Men's Ice Hockey Set for Opening Weekend with AIC

Friday, October 11

Hamden, Conn.

7:17 PM

Quinnipiac University

AIC

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Photo by: Rob Rasmussen / P8Photos.com

10/10/2019 9:15:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey

Bobcats and Yellow Jackets to Battle in Home-and-Home Series to Kick off 2019-20 Season

By: QU Athletic Communications

#9/13 Quinnipiac Bobcats (0-0-0, 0-0-0 ECAC Hockey) at
AIC Yellow Jackets (0-0-0, 0-0-0 Atlantic Hockey)
Saturday, Oct. 12 | 7 PM
MassMutual Arena | Springfield, Mass.
All-Time Series vs. AIC: 25-13-2 (Won last meeting, 9-2, on Oct. 27, 2018)

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HAMDEN, Conn. – The No. 9/13 Quinnipiac men's ice hockey team officially kicks off the 2019-20 season this weekend as the Bobcats take on the AIC Yellow Jackets in a home-and-home series beginning Friday night at Frank Perrotti Jr. Arena.

Last Time Out
Quinnipiac and Brock skated to a 4-4 tie in Sunday's exhibition contest with the Bobcats coming back from a two-goal deficit in the final period to force the tie. Karlis Cukste and Wyatt Bongiovanni each recorded a goal and an assist while Jermain and William Fällström tallied the third period goals to force overtime. Evan Fear posted 11 saves in his taste of collegiate action between the pipes.

Scouting AIC
The Yellow Jackets are coming off one of the best seasons in program history as they won the Atlantic Hockey Championship and upset top-seeded St. Cloud State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. AIC went 23-17-1 to finish the season and return its top five scorers from a season ago. All-American Blake Christensen posted 16 goals and 31 assists for 47 points a season ago and has 37 goals and 91 points. The Yellow Jackets also return starting goaltender Zackarias Skog after a season which he went 20-14-0 with a 2.68 GAA and .899 save percentage.

All-Time vs. AIC
Quinnipiac has had a long history of success against AIC as the Bobcats own a 25-13-2 record in 40 all-time meetings between the two teams. Quinnipiac has seen even more success at the Division I level against the Yellow Jackets, going 25-5-1 after facing each other last season for the first time since 2013.

Headed Overseas
Quinnipiac is headed back to Belfast, Northern Ireland for the Friendship Four in 2020 for the second time in program history as announced on Thursday. The Bobcats will return for the first time since 2016 with a trio of Atlantic Hockey opponents: Army West Point, Mercyhurst and Sacred Heart. The tournament will once again be held at The SSE Arena in Belfast.

Connecticut Ice Field Matchups Announced
The Friendship Four was not the only major announcement of the week for the Bobcats as the first round matchups of the Connecticut Ice Festival were announced and the Bobcats will face the UConn Huskies in the inaugural game on Saturday, Jan. 25 at 4 PM. Quinnipiac and UConn will meet for the sixth straight season with their first round matchup. Yale and Sacred Heart will meet in the other game that night at 7:30 PM before the consolation and championship games on Sunday, Jan. 26.

Top Play Already
Sunday might have just been an exhibition game for the Bobcats but there was still a play to be admired as Nick Jermain garnered the No. 6 play of the night on the 11 p.m. SportsCenter as he batted a puck out of mid-air with his back to the goal.

Preseason Recognition Odeen
Junior forward Odeen Tufto has received several preseason honors ahead of the 2019-20 season as he has been named to the Preseason All-ECAC Hockey Team as well as Preseason All-College Hockey News Second Team. Tufto's honor from ECAC Hockey was the fifth in the last six seasons. He was the only ECAC Hockey player recognized by College Hockey News.

ECAC Preseason Poll
The Bobcats were picked to finish second in the ECAC Hockey Preseason Coaches' Poll just one season after sharing the Cleary Cup with the Cornell Big Red. Quinnipiac received three first-place votes and 109 points in the poll, finishing just behind Cornell's eight first-place votes and 109 points.

Familiar Face Returns
Former Bobcat goaltender Justin Eddy '04 has returned to the coaching staff as the goalie coach for his second stint with the program after Jared Waimon left to become a goaltending scout with the NHL's Tampa Bay Lightning. Eddy previously served as the goalie coach for two seasons from 2009-11. In his Quinnipiac career, Eddy posted a 2.81 GAA and .910 save percentage to go with a 32-26-8 record and three shutouts. He also was the first Quinnipiac player to sign an NHL contract as he signed with the Washington Capitals before playing parts of two seasons in the AHL and ECHL.