QU Men's Ice Hockey Ranked No. 14 In USCHO.com Preseason Poll

QU Men's Ice Hockey Ranked No. 14 In USCHO.com Preseason Poll

9/25/2017 1:27:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey

By: QU Athletic Communications

HAMDEN, Connecticut - The Quinnipiac University men's ice hockey team was ranked 14th in the USCHO.com Preseason Poll, as announced on Monday, Sept. 25, 2017. The Bobcats finished the 2016-17 season ranked 20th after posting a 23-15-2 record including a 13-8-1 mark in ECAC Hockey play. Over the last five seasons, beginning with the 2012-13 season through last year, Quinnipiac has won 132 games - the most of any NCAA Division I men's ice hockey program in the country.

The Bobcats were recently tabbed to finish second in the ECAC Hockey Preseason Coaches and Media Polls, also announced on Monday, Sept. 25. The Bobcats will return 15 players that suited up last season, highlighted by junior captain Chase Priskie (Pembroke Pines, Florida), who was selected to the ECAC Hockey Coaches and Media Preseason Teams after being selected to the ECAC Hockey Third Team following his sophomore year. Kevin McKernan (Millbury, Massachusetts) will serve as the team's assistant captain and enters his senior year with 105 games played on the blue line. The Bobcats defense also features sophomores Brogan Rafferty (Dundee, Illinois), who led Quinnipiac with 22 assists last season, and Karlis Cukste (Riga, Latvia), who posted a team-best +11 as well as experience in the IIFH World Juniors Championship with Team Latvia.

Offensively, Landon Smith (Greenwood Village, Colorado) will begin his trek to join the 100-point club. Smith's 97 career points rank second among all active NCAA Division I student-athletes, while his 122 consecutive games played are the most in NCAA Division I men's ice hockey. Craig Martin (Trail, British Columbia) had a career year with 11 goals and 16 assists; Bo Pieper (Roseville, Minnesota) scored a team-high 13 goals and Tanner MacMaster (Calgary, Alberta) totaled eight goals and 11 assists for 19 points in 32 games.

In goal, Andrew Shortridge (Anchorage, Alaska) posted a 13-7-0 record with a 2.08 goals-against-average and a .920 save percentage. In nine starts against ECAC Hockey opponents, Shortridge was 7-2-0 with a 1.74 GAA and a .934 save percentage. Incoming freshman Keith Petruzzelli (Wilbraham, Massachusetts) was selected with the 88th overall pick in the third round of the 2017 NHL Draft by the Detroit Red Wings and will push for playing time.