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.

Scouting the enemy: Rensselaer Engineers

The No. 5/7 Quinnipiac Bobcats returned home from Belfast, Northern Ireland this week after a league tie against Saint Lawrence and a loss in the Friendship Four championship game to Vermont. For the 9-4-2 Bobcats, it was a struggle to find the back of the net with the team scoring only one goal on the weekend across the Atlantic. They now welcome the 3-12-1 Rensselaer Engineers into High Point Solutions Arena on Friday night. RPI might be just what the doctor ordered for the Bobcats offense as the Engineers the 56th team in the pairwise rankings have struggled mightily this season. Head coach Seth Appert is signed through 2021 but has had only 4 winning seasons in his 11 seasons in Troy. One of those seasons ended with a trip to the NCAA tournament but those other three seasons were only a few games over .500. Appert for his career has a .427 winning percentage which is 3rd worst in the ECAC behind Princeton's Ron Fogarty and Brown's Brendan Whittet. With the way the team has played under Appert this season, they look headed for their third losing season in the last four years. Of the three wins they have this year (RIT, Brown, Arizona State) not one is from a quality opponent. They have lost a couple of games in overtime to Union and Yale that possibly could have turned into wins or even ties making their record a bit better.

Evan Tironese (photo by Grand Forks Herald)

Offensively RPI is one of the worst teams in the country at scoring goals. They average two goals per game which is good for 56th in the nation and they are the second worst scoring team in ECAC Hockey behind Brown (1.78 goals per game). They are not the biggest team up front with many smaller quicker forwards but they lack scoring talent up front. The leading scorer for RPI is sophomore forward Evan Tironese who leads the team with 17 points (3 goals and 14 assists) in 15 games. Senior forward Riley Bourbonnais was the teams leading scorer a year ago is second on the team in points with 13 but is tied for the team lead in goals at seven. Three of the seven goals he has are on the power play while two of the seven have come shorthanded this year. He is a one of the teams threats at five on five, the power play and the penalty kill. The Bobcats keeping Bourbonnais silent on Friday would be a wise option. Junior defenseman Jared Wilson has seven goals from the blue line with four of them on the power play and three game winning goals this season. A couple other producers are freshman forward Jacob Hayhurst (2 goals and 6 assists) and junior forward Drew Melanson (4 goals and 3 assists). The lone draft pick up front is Lou Nanne a 2012 7th round pick by Minnesota who has a goal and four assists on the season. RPI has a power play in the bottom third of Division I scoring at a clip of 14.46% (12-of-84). I'd expect the RPI power play to struggle with how well the Bobcats are on the penalty kill at 89.4%. The lack of scoring depth has hurt RPI this season so if the Bobcats can focus on keeping some of the top scorers quiet it should help in winning this game.

Riley Bourbonnais (photo by Sara Melikian)

Defensively RPI has shown to be a very poor team five on five. They are 54th in the nation in scoring defense giving up 3.50 goals per game on the season. Only the Brown Bears are worse on defense in the ECAC than RPI. A season ago they gave up 2.60 goals per game on the season.The Engineers have a lot of height on the blue line with six players 6'. 1 or taller. This is a defense that is a collectively minus 54 already this season. Last season the defensemen were a plus 4. It's surprising they have played so bad as RPI lost only two defenders to graduation. They returned four upperclassmen on the blue line so one would think they would get better from a year ago not worse. If they do anything well on defense its that they block shots. They are averaging 15 blocked shots per game this season with a game high of 27 and they did that twice this year. They are also a very good team on the penalty kill where they rank 7th in the nation killing them off at an 89.3% clip. RPI needs the defense to improve to have any chance at recovering from the team's poor start. If not it could be a very long winter in Troy for the RPI faithful.

Sophomore goaltender Chase Perry a transfer from Colorado College has gotten the bulk of the work load so far this season playing in 11 games. The 2014 5th round pick by the Detroit Red Wings is a tall athletic netminder with good flexibility and reaction to make those second and third saves more frequently. His numbers this season don't tell the whole story as his defense has really let him down in front of him. On the season he is 1-9-1 with a 3.67 goals against average and a .899 save percentage. It's likely his numbers would be much better if the players in front of him played better. Backup Cam Hackett has seen game action in six games and statistically has been the better goaltender with a 2-3 record with a 2.67 goals per game average and a .913 save percentage. Both are talented goaltenders who need the defense to pick up some slack in front of them. Hackett has played in two of the last three games so its unknown who Appert will turn to Friday night against Quinnipiac.

The Bobcats need to excel on the fore-check to keep the RPI defense from gaining any confidence and to force mistakes against them. On defense, Quinnipiac needs to a do a good job closing off passing lanes, shutting down some of the top players on RPI (Tironese, Bourbonnais and Wilson)   and blocking shots. If they do these things that should put them in good position to come away with two ECAC points.

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

Connor Clifton suspended 1 game by ECAC

Senior captain Connor Clifton has been suspended one game by ECAC Hockey as it was announced today stemming from contact to the head hit in Saturday's Friendship Four final against the Vermont Catamounts. The hit occurred at the 13:26 mark of the first period when the defenseman was assessed a major penalty for contact to the head and a game misconduct penalty. The Bobcats ended up losing the game 5-1 to Vermont. This is Clifton's second game misconduct penalty of the season as he was assessed one at the end of the UMass game back on October 25th stemming from a major spearing penalty. ECAC Hockey did not give him any additional discipline from that game.

Connor Clifton (photo by Mickey Bedell/Bangor Daily News)

Clifton's suspension will take place this Friday when the Bobcats return home to face RPI in an ECAC league game. The hope is that Derek Smith will return to the lineup to mitigate the blow of Clifton's suspension. Smith missed the Bobcats last two games in Belfast, Northern Ireland due to undisclosed reasons. If Smith cannot play on Friday in Clifton's absence then the Bobcats will likely go with senior Joe Fiala back on defense. Quinnipiac then plays host to Union College the next night in which Clifton should return to the Bobcats lineup.

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

Quinnipiac recruiting notes 11/28/2016

It was a slow week for future Quinnipiac commits as some recruits had a quiet games on the ice and some commits didn't have any games at all due to the Thanksgiving holiday. We also saw the Bobcats play in the Friendship Four tournament in Belfast, Northern Ireland where they tied Saint Lawrence on Friday before winning in a shoot-out and then getting beat 5-1 Saturday to a quality Vermont Catamount squad. With that said lets get on to this weeks notes.

Matt Fawcett (photo courtesy of Winchendon School)

Two commits kick off their prep school season this week in 1999 forward Matt Fawcett for The Winchendon School and 2000 defenseman Peter Diliberatore for the Salisbury School. Fawcett has already played two games this season for the Sioux City Musketeers of the USHL who hold his rights and is currently on their affiliate list. He didn't record a point in either game he played. He will also play for the U18 Eastern Mass Senators split season team on top of playing for Winchendon. Diliberatore according to Neutral Zone is a smart, dynamic offensive defender. He was selected in the 10th round by the Sioux Falls Stampede in the 2016 USHL Phase I draft but was also a 4th round selection by his hometown Halifax Mooseheads of the QMJHL which makes him a possible flight risk to major junior hockey.

Another commit starting his school season this week is 1999 forward Corey Clifton who on top of playing for the North Jersey Avalanche 18U team also will be playing as a senior for the Christian Brothers Academy. His high school season kicks off on November 28th.

1999 goaltender Keith Petruzzelli had his roughest game of the season against Team USA on November 22nd when he gave up eight goals on 37 shots. He had not given up more than three goals per game in any of the games he played in this season. He currently is 7-4 with a 2.57 goals against average and .914 save percentage but the last two statistics are skewed due to that one bad game. He has been playing some really good hockey in between the pipes for Muskegon until his most recent start.  as he was playing some really good hockey in net for Muskegon. I wouldn't expect this one bad performance by him to be something of a trend. Petruzzelli is an extremely talented goaltending prospect that plays with great confidence.

Keith Petruzzelli (photo by Muskegon Lumberjacks)

Two Quinnipiac commits went head to head in action this weekend when 1999 forward Matt Cassidy of the Springfield Junior Blues faced off against 1998 forward John DeRoche of the Topeka RoadRunners. Cassidy picked up another point on the weekend with an assist on Friday while DeRoche was held scoreless. However, DeRoche seemed to be snake bitten in Saturday's game as he led Topeka with 10 shots on goal.

1998 forward Khristian Acosta continues to be a point per game player in the NAHL. While he has not scored a goal in over a month he does have nine assists in that time frame. On the season for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton he has 6 goals and 11 assists in 15 games played.

1998 defenseman Zach Metsa had one assist against Salmon Arm this past weekend. He now has 16 assists in 29 games played for Merritt in the British Columbia Hockey League.

1996 forward Matt Forchuk had two more goals in a November 22 game for the Canmore Eagles. In 25 games played, he is the teams leading scorer with 13 goals and 25 assists and the third leading scorer in the AJHL.

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

Defense plays poorly as Quinnipiac falls 5-1 to Vermont in Belpot final

The No. 3/4 Quinnipiac Bobcats were out muscled, out hustled and clearly didn't play anywhere close to the their national ranking in a 5-1 loss to Vermont in the Belpot final of the Friendship Four tournament in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The Catamounts brought their skating legs all night and had the Bobcats defense on their heals all night long. It was a display of hockey that Quinnipiac fans are not accustomed to seeing with this team and it showed they have a lot of work to do if they want to challenge for a national championship come April.

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

In the first period Ross Colton got the scoring started less than six minutes into the game, when he picked off a pass in the neutral zone and skated into the crease beating goaltender Andrew Shortridge for the goal. Vermont made it 2-0 seven minutes later when Mario Puskarich bombed a one timer in the slot on a pass from Craig Puffer. The Bobcats lost senior captain Connor Clifton to a five minute major penalty for a hit to the head 13 minutes into the first period leaving Quinnipiac shorthanded on defense for the rest of the game. The team was already without fellow captain Derek Smith on the blue line for an undisclosed reason.

In the second period the Bobcats played a better period but still came up empty on the scoreboard. They peppered 14 shots in the period on Stefanos Lekkas who played exceptionally well for someone who does not have ideal size for a goaltender. He used his quickness and athleticism to stuff the Bobcats time and time again. Quinnipiac had four power play opportunities in the second and could not cash in. Late in the period the Catamounts made the score 3-0 on the power play when Jarrid Privitera tipped a shot from the point by Rob Hamilton that went through several players and past Shortridge.

Ross Colton (photo by Brian Jenkins/Free Press)

The Bobcats got on the board 7:58 into the third period on the power play when Brogan Rafferty sent a pass to the opposite circle to Craig Martin who blasted a shot past Lekkas to make it a 3-1 lead for Vermont. Chase Priskie also picked up a secondary assist on the goal. Not even a minute later the Catamounts responded on an unassisted goal by Ross Colton (his second of the game). A little more than two minutes later the Catamounts put the cherry on top with a goal by Derek Lodermeier.

You have to give credit to Vermont as they played extremely well defensively against Quinnipiac keeping many shots from the the outside and not giving the Bobcats many good looks or time and space to work with. The Catamount defense also blocked 18 shots on the game and were willing to do anything to prevent the Bobcats from having easy scoring opportunities. Lekkas finished the game with 40 saves while Andrew Shortridge made 17 for the Bobcats. I think that Quinnipiac didn't look as comfortable on the bigger sheet of ice this weekend as they do on normal size rinks. It was a missed opportunity for the Bobcats against a team in the top 15 of the pairwise to pick up another quality win. Quinnipiac will now head home for a weekend slate of games against RPI on Friday and Union on Saturday.

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

Scouting the enemy: Vermont Catamounts

The No. 3/4 Quinnipiac Bobcats face off against the No. 20/21 Vermont Catamounts for the Belpot in the championship game of the Friendship Four tournament in Belfast, Northern Ireleand. The Bobcats advanced to the title game with a shoot-out win over ECAC rival Saint Lawrence while Vermont defeated UMass Amherst 4-2 to move to advance. The Catamounts have gotten off to a good start this season under head coach Kevin Sneddon who is entering his 14th season with Vermont. The team is currently 8-3-2 and in second place in Hockey East with nine points behind first place Boston College. Sneddon has had some solid success with Vermont taking the program to three NCAA tournament appearances and a Frozen Four berth in the 2008-2009 season. This is only the second meeting all time for Quinnipiac against Vermont, the last coming in a 4-1 win over the Catamounts on December 30, 2007 in the Sheraton/Catamount Cup in Burlington, Vermont.

Ross Colton (photo by Brian Jenkins/Free Press)

Offensively this is a team that can put the puck in the net due in part to the 3.38 goals per game they are averaging this season. They are getting balanced scoring from multiple players up and down their roster. They have two leading scorers both with nine points in sophomore Craig Puffer (6 goals and 3 assists) and freshman Ross Colton (4 goals and 5 assists) with the latter being a 2016 4th round draft pick by the Tampa Bay Lightning. They feature another three players with eight points in senior Mario Puskarich (4 goals and 4 assists), junior Rob Darrar (5 goals and 3 assists) and senior blue liner Rob Hamilton (3 goals and 5 assists). They are getting some nice production from a pair of freshman forwards in Derek Lodermeier (3 goals and 4 assists) and Matt Alvaro (4 goals and 2 assists). They have two draft picks up front with sophomore Liam Coughlin a 2014 5th round pick by the Edmonton Oilers and Colton. They are a middle of the pack team on the power play converting at 17.28% (14-of-81) so the Quinnipiac penalty kill should be able to make it tough on them to score as they are killing chances at 90.1% clip good for 7th in the nation. The Catamounts don't bring a ton of size up front but make up for it with good team speed. Quinnipiac has the team speed on defense to match up with the Catamounts speedy forwards but you do wonder how much they have in the tank after a face paced physical battle yesterday against Saint Lawrence took its toll.

Defensively, Vermont is a very good team at 2.23 goals per game which is good for 8th in the nation one spot behind Quinnipiac. Sneddon has played all nine of his defensemen on his roster this season for multiple games with seniors Rob Hamilton and Ori Abramson playing in a all 13 games along with freshman Matt O'Donnell. The lone draft pick on defense is freshman Jake Massie a 2015 6th pick of the Carolina Hurricanes. Sophomore Mike Lee is a Hamden, CT native but has only played in three games this season. The blue line has produced 25 points of offense for the Catamounts so they have ability to contribute if necessary. They are a team that has the ability to block shots in games as they have averaged 11.2 block shots per game. Vermont has a very good penalty kill as well as they have killed off opponents power plays at an 88.2% clip (67-of-76). They are not the biggest team on defense but they have good team speed, make good decisions and don't make a lot of mistakes. Offensively the Bobcats will need to outwork the Catamounts when they are in Vermont's zone in order to create quality scoring opportunities.

Stefanos Lekkas (photo by Brendan Sullivan/The World Herald)

Freshman goaltender Stefanos Lekkas has been really good for Vermont this season. In 10 games he has a 7-1-2 record with a 1.79 goals against average and a .935 save percentage. He has one shutout on the season as well. Lekkas is not a big goaltender checking in a 5'9 and 170 pounds but has good quickness and athleticism to make up for his lack of size in net. Quinnipiac will need to put traffic in front of him so he will have trouble seeing the puck and to try to get some greasy goals.

This should be a good match up of two quality teams for the Belpot title. This is the game you wanted Quinnipiac to play as Vermont is the 12th rated team in the pairwise as opposed to UMass which is 47th. A win over the Catamounts will help Quinnipiac's pairwise much more than a win over UMass would have.

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