Friday, January 17
Worcester, Mass. / Hart Center
7:00 PM
Quinnipiac University
at
Holy Cross
Photo by: Rob Rasmussen / P8Photos.com
No. 20 Men's Ice Hockey Heads to Holy Cross Friday
1/15/2020 1:16:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey
Bobcats Play First Non-Conference Action of 2020 Calendar Year at Crusaders
#20 Quinnipiac Bobcats (12-8-1, 7-4-1 ECAC Hockey) at
Holy Cross Crusaders (6-11-5, 5-10-3-2 Atlantic Hockey)
Friday, Jan. 17 | 7 PM
Hart Center at the Luth Athletic Complex | Worcester, Mass.
All-Time Series vs. Holy Cross: 24-5-4 (Won last meeting, 4-1, on Jan. 22, 2019)
WATCH | LIVE STATS | GAME NOTES | TICKETS | @QU_MIH
HAMDEN, Conn. – The Quinnipiac men's ice hockey team returns to non-conference play this weekend as the Bobcats hit the road for Worcester, Massachusetts, to take on the Holy Cross Crusaders Friday night at the Hart Center.
Last Time Out
Quinnipiac split last weekend's North Country road trip as the Bobcats defeated St. Lawrence, 3-2, before falling to then-No. 7/8 Clarkson at Cheel Arena, 5-2. Alex Whelan led the Bobcats with two goals on the weekend at St. Lawrence while Peter DiLiberatore, Zach Metsa and Skyler Brind'Amour all recorded two points. The Bobcats' loss at the Golden Knights snapped a six-game winning streak, which was the longest in the nation at the time.
Scouting Holy Cross
The Crusaders are heating up as they are unbeaten in their last four games after sweeping Mercyhurst to open the new year and picking up a win and a tie at Niagara last weekend. The recent success follows a stretch where Holy Cross went 1-9-1 in 11 games from November 8 through December 29. Conner Jean leads the Crusaders with 10 goals on the season while Neil Robinson and Logan Ferguson are tied for the team lead with 16 points. Six different Crusaders have scored at least five goals this season while Ferguson's 11 assists are tops on the team. Matt Radomsky has seen the bulk of time between the pipes, posting a 6-8-4 record with a 2.90 GAA and .895 save percentage.
All-Time vs. Holy Cross
Quinnipiac and Holy Cross meet for a second straight season with Quinnipiac leading the all-time series between the two programs at 24-5-4 in 33 all-time meetings. The Bobcats won last season's game, 4-1, in Hamden to extend their unbeaten streak over the Crusaders to 10 games since the 2006-07 season. Friday night's clash will be the first between the two teams in Worcester since the 2015-16 season which Quinnipiac won, 5-3.
Back in the Polls
The Bobcats are back in the top 20 of the USCHO.com Division I Men's Poll as they tied Michigan State for the No. 20 spot in the nation, its first time in the national poll since Nov. 4 when they were No. 15 in the nation. Quinnipiac has also put itself just outside NCAA Tournament contention, checking into the latest Pairwise Rankings tied with Michigan State at No. 16.
Rand's Winning Ways
Head coach Rand Pecknold continues to approach milestone wins in his career. In addition to having 523 wins to rank 13th all-time among Division I Men's Hockey coaches, he is just four wins from passing former men's and women's tennis head coach Mike Quitko for the most wins by a coach in Quinnipiac Athletics history. Pecknold and Quitko are the only two Quinnipiac coaches to record 500 wins with Quinnipiac programs.
Facing the Competition
Quinnipiac remains one of the top faceoff teams in the nation heading into Friday's matchup with the Crusaders, tied for second in the country with Western Michigan with a .554 faceoff percentage. The Bobcats' mark also ranks first in ECAC Hockey and is just .002 behind Minnesota State for tops in the nation. Quinnipiac has four players ranked in the top 13 in ECAC Hockey, highlighted by William Fällström in second with a .595 faceoff percentage.
Focused and Disciplined
The 2019-20 Bobcats have been the most disciplined in quite some team for a Quinnipiac hockey team as it is the least penalized team in the nation, averaging just 3.43 penalties per game. Quinnipiac has committed just 72 penalties in 21 games, the fewest among teams outside of the Ivy League. Quinnipiac also has just 8.43 penalty minutes per game, good for eighth in the nation while no Quinnipiac team has averaged fewer than 10 penalty minutes per game since joining Division I in 1998-99.
Sophomore Success
Quinnipiac's sophomores continue to be among the best in their class as they rank fifth in the nation with 44 assists and 71 points, tied for seventh with 27 goals and lead the nation with 14.10 shots on goal per game. All three categories are tops in ECAC Hockey. The Bobcats also rank fifth in the nation in assists per game (2.10) and points per game (3.38).
Last season, the Bobcats' Class of 2022 was first in the nation in goals (52), goals per game (1.37), points per game (3.21), game-winning goals (12), shots (496) and shots on goal per game (13.05). They also ranked second in points (122), and third in assists (70) and assists per game (1.84).
Whale Watch
Alex Whelan pocketed a pair of power-play goals Friday night to extend his point streak to a season-best six games before being held without a point Saturday night. Whelan's Friday night was the first time he scored two power-play goals in the same game in his career as well as his fourth multi-goal game and 12th multi-point game. Whelan has been the Bobcats' top skater in terms of plus/minus rating as he is tied for seventh in ECAC Hockey at +11.
Point It Out
Peter DiLiberatore tied his career-best with a six-game point streak as he recorded points in each game this past weekend with an assist on Friday night and a goal Saturday night. He now has a career-high four goals this season, which is tied for third among ECAC Hockey defensemen while his 14 points are tied for second. DiLiberatore is also tied for fourth with seven power-play points after his assist Friday night.
Among the Best
Zach Metsa recorded his second career multi-point game with a goal and an assist Friday night at St. Lawrence, including the game-winning goal, to help lift the Bobcats past the Saints. Metsa is tied with Karlis Cukste for seventh among ECAC Hockey defensemen with 11 points while Metsa's career-high three goals this season are tied for eighth.
Holy Cross Crusaders (6-11-5, 5-10-3-2 Atlantic Hockey)
Friday, Jan. 17 | 7 PM
Hart Center at the Luth Athletic Complex | Worcester, Mass.
All-Time Series vs. Holy Cross: 24-5-4 (Won last meeting, 4-1, on Jan. 22, 2019)
WATCH | LIVE STATS | GAME NOTES | TICKETS | @QU_MIH
HAMDEN, Conn. – The Quinnipiac men's ice hockey team returns to non-conference play this weekend as the Bobcats hit the road for Worcester, Massachusetts, to take on the Holy Cross Crusaders Friday night at the Hart Center.
Last Time Out
Quinnipiac split last weekend's North Country road trip as the Bobcats defeated St. Lawrence, 3-2, before falling to then-No. 7/8 Clarkson at Cheel Arena, 5-2. Alex Whelan led the Bobcats with two goals on the weekend at St. Lawrence while Peter DiLiberatore, Zach Metsa and Skyler Brind'Amour all recorded two points. The Bobcats' loss at the Golden Knights snapped a six-game winning streak, which was the longest in the nation at the time.
Scouting Holy Cross
The Crusaders are heating up as they are unbeaten in their last four games after sweeping Mercyhurst to open the new year and picking up a win and a tie at Niagara last weekend. The recent success follows a stretch where Holy Cross went 1-9-1 in 11 games from November 8 through December 29. Conner Jean leads the Crusaders with 10 goals on the season while Neil Robinson and Logan Ferguson are tied for the team lead with 16 points. Six different Crusaders have scored at least five goals this season while Ferguson's 11 assists are tops on the team. Matt Radomsky has seen the bulk of time between the pipes, posting a 6-8-4 record with a 2.90 GAA and .895 save percentage.
All-Time vs. Holy Cross
Quinnipiac and Holy Cross meet for a second straight season with Quinnipiac leading the all-time series between the two programs at 24-5-4 in 33 all-time meetings. The Bobcats won last season's game, 4-1, in Hamden to extend their unbeaten streak over the Crusaders to 10 games since the 2006-07 season. Friday night's clash will be the first between the two teams in Worcester since the 2015-16 season which Quinnipiac won, 5-3.
Back in the Polls
The Bobcats are back in the top 20 of the USCHO.com Division I Men's Poll as they tied Michigan State for the No. 20 spot in the nation, its first time in the national poll since Nov. 4 when they were No. 15 in the nation. Quinnipiac has also put itself just outside NCAA Tournament contention, checking into the latest Pairwise Rankings tied with Michigan State at No. 16.
Rand's Winning Ways
Head coach Rand Pecknold continues to approach milestone wins in his career. In addition to having 523 wins to rank 13th all-time among Division I Men's Hockey coaches, he is just four wins from passing former men's and women's tennis head coach Mike Quitko for the most wins by a coach in Quinnipiac Athletics history. Pecknold and Quitko are the only two Quinnipiac coaches to record 500 wins with Quinnipiac programs.
Facing the Competition
Quinnipiac remains one of the top faceoff teams in the nation heading into Friday's matchup with the Crusaders, tied for second in the country with Western Michigan with a .554 faceoff percentage. The Bobcats' mark also ranks first in ECAC Hockey and is just .002 behind Minnesota State for tops in the nation. Quinnipiac has four players ranked in the top 13 in ECAC Hockey, highlighted by William Fällström in second with a .595 faceoff percentage.
Focused and Disciplined
The 2019-20 Bobcats have been the most disciplined in quite some team for a Quinnipiac hockey team as it is the least penalized team in the nation, averaging just 3.43 penalties per game. Quinnipiac has committed just 72 penalties in 21 games, the fewest among teams outside of the Ivy League. Quinnipiac also has just 8.43 penalty minutes per game, good for eighth in the nation while no Quinnipiac team has averaged fewer than 10 penalty minutes per game since joining Division I in 1998-99.
Sophomore Success
Quinnipiac's sophomores continue to be among the best in their class as they rank fifth in the nation with 44 assists and 71 points, tied for seventh with 27 goals and lead the nation with 14.10 shots on goal per game. All three categories are tops in ECAC Hockey. The Bobcats also rank fifth in the nation in assists per game (2.10) and points per game (3.38).
Last season, the Bobcats' Class of 2022 was first in the nation in goals (52), goals per game (1.37), points per game (3.21), game-winning goals (12), shots (496) and shots on goal per game (13.05). They also ranked second in points (122), and third in assists (70) and assists per game (1.84).
Whale Watch
Alex Whelan pocketed a pair of power-play goals Friday night to extend his point streak to a season-best six games before being held without a point Saturday night. Whelan's Friday night was the first time he scored two power-play goals in the same game in his career as well as his fourth multi-goal game and 12th multi-point game. Whelan has been the Bobcats' top skater in terms of plus/minus rating as he is tied for seventh in ECAC Hockey at +11.
Point It Out
Peter DiLiberatore tied his career-best with a six-game point streak as he recorded points in each game this past weekend with an assist on Friday night and a goal Saturday night. He now has a career-high four goals this season, which is tied for third among ECAC Hockey defensemen while his 14 points are tied for second. DiLiberatore is also tied for fourth with seven power-play points after his assist Friday night.
Among the Best
Zach Metsa recorded his second career multi-point game with a goal and an assist Friday night at St. Lawrence, including the game-winning goal, to help lift the Bobcats past the Saints. Metsa is tied with Karlis Cukste for seventh among ECAC Hockey defensemen with 11 points while Metsa's career-high three goals this season are tied for eighth.
Players Mentioned
Forward
/ Men's Ice Hockey
Defenseman
/ Men's Ice Hockey
Defenseman
/ Men's Ice Hockey
Defenseman
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Forward
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