest player on the team.

2001 defenseman Nicholas Kent picked up 2 more assists this past weekend and now has 11 assists in 14 games for the Delta Hockey Academy Elite 15's.

1997 Dan Winslow had a highlight reel goal in the USPHL Beantown Fall Classic which took place the last week of October. He came in at number 3 of best goals on the weekend. You can check out the video here.

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

Neutral Zone Retweeted matt forch

Scouting the enemy: Saint Lawrence Saints

No. 6/7 Quinnipiac travels to Canton, New York on Saturday to face the Saint Lawrence Saints in the second game of the North Country road trip. The Saints were picked to finish second in the ECAC by both the coaches and the media. Off to a 3-4-1 start, Saint Lawrence has played much better at Appleton Arena than they have on the road so far on the season.

The biggest transition that Saint Lawrence went through in the off season outside of losing four forwards up front that had 12 or more points apiece, was the loss of their head coach Greg Carvel to UMass. With his departure saw the return of a familiar face in North Country, in new head coach Mark Morris who previously coached the Saints biggest rival with Clarkson for 14 plus seasons (1988-2002) before being fired three games into the 2002-03 season following an incident with a player in practice. Morris spent the better part of a decade as a head coach in the AHL with a stint in the NHL as an assistant coach. Even with being away from the college game a long time, he is definitely one of the best coaches in the ECAC having been to the NCAA tournament nine times in a ten year period at Clarkson with a Frozen Four appearance in 1991.

Gavin Bayreuther (photo by Tara Freeman/SLU)

“It’s been quite a big transition,” Morris said in a Watertown Daily Times article back in September. “There’s lots to learn — they’re two different animals — in college coaching there’s so many other aspects in your daily routine that are different than the pro game. There, it’s primarily about hockey and games and practice." At this point in the season Morris is likely still trying to get a feel of what type of team he has. With Saint Lawrence in a bit of a transition it might be a good time for Quinnipiac to catch them on the road early in the season before they fully figure things out.

Up front Saints lost 75 points from four graduating seniors from the a team that made it to Lake Placid a season ago. So far on the season they are averaging 3.38 goals per game on offense which ranks 24th in the nation. They are getting big contributions so far from juniors Mike Marnell (2 goals and 6 assists) and Joe Sullivan (4 goals and 4 assists). Sophomore's Jacob Pritchard (2 goals and 5 assists) and Michael Laidley (2 goals and 3 assists) are also off to good starts. The one weakness for the Saints offense would have to be the power play which is a dismal 8.89% (4 of 45). It ranks 54th out of 60 in the nation and a handful of teams worse than Quinnipiac's power play on the young season.

Kyle Hayton (photo by Tara Freeman/SLU)

The Saints defense which was expected to be a major strength of the team, led by first-team All ECAC defenseman Gavin Bayreuther, has gotten off to a slow start giving up 3.50 goals per game which is tied with Alaksa-Fairbanks and the University of New Hampshire for 40th in the nation. Bayreuther a senior, leads the Saints in scoring from the blue line with 3 goals and 7 assists. He is a weapon from the point with his team leading 30 shots. Freshman Ben Finklestein (2016 7th round, Florida) has a goal and 3 assists. The true freshman had 70 points a season ago for Kimball Union Academy. Other players that have seen significant action are seniors Ben Masella (3 assists) and Eric Sweetman (1 goal and 1 assist) along with junior Nolan Gluchowski (3 assists) and freshman Ryan Garvey (2 goals and 1 assist). They are not the biggest defense but they are experienced and talented and a year ago gave up only 2.27 goals per game which was good for 12th in the nation. This season Saint Lawrence is struggling on the penalty kill at 83.1% (49 of 59 before Friday's game) which is 36th in the nation. The Bobcats have the talent to exploit the early season struggles of a Saint Lawrence team going through a coaching transition and early defensive struggles and must use that to their advantage in this game.

The Saints first-team All ECAC goaltender Kyle Hayton has gotten off to a rough start in his third season in Canton. The pre season All American and player to watch for the Mike Richter award is 3-3-1 with a 3.36 goals against average and a .904 save percentage. Both are careers lows for a goalie that who had career goals against of 1.99 and a .936 save percentage for his career. Hayton has already been pulled twice this season in games against UMass-Lowell and Providence so it is possible he could be dealing with confidence issues early in the year. Hayton likely will start against Quinnipiac but if his struggles continue, Morris won't hesitate to turn to sophomore goaltender Arthur Brey or freshman Daniel Mannella who have both seen action this year.

The Bobcats are 3-2 in the last five seasons at Appleton Arena having a dropped a 3-2 overtime game a season ago. In fact the games the past two years have been 3-2 overtime affairs with each team pulling out wins. I'd expect this game to be another challenge for the Bobcats as Saint Lawrence has played them very tough during the past few seasons.

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

Scouting the enemy: Clarkson Golden Knights

No. 6/7 Quinnipiac opens conference play in the ECAC with a road trip to North Country. The Bobcats head to Clarkson on Friday night. Clarkson head coach, Casey Jones team is off to a 3-4-1 start this season but only 1-4 at the home confines of Cheel Arena. The Golden Knights are coming off a weekend where they dropped two home games to Big Ten teams Minnesota and Wisconsin respectively. Quinnipiac was off this past weekend and comes into the game with a 4-2-1 record.

Clarkson is a team that features a lot of international flavor with fifteen Canadian born players and five European born players. Only five players are from the United States. That is expected when the Clarkson campus is close to the border with Canada. Expectations are much higher in Potsdam this season as the Golden Knights are expected to contend to reach Lake Placid and a possible berth in the NCAA tournament.

Jordan Boucher (photo by Tansey Photography)

Offensively the Golden Knights have been able to score goals averaging 3.25 goals per game on the season. They are led by senior forward Jordan Boucher who is off to a hot start with six goals and two assists. Junior Sam Vigneault has a goal and six assists on the season. They are getting early production from talented freshman Devin Brosseau (one goal and six assists) and Sheldon Rempal (two goals and two assists). Both Brosseau and Rempal had huge years for the Nanaimo Clippers in the BCHL last year. Brosseau had 84 points (27 goals and 57 assists) while Rempal led the league in goals with 59 and finished with 110 points. Rempal is a small quick forward that finished his BCHL career with 213 points in 167 games played. They have one drafted forward in Troy Josephs (2013 7th round, Pittsburgh) who has a goal and two assists on the season. They have a solid mixture of smaller guys and some players over 6 feet tall. The Clarkson power play is in the  middle of the pack at 17.65% (9 of 51). The Quinnipiac defense really needs to avoid players like Boucher, Brosseau and Rempal from getting hot because these are good players who can do a lot of damage. Being physical against the smaller Rempal will be

Sheldan Rempal (photo by Nanaimo Clippers)

a key to getting him off his game and not letting him get any space. If Quinnipiac can play fast and smart on defense they should have the talent to win this game.

Defensively the Golden Knights are giving up 3.38 goals per game. At home that number jumps to 3.8 goals per game and if you take out the Merrimack shutout that number jumps to a whopping 4.75 goals per game at home. The opportunity is there for Quinnipiac to score on the Golden Knights especially with their home struggles. Of the eight defenders on the Clarkson roster not one of them checks in below six feet. Led by senior James de Haas (2012 6th round, Detroit) and junior Kelly Summers (2014 7th round, Ottawa) they have combined for 10 points already on the blue line. Two freshman defensemen have already seen a lot of minutes in Greg Moro and Jordan Schneider. Quinnipiac will need to use its speed up front and as Rand Pecknold puts it "hunt the puck". If they are able to be fast and aggressive and get good looks they should be able to put the puck in the net against the Golden Knights. Clarkson is a middle of the pack penalty killing team at 84.2% (48 out of 57) so Quinnipiac could have the chance to improve on its power play which has been a real struggle early in the season.

The Golden Knights start Jake Kielly in goal a 6'2 freshman out of Eden Praire, Minnesota. Kielly is off to an uneven start. In 8 games so far he has a 3-4-1 record with a 2.99 goals against with a .909 save percentage. He did however shutout Merrimack 4-0 on October 14. He came to Clarkson after a successful year with Tri-City in the USHL winning the Clark Cup as the league champions. He had an outstanding playoff in which he posted a 1.64 goals against with a .950 save percentage. Kielly is an athletic goaltender for someone 6'2 with the capability to make highlight reel saves like he in the playoff against the Fargo Force. It is a must that Quinnipiac creates traffic in front of the net to get re-directs and rebound opportunities against Kielly.

The Bobcats have had good success the last five seasons against Clarkson at Cheel Arena where they are 3-1-1 against the Golden Knights. Quinnipiac's last loss at Clarkson was a 2-1 defeat back in the 2014-15 season.

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