Quinnipiac Men's Ice Hockey Picked Fifth In ECAC Hockey Coaches Preseason Poll, Third In Media Poll
9/23/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
ALBANY, New York – The Quinnipiac University men's ice hockey team was picked to finish fifth by the league's coaches and third by the league's media, receiving one first-place vote, in the 2014-15 ECAC Hockey Preseason Polls. In addition, the coaches chose senior co-captain Matthew Peca (Petawawa, Ontario) as an All-ECAC Hockey Preseason selection while sophomore Sam Anas (Potomac, Maryland) was chosen by the media for the all-league team.
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ECAC Hockey Coaches Poll |
ECAC Hockey Media Poll |
|
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1. |
Colgate (7) 117 |
1. Colgate (18) 336 |
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2. |
Union (4) 103 |
2. Union (11) 322 |
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3. |
Cornell (1) 90 |
3. Quinnipiac (1) 289 |
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4. |
Yale 87 |
4. Cornell 263 |
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5. |
Quinnipiac 82 |
5. Yale 211 |
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6. |
Dartmouth 67 |
6. Dartmouth 190 |
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7. |
Brown 61 |
7. Brown 162 |
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8. |
Clarkson 58 |
8. Clarkson 161 |
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9. |
Harvard 50 |
9. Rensselaer 141 |
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10. |
Rensselaer 42 |
10. Harvard 129 |
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11. |
St. Lawrence 24 |
11. St. Lawrence 101 |
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12. |
Princeton 11 |
12. Princeton 32 |
The Bobcats are coming off another successful season in 2013-14, in which they finished the year with a 24-10-6 record, good enough for third in the ECAC. The Bobcats advanced to their second-consecutive NCAA Tournament for only the third time in the school's history. Scoring came up and down the lineup for the Bobcats, as eight skaters accumulated more than twenty points on the season. Freshman Sam Anas lead the team in goals (22) and points (43) on his way to capturing the Tim Taylor Award, which recognizes the NCAA Division I National Rookie of the Year.
| ECAC Hockey Coaches Preseason Team | ||
| F - Daniel Ciampini, Union | ||
| F - Matthew Peca, Quinnipiac | ||
| F - Jimmy Vesey, Harvard | ||
| D - Gavin Bayreuther, St. Lawrence | ||
| D - Joakim Ryan, Cornell | ||
| G - Colini Stevens, Union | ||
| ECAC Hockey Media Preseason Team | ||
| G - Colin Stevens, Union | ||
| D - Gavin Bayreuther, St. Lawrence | ||
| D - Spiro Goulakos, Colgate | ||
| D - Joakim Ryan, Cornell | ||
| F - Daniel Ciampini, Union | ||
| F - Sam Anas, Quinnipiac | ||
| F - Mark Naclerio, Brown |
Peca returns as Quinnipiac's lone senior forward. After playing in all 40 games for the Bobcats in 2013-14, Peca tied for third on the team with 38 points and also led the team in assists (26) for the second time in three years at Quinnipiac. One of the Bobcats' cornerstone players for years, Peca became just the 32nd player in program history – and the first junior since Brandon Wong in 2008-09 – to reach the 100 career point mark. For his career, Peca has tallied 35 goals and 72 assists for 107 points in 118 career games. An explosive point scorer liable to breakout with a multi-point game on any given day, Peca supplanted himself in history as he tied Quinnipiac's single-game Div. I point record with his six-point outburst at St. Lawrence on Feb. 28, 2013. Peca had a hand in six of Quinnipiac's eight goals, tallying two goals and four assists.
Despite having to make up for the loss of several key senior contributions due to graduation, the Bobcats will welcome back the 2013-14 Tim Taylor Award winner as the NCAA Div. I Men's Ice Hockey National Rookie of the Year in Sam Anas. In just his first season with the Bobcats, Anas put together one of the finest seasons in Quinnipiac hockey history, leading all NCAA Div. I freshmen skaters with 43 points (22-21-43) while playing in all 40 games. The first Quinnipiac player in the program's history to be honored as the top freshman in NCAA Div. I, Anas was also honored as the ECAC Hockey Co-Rookie of the Year, an ECAC Hockey Second Team selection and All-Rookie pick, George C. Carens Rookie of the year and the College Hockey News Rookie of the Year. The Bobcats will look toward their young and highly skilled second-year forward to lead the way offensively in in the 2014-15 season.
That explosive scoring ability from Anas and Peca will be needed as the Bobcats look to replace three of their top five scorers from a season ago. Connor and Kellen Jones as well as Jordan Samuels-Thomas combined for 214 points at Quinnipiac from the 2010-14 seasons and were key contributors on back-to-back NCAA Tournament teams. Also gone is the Bobcats' senior do-everything captain Cory Hibbeler who found ways to contribute in a wide variety of ways and was the unquestioned leader on the 2013-14 squad that was a fixture in the Top 10 rankings. Another key departure among the forward group is the Bobcats' first alum to see the ice in the NHL as Bryce Van Brabant's physicality and goal scoring ability wreaked havoc along the opposing back line all throughout the 2013-14 season.
Several other returners who'll be looking to fill the void include junior Travis St. Denis. Coming off a career year in 2013-14 with 28 points (15-13-28), St. Denis found the back of the net 15 times which tied for the third-most of any Bobcat throughout last season. A key cog in the Bobcats' success, Quinnipiac lost only once in the seven times he tallied a multi-point game.
Quinnipiac returns a host of sophomores looking to step into greater roles on the team in 2014-15. Among that grouping includes Tommy Schutt (36 GP, 4-6-10), Tim Clifton (40 GP, 3-7-10), Brayden Sherbinin (27 GP, 4-4-8) as well as junior Soren Jonzzon (24 GP, 1-3-4).
The newcomers for Quinnipiac in 2014-15 is a crowded bunch as six of the eight freshmen come in listed at the forward position. The Bobcats will say goodbye to one set of brothers (twins Connor and Kellen Jones) but welcome two more in Bo and Canon Pieper as well as Jonah and Nathan Renouf, who all look to make an immediate impact in their first season at Quinnipiac. The Piepers played for the Coquitlam Express in the BCHL and combined for 125 points last season for a team that won the BCHL Championship in 2013-14. Joining the Pieper brothers will be the 2012-13 AJHL Rookie of the Year Tanner MacMaster, the 2013-14 MVP and leading scorer of the BCHL (43-40-83 in 58 games) Landon Smith and AJHL stand-out Andrew Taverner.
One of the most experienced groupings of players returning to the ice in 2014-15 for the Bobcats will be their defensive core, led by co-captain Dan Federico. After seeing the ice in just 16 games during his freshman season, Federico has blossomed into one of the Bobcats' most consistent and steady forces on the ice as well as one of the leaders in ice time for Quinnipiac. Appearing in 36 games last season Federico registered a career high 14 points (1-13-14) and also led all Quinnipiac skaters and tied for the ECAC Hockey lead with a +19 plus/minus rating. A disciplined skaters as well, Federico committed just three penalties all season and was named a finalist for the ECAC Hockey Best Defensive Defenseman Award.
Federico's line mate throughout last season will also be returning as sophomore Connor Clifton's goal scoring ability from the blue line figures to be on full display again this season. As a rookie in 2013-14, Connor (5-4-9) finished with the most goals for a Quinnipiac defenseman and also tallied the second-best plus/minus rating (+17) on the team.
Finishing just behind Zach Tolkinen's 22 points in 2013-14 was the 17-point season posted by then-freshman Devon Toews (1-16-17). Following the conclusion of the 2013-14 season, Toews was chosen by the New York Islanders in the fourth round of the 2014 NHL Draft. Toews was taken with the 108th overall pick of the draft, becoming the second-highest drafted player in Quinnipiac history. The Bobcats' second-highest scoring defenseman, Toews also ranked eighth nationally in freshmen defenseman points and was one of six freshmen defenseman in NCAA Div. I hockey with 15 or more assists.
Another double-digit point scorer from last season along the back line will be returning as junior Alex Barron (1-11-12) looks to build upon his career year in 2013-14. Barron's scoring was a key to the Bobcats' success as the team went undefeated (8-0-1) in the nine games in which he tallied at least one point.
Two steady sophomores in Derek Smith (35 GP, 2-8-10) and Joe Fiala (19 GP, 0-1-1) will look to step into more primary roles along the Bobcats' back line while incoming freshman Kevin McKernan brings plenty of big game experience having just won the 2013-14 USPHL Championship with the Boston Jr. Bruins. In addition, the Bobcats will add transfer Justin Agosta to the line-up, who comes to Hamden from the University of New Hampshire. Last season, Agosta totalled six goals and 20 assists for 26 points in 41 games. For his 116 career games with the Wildcats, Agosta finished with nine goals and 36 assists for 45 career points.
Much was asked of then-sophomore Michael Garteig having to step in for one of the most illustrious players in program history Eric Hartzell but he certainly made a name for himself and prolonged Quinnipiac's identity as one of the nation's stingiest defenses in 2013-14. An absolute workhorse for the Bobcats starting all 40 games in 2013-14, Garteig finished the season with a 24-10-6 record, 1.94 GAA, .910 save percentage and six shutouts. His stellar play between the pipes earned him five ECAC Hockey Goalie of the Week honors which is the most for a Quinnipiac player in a single-season since joining the conference for the 2005-06 season. His six shutouts last season broke Hartzell's Quinnipiac all-time single-season shutout record which had stood at five. Garteig's 1.94 GAA ranked as the third-best in the country among NCAA Div. I goaltenders while his winning percentage (.675) ranked 9th and his six shutouts tied for the second-most in the nation. His durability was also recognized as he finished second in the county in terms of minutes played (2409:29) and first in games played (40).
Junior Jacob Meyers backed up the Bobcats' two-time ECAC Hockey Goaltender of the Month and appeared in six games last season. Meyers played well in his limited time on-ice, saving all six shots he faced in a little over 26 minutes of action in 2013-14. He'll compete for playing time behind Garteig with incoming freshman Sean Lawrence who teamed up with fellow incoming recruit Kevin McKernan to win the 2013-14 USPHL Championship with the Boston Jr. Bruins. Lawrence sports an impressive resume upon his arrival at Quinnipiac as he was most recently named the 2013-14 USPHL MVP and Goaltender of the Year while posting a 29-8 record, 2.06 GAA and .932 save percentage for the Bruins.
Quinnipiac returns to the ice for the 2014-15 season on Saturday, Oct. 4 when it hosts Acadia for an exhibition game at High Point Solutions Arena at the TD Bank Sports Center at 7 p.m. The Bobcats regular-season opener lands on Saturday, Oct. 11 when they host Bentley, also at 7 p.m.
