No. 1/1 QU Men's Ice Hockey Visits No. 17 RPI, Union This Weekend

Friday, February 19

Houston Field House // Troy, N.Y.

7:00 PM

Quinnipiac University

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

No. 1/1 QU Men's Ice Hockey Visits No. 17 RPI, Union This Weekend

2/18/2016 6:53:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey

By: QU Sports Information

No. 1/1 Quinnipiac University Bobcats
(22-2-6, 13-1-4 ECAC Hockey) at
No. 17 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Engineers
(15-11-6, 7-5-6 ECAC Hockey)
Date: Friday, Feb. 19, 2016
Time: 7:00
Location: Houston Field House // Troy, New York
All-Time Series vs. RPI: 9-12-3
QU All-Time at Houston Field House: 7-3-3
Last 5 vs. RPI: 3-0-2
Last 10 vs. RPI: 6-0-4
Last Meeting: T, 2-2 (Jan. 20, 2016//Hamden, Conn.)

Follow The Bobcats at Rensselaer
Free Live Video: RPITV.org
Live Stats: sidearmstats.com/rpi/mhockey/
Live Audio: AM 1220 WQUN
(PxP: Paul Pacelli; Color: Chris Kotsopoulos)
Twitter: @QU_MIH

No. 1/1 Quinnipiac University Bobcats
(22-2-6, 13-1-4 ECAC Hockey) at
Union College Dutchmen
(11-11-8, 4-9-5 ECAC Hockey)
Date: Friday, Feb. 20, 2016
Time: 7:00
Location: Messa Rink // Schenectady, New York
All-Time Series vs. Union: 15-11-3
QU All-Time at Messa Rink: 5-6-2
Last 5 vs. Union: 4-1-0
Last 10 vs. Union: 8-2-0
Last Meeting: W, 5-0 (Jan. 7, 2016//Hamden, Conn.)

Follow The Bobcats at Union
Free Live Video: UnionAthletics.tv
Live Stats: sidearmstats.com/union/mhockey/
Live Audio: AM 1220 WQUN
(PxP: Paul Pacelli; Color: Chris Kotsopoulos)
Twitter: @QU_MIH

GAME NOTES
QUINNIPIAC | RENSSELAER | UNION

National-ranked No. 1/1 Quinnipiac men's ice hockey will face No. 17 Rensselaer on Friday, Feb. 19 at Houston Field House in Troy, New York before taking on Union at Messa Rink in Schenectady, New York on Saturday, Feb. 20.

Multimedia
Quinnipiac fans have a variety of ways to follow the nationally-ranked Bobcats for every game this season. Paul "The Jet" Pacelli and Former NHL veteran Chris Kotsopouos will have the call for both games this weekend on AM 1220 WQUN - the flagship station of Quinnipiac men's ice hockey as well as men's and women's basketball. 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. Additionally, Bobcat fans should follow all the in-game action on the Official Twitter account of Quinnipiac Men's Ice Hockey at @QU_MIH.

The Last Time Quinnipiac Played

The Bobcats were handed just their second loss of the season in a 4-3 overtime thriller at St. Lawrence on Friday, Feb. 12 before bouncing back with a 3-2 overtime win against No. 20 Clarkson on Saturday, Feb. 13.
Devon Toews (Abbotsford, British Columbia) led the Bobcats for the weekend, scoring the game-winner to go along with an assist against Clarkson after he assisting on two of Quinnipiac's three goals against St. Lawrence on the previous night.
Sam Anas (Potomac, Maryland) scored against St. Lawrence and then picked up an assist on Toews' game-winner on Saturday night to run his scoring streak to 13 games.
Travis St. Denis (Trail, British Columbia) scored in both games last weekend while Soren Jonzzon (Mountain View, California) also scored against St. Lawrence.
Freshman stand-out Chase Priskie (Pembroke Pines, Florida) scored his second goal of the year to put the Bobcats on the board against Clarkson.

What's Next For The Bobcats?

Quinnipiac will wrap-up the regular season with Senior Night against Brown on Friday, Feb. 26 and the 14th Annual Heroes Hat Game against Yale on Saturday, Feb. 27. Both games will be televised live on SNY.

The Playoff Picture

Quinnipiac has clinched a bye for the first round of the ECAC Hockey Tournament and will host a best-of-three games quarterfinals series on Mar. 11-13.
The Bobcats can win their second-straight Cleary Cup with a win against RPI and a loss by Yale at St. Lawrence.
In addition, The Bobcats can clinch the Cleary Cup for the ECAC Hockey Regular Season Championship under any of the follow circumstances:

Four or more points prior to its final regular-season game against Yale on Feb. 27 at High Point Solutions Arena
Three points prior to final game, with one or more points lost by Yale prior to Feb. 27
Two points prior to the final game, with two or more points lost by Yale prior to Feb. 27
One point prior to the final game, combined with three or more points lost by Yale OR a tie with Yale in the final game
A win against Yale on Feb. 27

The Bobcats In The National Polls

The Bobcats were announced as the No. 1 team in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Men's College Hockey Poll for the seventh straight week on Monday, Feb. 8, 2016. The Bobcats garnered 25 of the possible 34 first place votes.
The Bobcats also retained the No. 1 in the latest USCHO.com Division I Poll, as announced on Monday, Feb. 8, 2016. The Bobcats received 32 first-place votes.

The Bobcats In The PairWise Ranking

Quinnipiac enters its 17th 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 Rensselaer

Quinnipiac and Rensselaer have faced each other 25 times, with the Bobcats holding an 11-5-9 all-time record against the Engineers.
Friday night's game will be the second meeting between the two teams, following a 2-2 draw in Hamden on Jan. 20, 2016.
The Bobcats enter the weekend riding an 11-game unbeaten streak (6-0-5) against RPI. Quinnipiac's last loss against RPI came on Feb. 19, 2010 when the Bobcats dropped a 5-3 decision in Troy, New York.
The Bobcats are 7-3-3 in 13 games all-time at Houston Field House, including a 3-0-2 mark in its last five trips to Troy.
Quinnipiac and RPI have gone to overtime nine times, with each game ending in a tie.

Scouting The No. 17 Renssealer Polytechnic Engineers

RPI enters the weekend with a record of 15-11-6 overall and 7-5-6 in ECAC Hockey, good for fifth place in the league standings.
RPI enters the weekend ranked 17^th in the USCHO.com Division I poll.
The Engineers opened the second half of the season at 4-1-3 but have won just once in their last five games.
Riley Bourbonnais leads RPI in goals (13) and points (21) while Lou Nanne and Zach Schroeder are tied of the assist lead with 14 each. Nanne has also scored six goals to give RPI a pair of 20-point scorers. Schroeder leads RPI in career games (144), career assists (38) and career points (53).
In goal, Jason Kasdorf is 9-9-4 with a 2.09 goals-against average and a .937 save percentage.

The Bobcats All-Time Against Union

Quinnipiac and Union have met 29 times with the Bobcats holding a 15-11-3 record all-time against the Dutchmen.
The Bobcats won the previous meeting this season against Union, taking the Dutchmen down, 5-0, on Jan. 7, 2016 in Hamden, Conn.
The Bobcats enter Saturday night's game with a 9-2-0 record in their last 11 games against Union.
Quinnipiac is 5-6-2 all-time at Messa Rink and 6-4-1 all-time on its home ice.
The Bobcats and Dutchmen have gone to overtime eight times with Quinnipiac owning a 3-2-3 record. Including in the all-time series was the marathon, five-overtime thriller that saw Greg Holt pot the game-winner in the 3-2 win at Messa Rink on Mar. 12, 2010. The game stood as the longest game in college history history until 2014.

Scouting The Union College Dutchmen

Union enters the weekend with a record of 11-11-8 overall and 4-9-5 in ECAC Hockey, good for ninth place in the league standings, and will host Princeton on Friday, Feb. 19.
The Dutchmen featured a seven-game unbeaten streak (6-0-1) from Nov. 28 through Jan. 3 before Quinnipiac handed them a 5-0 loss in Hamden on Jan. 7, 2016. Since then, Union is 2-5-4 in its last 11 games.

The Bobcats' Streak

The Bobcats opened the season with a 17-game unbeaten streak, which 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 season-opening streak 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.
Since its loss to Boston University on Dec. 12 to end its season-opening streak, the Bobcats went on an 11-game unbeaten streak, compiling a 6-0-5 record, before falling to St. Lawrence on Friday, Feb. 12.

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

Team Notes

Through 30 games, Quinnipiac has out-scored its opponents 113-56, with four or more goals in 17 of its 30 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.
Quinnipiac has allowed just 14 goals after the second period across 30 games.
59 of Quinnipiac's 113 goals have come in the final 10 minutes of the period.
Quinnipiac currently boasts the fourth highest-scoring junior class in the country. The Bobcats' 10 juniors have scored 54 of the Bobcats' 113 goals, while its 131 total points rank fourth behind Boston College (158), Minnesota (157) and Michigan (145).
Quinnpiac currently features the third-highest scoring defensemen in NCAA Division I men's ice hockey. The Bobcats' blue liners have scored 22 goals (5th) while assisting on 64 goals (T3rd) for 86 points (3^rd).
In addition, five different Quinnipiac defensemen have scored a NCAA-leading eight game-winning goals to date. Connor Clifton leads Quinnipiac, and ranks second nationally, with three game-winning goals, followed by Derek Smith (2), Devon Toews (1), Chase Priskie (1) and Kevin McKernan (1).
Quinnipiac is 7-1-4 in 12 games against teams that were ranked at the time they played:

vs. No. 9 St. Cloud State (W, 5-2)
vs. No. 9 St. Cloud State (W, 4-1)
vs. No. 14 Cornell (W, 5-4 OT)
vs. No. 7 Harvard (W, 4-1)
vs. No. 20 Clarkson (T, 1-1)
vs. No. 14 St. Lawrence (T, 0-0)
at No. 10 Yale (W, 3-0)
vs. No. 12 Boston University (L, 1-4)
at No. 4 Harvard (W, 5-4 OT)
vs. No. 16 RPI (T, 2-2)
vs. No. 17 Cornell (T, 2-2)
vs. No. 20 Clarkson (W, 3-2 OT)

Quinnipiac is also 3-0-0 against teams currently ranked in the top 10 in the PairWise Rankings, topping St. Cloud State (No. 2), twice, as well as Yale (No. 10).
Quinnipiac is now 3-1-6 in overtime this year, and 7-1-10 in 17 overtime games over the last two seasons.
Quinnipiac has trailed in 13 of its 30 games this season, and own a record of 7-2-4 in those contests.
The Bobcats are one of four teams with 30 or more power play goals to date, while Sam Anas (8), Travis St. Denis (8), Tim Clifton (7), and Landon Smith (5) have combined for more power play goals (28) than 54 NCAA Division I teams.
As a team, Quinnipiac's 35 power play goals rank second to Robert Morris' 37.

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                99
North Dakota                        97
Minn. St. Mankato    94
UMass Lowell           93
Minnesota                 92
Boston College       91

Player Notes
Michael Garteig

Enters the weekend with a record of 22-2-6 with a 1.76 GAA and a .929 save percentage.
In 18 ECAC Hockey games, Garteig is 13-1-4 with a 1.91 GAA and a .923 save percentage.
For the year, Garteig is 11-1-4 in 16 home games this season with a 1.36 goals-against average and a .948 save percentage with five shutouts.
On the road, Garteig is 10-1-2 with a .911 save percentage and a 2.12 GAA, while his 10 road wins lead all NCAA Division I goalies.
In 12 non-conference games, Garteig is 9-1-2 with a 1.54 GAA and a .938 save percentage.
In 11 games against ranked opponents, Garteig is 7-1-3 with a 1.77 GAA and a .934 save percentage.
For his career, Garteig is 68-23-15 with a 1.92 GAA and a .918 save percentage in 6,483:30 minutes in 111 career games.
His 18 career shutouts rank fourth in NCAA Division I hockey all-time. Only three goalies in NCAA history - Ryan Miller (26), Joe Fallon (20) and Ben Scrivens (19) - have recorded 19 or more shutouts.
On Thursday, Jan. 7, Michael Garteig recorded 25 saves in a 5-0 shutout against Union. Garteig's seventh clean sheet of the year is a program single-season record - passing his record of six he set as a sophomore in 2013-14 - and is also the most in NCAA Division I hockey this season.
Garteig's shutout against Union made him the 24th goalie in NCAA Division I history to record seven shutouts in a single season. Only 11 goalies, entering 2015-16, have recorded eight or more in a season. Notre Dame's Jordan Pearce was the last one to do it, recording eight in 2009.
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. It was also the 25th longest streak in NCAA Division I men's ice hockey history.
After blanking UMass, Yale and Brown in three-straight games, Garteig became just the 20th goalie in NCAA history to post three consecutive shutouts.
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.
Garteig's 68 career wins rank first among all active goalies.

Garteig's Honors

Garteig was honored by the Hockey Commissioners' 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.
Garteig was named the ECAC Hockey Goalie of the Month for December. The Bobcats senior netminder was 4-1-0 with a .945 save percentage and a 1.25 goals-against average, leading all ECAC Hockey goaltenders in wins (4) and shutouts (2) in December.
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.

Sam Anas

Sam Anas currently leads Quinnipiac in goals (21) and points (39), while ranking among the national leaders in both categories.
His 21 goals this season rank fifth among all NCAA Division I men's ice hockey student athletes while his 39 points rank ninth.
Both figures also lead ECAC Hockey.
With his second goal against Colgate on Feb 6, Anas hit the 20-goal mark for the third time in his three-year career, making him the first player in Quinnipiac men's ice hockey history to score 20 goals in three-consecutive seasons. Chris Cerrella is the only other player in school history to score 20 goals in a season three times, doing so in 1997-98 (32), 1999-2000 (28) and 2000-2001 (21).
Anas' 66 career goals are tied with Ben Nelson '08 for the fourth-most in program history. Ahead of Anas on Quinnipiac's Division I list is Cerrella (67), Brandon Wong '10 (68) and all-time leader David Marshall '10 (73).
On the all-time list, Cerrella – having played one season at the Division III level – leads all Quinnipiac players with 99 career goals, followed by Bill Veneris '82 (92), Todd Johnson '89 (91), Jim Hanscom '80 (83) and Richard Buckholz '87 (76) who slide in ahead of Marshall's 73.
Anas is also one of six players in the country with 20 goals and 15 assists to date.
Currently riding a team-leading 13-game point streak featuring 12 goals and nine assists for 21 points.
Anas has tallied a point in 22 of Quinnipiac's first 28 games.
For his career, Anas has scored 66 goals and assisted on 55 more for 121 points in 108 career games.
He ranks 10th in career points among active players while his 1.12 points per game are second to Harvard's Jimmy Vesey and Northeastern's Kevin Roy (1.13).
A prolific goal-scorer, Anas has averaged 0.61 goals per game for his career, good for second among all active players while his 27 power play goals rank second.
To date, he is also one of three active players with 65 career goals and 50 career assists.
Anas was named the ECAC Hockey Player of the Week, as announced by the league on Tuesday, Feb. 9.
Anas led all NCAA Division I men's ice hockey players in goals (3), points (5), goals per game (1.50), points per game (2.50), power-play goals (2) and power-play points (4) after posting back-to-back multiple-point games. Anas factored in both of Quinnipiac's goals in a 2-2 tie against No. 17 Cornell, scoring the game's first goal before assisting on the second one. On Saturday night, Anas scored twice and assisted on another goal in the Bobcats' 6-3 win against Colgate.
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.
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.

Travis St. Denis

Travis St. Denis has scored 15 goals and assisted on a team-leading 19 more for 34 points for the season.
St. Denis is one of 19 players in NCAA Division I men's ice hockey to total 34 or more points to date.
St. Denis and teammate Landon Smith are tied for second in ECAC Hockey with 19 assists each.
St. Denis sits at 53 goals and 57 assists for 110 points in 149 career games.
St. Denis was the 18^th player in Quinnipiac history and the 11^th at the Division I level to reach 50 career goals.
St. Denis is the fourth player in Quinnipiac's Division I history – along with Sam Anas, Ben Nelson and Chris Cerrella – to score 15 goals in three consecutive seasons.
Friday night's game at RPI will make St. Denis the 16^th player in Quinnipiac history to play in 150 career games.
In the Bobcats' 5-0 win against Union on Thursday, Jan. 7, Travis St. Denis scored twice and assisted on another goal to become the 38th player in Quinnipiac history and the 24th at the NCAA Division I level to reach 100 career points.
In 14 home games, St. Denis leads Quinnipiac in goals (8), points (13) and power play goals (5).
St. Denis is also the only player to score two goals in back-to-back games at High Point Solutions Arena this year. He also has a team-best four multiple-point games on the team's home ice.
St. Denis also leads the team with 11 assists on the road.

Tim Clifton

Tim Clifton has been a break-out star for the Bobcats this season, checking in with 14 goals and 16 assists for 30 points.
Clifton entered the year with 12 goals and 15 assists in 77 career games and has more-than doubled those numbers in the span of 24 games this year.
Clifton opened the season with a seven-game goal-scoring streak, which stood as the second longest in Quinnipiac history. • He currently ranks 15th nationally and fourth in ECAC Hockey with 1.27 points-per-game.
In ECAC Hockey games only, Clifton is second in the league in assists (13), points (24) and third in goals (11) and is one of five players with 20-or-more points (24) in league games this season.

Landon Smith

For the year, Smith has accumulated eight goals and 19 assists for 27 points.
Smith peppered in the points against Dartmouth with one goal and two assists for his first three-point game of the season.
Smith's three-point performance was also his sixth multiple-point game of the season, and has recorded a point in six of the last seven games.
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 three assists, in the Bobcats' last seven games.

Devon Toews

Junior Devon Toews has scored six goals and assisted on 18 more for 24 points in 27 games this season.
Toews leads all ECAC Hockey defensemen in assists (18), points (24). power play assists (10) and power play points (11), as well as a +20.
Toews scored a goal and assisted another in the Bobcats furious 7-5 comeback against Dartmouth, his fifth multiple-point game 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.

Connor Clifton

Bobcats junior defenseman Connor Clifton (Matawan, New Jersey) has blown past his 2014-15 point totals (0-5), accumulating five goals and 11 assists for 16 points in 27 games this year.
His 16 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 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

Freshman defenseman Chase Priskie (Pembroke Pines, Florida) has passed out 17 assists, while also scoring twice, for 19 points through his first 30 career games.
Priskie's 19 points are the most for a Quinnipiac freshman defenseman since Matt Sorteborg had 23 points – on three goals and 20 assists – in his first season in 2004-05. Matt Erhart's 27 assits and 31 points are both Quinnipiac freshmen defenseman records.
Priskie's 17 assists rank tied for eighth among all NCAA Division I freshmen, while leading ECAC Hockey.
Priskie leads all ECAC Hockey freshmen, and rank second among the league's defensemen behind Toews' 18 assists, in assists (17), games played (28), power play assists (8) and power play points (9).
Priskie posted a three-assist outing against Cornell on Nov. 7, making him the first freshman with three assists since 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 three goals and 11 assists from the blue line.
Derek Smith leads all ECAC Hockey defensemen with a +18 plus/minus and is one of four defensemen to block 50 or more shots (56, 3rd) for the year.
Smith provided the dramatics when he cleaned up a rebound and scored the game-winner in overtime against No. 4 Harvard at Madison Square Garden on Jan. 9.
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 11 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.

Soren Jonzzon

Quinnipiac captain Soren Jonzzon (Mountain View, California) sparked the Bobcats comeback tie against Rensselaer on Jan. 21 with his fourth goal of the season.
Quinnipiac captain Soren Jonzzon had an assist in both games against Princeton last 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 four goals and eight assists for 12 points this season, giving him 14 goals and 18 assists for 32 points for his career.

K.J. Tiefenwerth