No. 2/3 Bobcats Back In Action On Saturday, Jan. 2 At Northeastern

No. 2/3 Bobcats Back In Action On Saturday, Jan. 2 At Northeastern

12/31/2015 1:40:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey

By: QU Sports Information

No. 2/3 Quinnipiac University Bobcats
(17-1-2, 8-0-2 ECAC Hockey) at
Northeastern University Huskies
(3-12-3, 0-8-3 Hockey East)
Date: Saturday, Jan. 2, 2016
Time: 7:00 PM
Location: Matthews Arena //Boston, Massachusetts

All-Time Series vs. Northeastern: 2-1-0
Last Meeting: W, 4-3; Nov. 2, 2014, Hamden, Conn.

Follow The Bobcats at Northeastern
Live Stats: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=91334
Live Video: http://portal.stretchinternet.com/northeastern/
Live Audio: AM 1220 WQUN
(PxP: Paul Pacelli; Color: Ken Sweeten)
Twitter: @QU_MIH

Game Notes
Quinnipiac | Northeastern

Nationally-ranked No. 2/3 Quinnipiac men's ice hockey will face Northeastern in a non-conference match-up at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 2 at Matthews Arena in Boston, Mass.

Multimedia
Quinnipiac fans have a variety of ways to follow the nationally-ranked Bobcats for every game this season. AM 1220 WQUN - the flagship station of Quinnipiac men's ice hockey as well as men's and women's basketball - will have all the action. Bobcat fans can also access live video and stats by clicking the appropriate links on the men's ice hockey schedule page on QuinnipiacBobcats.com. Bobcat fans can also follow all the in-game action on Twitter @QU_MIH.

On The Airwaves
Paul "The Jet" Pacelli and Ken Sweeten will have the call on AM 1220 WQUN on Saturday from Matthews Arena. Bobcat fans can access the live audio stream on the web at www.QuinnipiacBobcats.com.

The Last Time Quinnipiac Played
• Quinnipiac will head into its weekend match-up against Northeastern on the heals of a two-game sweep of ECAC Hockey foe Princeton on Tuesday, Dec. 29 and Wednesday, Dec. 30.
• On Tuesday, Dec. 29, five first-period goals powered the Bobcats to a 6-0 blow-out of the Tigers in front of the second-largest crowd in the history of Hobey Baker Memorial Rink.
• Tim Clifton factored into half of Quinnipiac's 10 goals, registering two goals and three assists in two games. His four-point night on Dec. 29 saw Clifton score once and assist on three more goals in a 6-0 blowout before following with the game's first goal in a 4-3 win at home against the Tigers on Wednesday, Dec. 30.
• Derek Smith scored in both games of the series. The Bobcats' junior defenseman scored on the first two shots of his career as a freshman in 2013-14. He then went without a goal for the next 86 games of his career before scoring on back-to-back nights.
• Sam Anas had a goal and two assists in the series while Chase Priskie and Soren Jonzzon had an assist in each game.
• Travis St. Denis had back-to-back two-point nights, totaling a goal and an assist on Tuesday before following with two assists on Wednesday.

What's Next For The Bobcats?
• Following its match-up against Northeastern, the Bobcats will return home on Thursday, Jan. 7 to host Union at 7 p.m.
• On Jan. 9, 2016, the Bobcats face Harvard in the "Rivalry on Ice" at Madison Square Garden at 7:30 p.m.

The Bobcats In The National Polls
• The Quinnipiac men's ice hockey team landed in the No. 3 spot the USCHO.com Poll on Dec. 14 following its loss to Boston University. The Bobcats received one first-place vote.
• The Bobcats were ranked No. 2 in the latest USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine College Hockey Poll on Dec. 14.

The Bobcats In The PairWise Ranking
• Quinnipiac enters its eighth consecutive week in the top spot in the PairWise Ranking.
• The PairWise Ranking is a system which attempts to mimic the method used by the NCAA Selection Committee to determine participants for the NCAA Division I men's hockey tournament. The PWR compares all teams by these criteria: record against common opponents, head-to-head competition, and the RPI.
• For each comparison won, a team receives one point. The final PWR ranking is based on the number of points (comparisons) won. Ties are settled by the RPI.

The Bobcats All-Time Against Northeastern
• Saturday night's tilt between Quinnipiac and Northeastern will be the fourth meeting all-time.
• Quinnipiac enters the game with a 2-1 series lead after taking both games of last year's two-game set, 3-2 and 4-3 on Nov. 1-2, respetively, in Hamden.
• The only meeting in the three-game series to take place in Boston resulted in a 2-1 win for Northeastern.

Scouting The Northeastern Huskies
• Northeastern enters Saturday's game with a record of 3-12-3 overall and 0-8-3 in Hockey East play.
• The Huskies opened the season with a 2-1 win at home against Colgate before posting a 0-11-2 record in their next 13 games. Northeastern got back in the win column with a 7-1 win against Colgate at the Friendship Four in Belfast, Ireland, and are 2-1-1 in their last four games, including a 2-1 win against Michigan State in their last outing on Dec. 19.
• Zach Aston-Reese leads Northeastern in assists (10) and points (16) with six goals.
• Nolan Stevens has scored a team-high seven goals to go with six assists for 13 points while John Stevens (4-6--10), Eric Williams (4-6--10) and Dylan Sikura (2-8--10) give the Huskies five players in double-digits.
• The Huskies active career scoring leader Kevin Roy has not played in the Huskies last seven games. Roy was an All-American in 2014-15 and sits at 129 career points (55 g, 74 a) in 112 career games.
• Ryan Ruck has suited up for 10 of Northeastern's last 11 games and is 1-9-2 with a .894 save percentage and a 2.89 GAA.

The Bobcats' Streak
• The Bobcats 17-game unbeaten streak was the second longest unbeaten streak in program history, after the Bobcats posted a 21-game (18-0-3) unbeaten streak in the 2012-13 season.
• Quinnipiac's unbeaten streak to start the season was the longest in NCAA Division I men's ice hockey since Colorado College opened the 1995-96 at 15-0-3. It was also the sixth longest in NCAA Division I men's ice hockey since 1970.

Longest Unbeaten Streak To Start A Season Since 1970 (Courtesy of Chip Malafronte, New Haven Register)
29: Cornell (29-0), 1969-70
29: Maine (28-0-1), 1992-93
21: Boston University (21-0), 1977-78
19: Maine (14-0-5), 1994-95
18: Colorado College (15-0-3), 1995-96
17: Quinnipiac (15-0-2), 2015-Dec. 12, 2015
16: St. Lawrence (16-0), 1988-89
15: Harvard (15-0), 1986-87
15: Harvard (15-0), 1988-89
14: Boston University (13-0-1), 1970-71
14: Wisconsin (13-0-1), 1981-82
14: Providence (11-0-3), 2015-present
13: Ohio State (13-0), 1983-84
13: Minnesota (11-0-2), 2001-02
13: Air Force (13-0), 2008-09

Team Notes
• Through 20 games, Quinnipiac has out-scored its opponents 74-28, with four goals in 13 of its 20 games.
• With a pair of 3-0 wins at Yale and at Brown, and following a 1-0 win against UMass on Nov. 28, Quinnipias posted a shut-out in three straight games for the first time in the program's 41-year history.
• 33 of Quinnipiac's 74 goals have come in the second period, of which the Bobcats have out-scored their opponents, 33-11.
• Quinnipiac has allowed just three goals after the second period in 20 games.
• 37 of Quinnipiac's 74 goals have come in the final 10 minutes of the period.
• Quinnipiac currently boasts the second-highest scoring junior class in the country. The Bobcats' 10 juniors have scored an NCAA-leading 36 of the Bobcats' 74 goals, while its 82 total points rank second to Boston College (87).
• Quinnipiac currently rank second in power play goals (23), third in power play assists (45) and power play points (68).

Wins Since The Start of the 2012-13 Season
Quinnipiac men's ice hockey has qualified for the last three NCAA Tournaments. Since the start of the 2012-13 season, the Bobcats lead all NCAA Division I men's ice hockey programs in wins:

Quinnipiac                            94
North Dakota                         92
Minn. St. Mankato                 89
UMass Lowell                         86
Boston College                      84
Minnesota                              84

Player Notes
Michael Garteig
• Michael Garteig (Prince George, British Columbia) enters the week with a record of 17-1-2 with a 1.27 goals-against average (3rd-NCAA) and a .946 save percentage (3rd-NCAA) and six shutouts (T1st-NCAA). He also has two assists for the year.
• In a 3-0 win at Yale, Gartieg won his 60th career game, breaking the program record of 59 held by JC Wells '01 and Jamie Holden '05. He enters the weekend with a career record of 62-22-11.
• On Tuesday, Dec.8, Garteig was named the ECAC Hockey Goalie of the Week after back-to-back shutouts at Yale and Brown on Dec. 4-5, respectively.
• Against Brown, Garteig ran his shutout streak to 194:49 minutes – the longest streak in program history, passing Jamie Holden's mark of 191:19 during the 2002-03 season.
• On November 7, Garteig allowed a season-high four goals in a 5-4 overtime win at Cornell. Since then, he is 9-1-2 with a .959 save percentage and 0.95 GAA, with four shutouts, plus two shutout periods at UConn and Princeton.
• For the year, Garteig is 9-1-2 in 12 home games this season with a 1.24 goals-against average and a .952 save percentage.
• On the road, Garteig is 8-0-0 with a .935 save percentage and a 1.33 GAA; In five games since his game against Cornell, in which he allowed four goals, Garteig is 5-0-0 with a .989 save percentage and a 0.22 GAA with one goal allowed in his last 270:47 on the road.
• Garteig was honored by the Hockey Commisioners' Association as the NCAA Division I National Player of the Month for November. The announcement from the HCA came after Garteig was named ECAC Hockey's Goalie of the Month for the second-consecutive month.
• In nine games for the month of November, Michael Garteig led all ECAC Hockey goalies in games played (9) minutes (528:51), wins (7), shutouts (2) while posting a 7-0-2 record. Garteig allowed just 11 goals for the month for a 1.25 goals-against average while posting a .946 save percentage.
• He was the only goalie that appeared in six or more ECAC Hockey games to post an undefeated record (4-0-2) while he also registered a 1.62 GAA and a .933 save percentage against the league. Garteig stopped 19 of 20 in a 4-1 win against Harvard on Nov. 13 before a 22-save performance against Dartmouth on the following night.
• He also stopped 25 of 26 in a 1-1 tie against Clarkson before blanking St. Lawrence in a 36-save performance that saw him featured on ESPN Sports Centers Top 10 as the No. 4 play of the day.
• During the Bobcats' stretch of five games in nine days from Nov. 17 through Nov. 27, Garteig was 3-0-2 with 0.83 GAA after allowing just four goals in 289:44 between the pipes and also posted a .965 save percentage after stopping 109 of 113 shots-on-goal. Two of the four goals allowed by Garteig came with the Bobcats' playing a man-down.
• For his career, Garteig is 62-22-11 with a 1.83 GAA and a .921 save percentage in 5,799:10 minutes in 100 career games.
• Garteig recorded a career-best 41-save shutout of St. Cloud State on Oct. 25.
• Garteig was named the ECAC Hockey Goalie of the Week on Oct. 27.
• He was also named the ECAC Hockey Goalie of the Month for October.
• Garteig was named to the Mike Richter Award Watch List on Thursday, Oct. 8. The award is given annually to the top NCAA Division I goalie in the country.
• Garteig's 63 career wins rank first among all active goalies.

Tim Clifton
• Quinnipiac junior Tim Clifton (Matawan, New Jersey) posted a four-point night at Princeton on Tuesday, scoring once and assisting on three more goals, before following with a goal on Wednesday.
• Clifton's four-point night was the 47th of the season in NCAA Division I men's ice hockey, and the second of the year for the Bobcats.
• Clifton enters Saturday night with a team-leading 12 goals with eight assists for 20 points in 16 games. Clifton's 20 points rank third in the Bobcats' line-up.
• Clifton has now scored in 12 of the 16 games he has played in this year.
• Clifton's nine goals and 13 points in 10 ECAC Hockey games are both team-highs.
• Six of Clifton's 11 goals this year have come on the power play. He enters the weekend as one of 13 NCAA Division I players to score six or more power play goals this year.
• Clifton's seven-game goal streak was the second longest in Quinnipiac's Division I history following Chris Cerrella's 11-game goal streak in 1999-00.
• Clifton scored in both games of the Bobcats' season-opening weekend against Holy Cross before missing the next four games to injury. Since returning, he's scored in each of the Bobcats last four games, totaling five goals and an assist.

Travis St. Denis
• Senior assistant captain Travis St. Denis (Trail, British Columbia) enters Wednesday night's match-up with nine goals and 12 assists for 21 points in 20 games.
• St. Denis also ranks among the national leaders with six power play goals for the year.
• The senior forward enters Wednesday night's game with 47 goals and 51 assists for 97 points in 139 career games.

Sam Anas
• With a three-point night against UMass on Saturday, Nov. 27, 2015 All-American Sam Anas (Potomac, Maryland) became the 37th player in program history and the 23rd at the Division I level to reach 100 career points. Anas did so in his 92nd career game.
• Anas is currently one of 12 active players with 100 career points in 96 games, and the only one with fewer than 100 games played.
• Anas' career 1.05 points-per-game are the fourth-best average among active NCAA Division I players, trailing Northeastern's Kevin Roy (1.15), Omaha's Jake Guentzel (1.10) and Harvard's Jimmy Vesey (1.09).
• To date, Anas leads Quinnipiac in points (22) through 20 games this year.
• Anas has tallied a point in 14 of Quinnipiac's first 20 games.
• Against Harvard on Friday, Nov. 13, Anas became the 17th Quinnipiac player all-time and 11th player at the NCAA Division I level to score 50 goals, doing so in 87 games.
• Anas is the Bobcats' active leading scorer with 56 goals and 48 assists for 104 points in 98 career games.
• Anas ranks fifth among active players with 56 career goals while his 0.57 goal-per-game average is second to Vesey (0.61).
• Anas currently ranks second among active players with 23 career power play goals in 98 games for a 0.24 per-game average. Bentley's Andrew Gladiuk has totaled 30 in 121 career games for a 0.25 per game average.
• In 2015, Anas is one of two NCAA Division I men's ice hockey juniors – along with Omaha's Jake Guentzel – to rank in the Top 20 in career points and is the only junior in the Top 10.

Connor Clifton
• Bobcats junior defenseman Connor Clifton (Matawan, New Jersey) has blown past his 2014-15 point totals (0-5), accumulating four goals and eight assists for 12 points in 19 games this year.
• His 12 points this season are also a career-high, surpassing his nine-point total (5g-4a) as a freshman in 2013-14.
• Clifton saw a six-game point streak – the longest of his career - fall with a scoreless showing against Harvard. Clifton scored an empty-net goal against Dartmouth and again against UConn to give him a point in eight of Quinnipiac's first 13 games.
• Clifton had an assist in a 3-2 win against Colgate on Friday, Nov. 13 before scoring the game-winner in overtime against Cornell in a 5-4 win in Ithaca, New York.
• Clifton is second on the Bobcats with a +14, while he has been to the penalty box just seven times in 19 games. Entering the season, he had piled up 54 penalties in 74 games through his first two seasons.
• Clifton was chosen in the 5th Round of the 2013 NHL Draft by the Phoenix Coyotes.
• He was the first Quinnipiac freshman to join the Bobcats directly from the prestigious U.S. National Developmental Team.

Chase Priskie
• Quickly making a name for himself, freshman defenseman Chase Priskie (Pembroke Pines, Florida) has passed out a team-leading 14 assists, while also scoring once, for 15 points through his first 20 career games.
• Priskie's 14 assists rank second among all NCAA Division I freshmen, trailing BC's Colin White's 15 assists.
• Priskie had assists against Harvard and Dartmouth, which followed a three-assist outing against Cornell to give him six in his last six games.
• The last freshman with three assists in a game was Sam Anas at Colgate on Nov. 1, 2013.
• The last Quinnipiac defenseman with three assists in a game was Zach Tolkinen against UMass on Nov. 30, 2013.

Derek Smith
• Derek Smith checks in with two goals and 10 assists from the blue line.
• Smith found the back of the net in back-to-back games in the Bobcats' 6-0 and 4-3 wins against Princeton on Dec. 29-30.
• Smith totaled 13 assists in 36 games as a sophomore last year but sits second in the Bobcats' line-up with 10 helpers this season.
• Smith sits in the Bobcats' history books as the first player in program history to have scored on his first two shots on goal, which came in his second and third collegiate games.
• Smith also ranks tied for ninth in NCAA Division I men's ice hockey with 41 blocked shots.

Devon Toews
• Junior Devon Toews has scored three goals and assisted on eight more for 11 points in 17 games this season.
• Toews scored once and also assisted on another goal in the Bobcats' 3-0 win at No. 10 Yale on Dec. 4.
• The Bobcats' defenseman was drafted by the New York Islanders in the fourth round of the 2014 NHL Draft after a freshman campaign that saw him total a goal and 16 assists.

Soren Jonzzon
• Quinnipiac captain Soren Jonzzon had an assist in both games against Princeton this week.
• Jonzzon had a strong weekend at Yale and Brown, totaling two assists against the Bulldogs while also scoring in the Bobcats' win at Brown.
• Jonzzon stands at three goals and eight assists for 11 points this season, giving him 13 goals and 18 assists for 31 points for his career.
• Jonzzon has a goal and three assists in his last four games.

K.J. Tiefenwerth
• Quinnipiac junior K.J. Tiefenwerth is enjoying a break-out season, as he's tallied career-highs in goals (5), assists (7) and points (16).

Landon Smith
• Landon Smith enjoyed a remarkable first season with the Bobcats in 2014-15, scoring 15 goals and assisting on 16 more for 31 points in his first year of college hockey.
• Smith started his sophomore year with a goal in the Bobcats' home opener, but then went nine straight games without a goal.
• Coming out of the Thanksgiving break, Smith has four goals, and an assist, in the Bobcats' last six -games.