No. 18 QU Men's Ice Hockey Faces Holy Cross For Home-and-Home Series

Friday, October 9

Worcester, MA // Hart Recreation Center

7:06 PM

Quinnipiac University

Holy Cross

No. 18 QU Men's Ice Hockey Faces Holy Cross For Home-and-Home Series

10/8/2015 10:44:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey

By: QU Sports Information

No. 18 Quinnipiac University Bobcats
(0-0-0, 0-0-0 ECAC Hockey) vs.
College of the Holy Cross Crusaders
(0-0-0, 0-0-0 AH)

GAME INFORMATION
Date: Oct. 9, 2015
Time: 7 PM
Location: Hart Recreation Center; Worcester, Mass.
Date: Oct. 10, 2015
Time: 4 PM
Location: High Point Solutions Arena; Hamden, Conn.
All-Time vs.: 21-5-4
Last Meeting: W, 4-1 (10/26/13; Hamden, Conn.)

BROADCAST INFORMATION
AM 1220 WQUN
Play-by-play: Bill Schweizer
Color: Chris Kotsopoulos

ON THE WEB
Web: QuinnipiacBobcats.com
Twitter: @QU_MIH

Nationally-ranked No. 18 Quinnipiac men's ice hockey will travel to Worcester, Mass. to face the College of Holy Cross on Friday, Oct. 9 for its 2015-16 season opener before hosting the Crusaders for its home opener on Saturday, Oct. 10 at 4 p.m.

MULTIMEDIA
Bobcat fans can tune into AM 1220 WQUN - the flagship station of Quinnipiac men's ice hockey as well as men's and women's basketball - for all the action. Bill Schweizer and Chris Kotsopoulos will have all the action live from the Hart Recreation Center on Friday night and also from High Point Solutions Arena on Saturday.

ALL-TIME AGAINST HOLY CROSS
Quinnipiac and Holy Cross have faced each other 30 times since 1998 with the Bobcats posting a 21-5-4 record all-time against the Crusaders.
Quinnipiac is 7-5-2 all-time in Worcester against Holy Cross and 13-0-2 at home.
Quinnipiac is 8-1-1 in its last 10 games against Holy Cross, which includes four straight wins.
Holy Cross' last win in the series came on Dec. 12, 2005, a 5-2 decision in Boston, Mass.

SCOUTING THE HOLY CROSS CRUSADERS
Last season, the Crusaders went 14-18-5 overall and 12-11-5 in Atlantic Hockey.
The Crusaders return 21 players from last season including five of six starters, while they welcome seven freshmen.
Holy Cross returns nine of its top 10 point producers.

ALL-AMERICAN KID
Junior assistant captain Sam Anas (Potomac, Maryland), a 2014-15 AHCA/CCM Hockey All American Second Team selection, continued to impress the Bobcat faithful with 39 points (23 goals, 16 assists) in his sophomore campaign.
A bevy of individual awards came his way as he was named a New England Division I All-Star for the second straight season and became the first forward in program history to earn two all-conference nods as he earned All-ECAC Hockey Second Team honors.
A lethal goal scoring threat from all corners of the ice, Anas led the Bobcats in goals and points while sitting tied for 8th in the nation in goals-per-game (0.61) and tied for 3rd in power-play goals (9).
Anas enters 2015-16 ranked seventh among all NCAA Division I student-athletes in career goals (45) and second in power-play goals (19).

SAINT TRAVIS
Travis St. Denis (Trail, British Columbia) followed up his 28-point sophomore season with 33 points (15 goals, 18 assists) in 38 games in 2014-15.
He rounded out his stat sheet with five power play goals, five game-winning goals and a team-leading 11 plus/minus rating.
St. Denis was one of just seven players in the conference to average at least one point per game in league play.
In 119 career games, St. Denis has accumulated 38 goals and 38 assists for 76 career points.

LANDO
Landon Smith's (Greenwood Village, Colorado) 31-point (15 goals, 16 assists) freshman season was a monster campaign as he led all ECAC Hockey freshmen in goals, assists, points, goals-per-game, points-per-game, power-play points (10), game-winning goals (four) and hat tricks (one).
Smith ranked in the top 20 among all freshmen in the nation for all major offensive statistical categories including 6th in points and tied for 5th in goals.
Smith was a three-time ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Week recipient.

THE CAPTAIN
Named to the Capital One Academic All-District I Men's at-large First Team as well as being a finalist for the prestigious ECAC Hockey Student-Athlete of the Year in 2014-15, it's difficult to imagine an individual with more inherent abilities than senior captain Soren Jonzzon (Mountain View, California). After more than tripling his single-season career scoring record in 2014-15, Jonzzon returns following a breakout 15-point (eight goals, seven assists) season while posting the second-best plus/minus ( 7) among the team's forwards.

JERSEY BOY
Junior Tim Clifton (Matawan, New Jersey) broke out with career-highs across the board in points (17), goals (nine) and assists (eight) last season.
Clifton could be found all over the ice as he registered four power-play goals, three game-winning tallies, one shorthanded goal and a 5 plus/minus for the season.
Clifton's nine goals ranked 4th on the team while the bobcats capitalized on his scoring with the team going 11-2-1 in the 14 games in which Clifton chipped in at least one point.

DEPTH CHART
Quinnipiac returns a host of sophomores looking to step into larger roles on the team in 2015-16. Among that grouping includes:
Bo Pieper (Roseville, Minnsota/38 gp, 3-10-13)
Tanner MacMaster (Calgary, Alberta/37 gp, 5-7-12)
Andrew Taverner (Edmonton, Alberta/35 gp, 6-3-9)
Canon Pieper (Roseville, Minnesota/12 gp, 0-1-1)
Tommy Schutt (Chanhassan, Minnesota/39 gp, 2-4-6)
Brayden Sherbinin (Kelowna, British Columbia/26 gp, 0-1-1)
K.J. Tiefenwerth (Bellmore, New York/27 gp, 0-5-5).

THE NEW GUYS
The newcomers for Quinnipiac in 2015-16 include three at the forward spot, all of which played for the British Columbia Hockey League last season.
Thomas Aldworth (Keller, Texas) led the Vernon Vipers with 37 goals while assisting on 19 more for 56 points in 57 games, including eight points in 11 playoff games in 2014-15.
Scott Davidson, hailing for the same hometown as St. Denis (Trail, British Columbia), tallied 21 points (nine goals, 12 assists) in 33 games after being traded to Chilliwack last season.
Craig Martin (Trail, British Columbia) is another established point per game scorer in the BCHL with 46 points (19 goals, 27 assists) in 41 games for the Trail Smoke Eaters in 2014-15.

DEFENSE
Some key players depart the defensive core from last season as Quinnipiac loses its best offensive and defensive defensemen from a year ago.
Last year's co-captain Danny Federico, a two-time finalist for the ECAC Hockey Best Defensive Defenseman Award and 2014-15 All-ECAC Hockey Second Team selection, graduated and signed for the AHL's Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins following the season.
Justin Agosta, the team's leading defensive scorer (39 gp, 3-19-22) in 2014-15, also graduated after shining in his one year with the Bobcats.

TOEWS-ER
A pivotal return to the bobcats' blue line in 2015-16, junior Devon Toews was one of the top all-around threats for Quinnipiac last season as he racked up 20 points (four goals, 16 assists) while leading all defensemen on the team with 64 shots-on-goal despite missing eight games due to injury.
Toews led all the team's defensemen in goals and points per game (0.65) while ranking 3rd among ECAC Hockey blue liners in scoring.
As the season went along, his contributions proved a pattern for team success as the Bobcats went 13-1-2 in the 16 games when Toews registered at least one point.

WHAT'S IN A NAME?
Alex Miner-Barron (Glendora, California) (previously Alex Barron) split time between the forward and defensive lines all season, contributing three goals and seven assists in 39 games.
Miner-Barron was granted a fourth year of eligibility in the offseason and is currently riding the longest active games played streak on the team at 79 straight appearances.
THE LIFE OF SMITTY
Derek Smith (Apple Valley, Minnesota) finished with a single-season career-best 13 assists in 36 games while totaling the second-most blocked shots on the team with 60 in 2014-15.

CC ME ON THAT
Federico's linemate for the past two seasons, Connor Clifton(Matawan, New Jersey) also returns following five assists and a 4 plus/minus rating in 38 games in 2014-15.
After pairing with Federico in all but one of his 74 career games played, the now junior defender looks to continue developing after leading all Quinnipiac defensemen with five goals in the 2013-14 season.

THE NEW BLUE
The incoming class of freshmen features a pair of offensively gifted defensemen in Daniel Fritz (Harwood, Maryland) and Luke Shiplo (Oakville, Ontario), who each led their respective BCHL teams in defensive scoring last season.
Fritz picked up 38 points (eight goals, 30 assists) in 55 games for the Coquitlam Express while Shiplo totaled 44 points (five goals, 39 assists) in 50 games to lead Vernon.
Chase Priskie (Pembroke Pines, Florida) also joins the Bobcats in 2014-15 after scoring 20 points (six goals, 14 assists) in 57 games as a defensive-minded defenseman for the Salmon Arm Silverbacks.

GARTS
Voted all-ECAC Hockey as a third team selection for the first time in his career in 2014-15, senior Michael Garteig has made a name for himself as one of the premier goaltenders, not just in the conference, but in the nation.
Garteig was a workhorse again in 2014-15, finishing 22-10-3 (.671 win percentage) with a 2.03 GAA and .917 save percentage to go along with five shutouts.
Garteig made history on Feb. 6 at Cornell as his 20-save effort was good enough for the 11th shutout of his career, passing EricHartzell '13 for first place on the all-time list at Quinnipiac.
A three-time ECAC Hockey Goalie of the Week, Garteig led all goalies in the league to start all 22 conference games in fewest goals allowed (35) while logging a league-high 1,333:14 minutes.
A scoreless streak spanning 151:19, the second-longest in program history, as well as a 13-game unbeaten streak (10-0-3) highlighted Garteig's season as he looks to continue building his resume as one of the best goaltenders in program history.
Garteig enters 2015-16 ranked 5th in career saves among active players (1,632); 1st in career wins among active players (46); 1st in career shutouts (11) among active players; 3rd in career goals-against (1.99) among active players

THE LAW MAN
Sophomore Sean Lawrence saw action in six games, making three starts between the pipes.
Lawrence posted a 1-2-1 record in his six appearances to go along with a 2.50 gaa and .881 save percentage in his rookie season.
The 2013-14 USPHL MVP and Goaltender of the Year, Lawrence looks to continue improving behind Garteig and develop into another upper-echelon Quinnipiac goalie.