Monday, December 14
Hamden, Conn.
7:00 PM
Quinnipiac University
vs
Sacred Heart
Photo by: Rob Rasmussen / P8Photos.com
#10/11 Men's Ice Hockey Set for Season Opener vs. Sacred Heart Monday
12/11/2020 5:56:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey
Bobcats Host Pioneers in Two-Game Series at Frank Perrotti Jr. Arena
#10/11 Quinnipiac Bobcats (0-0-0, 0-0-0 ECAC Hockey) vs.
Sacred Heart Pioneers (1-1-0, 1-1-0 Atlantic Hockey)
Monday, Dec. 14 | 7 PM
Frank Perrotti Jr. Arena at the People's United Center | Hamden, Conn.
All-Time Series vs. Sacred Heart: 23-8-4 (Lost last meeting, 4-1, on Jan. 26, 2020)
WATCH (U.S.) | WATCH (INTERNATIONAL) | LIVE STATS | GAME NOTES | @QU_MIH
#10/11 Quinnipiac Bobcats (0-0-0, 0-0-0 ECAC Hockey) vs.
Sacred Heart Pioneers (1-1-0, 1-1-0 Atlantic Hockey)
Tuesday, Dec. 15 | 7 PM
Frank Perrotti Jr. Arena at the People's United Center | Hamden, Conn.
All-Time Series vs. Sacred Heart: 23-8-4 (Lost last meeting, 4-1, on Jan. 26, 2020)
WATCH (U.S.) | WATCH (INTERNATIONAL) | LIVE STATS | GAME NOTES | @QU_MIH
HAMDEN, Conn. – The moment has finally arrived and the Quinnipiac men's ice hockey is set to open the 2020-21 season with a two-game series beginning Monday evening against the Sacred Heart Pioneers at Frank Perrotti Jr. Arena.
Last Time Out
Before the 2019-20 postseason was cancelled, the Bobcats closed out the season with back-to-back wins against the Brown Bears and Yale Bulldogs in the 18th annual Heroes' Hat game. The Bobcats took down the Bears, 2-1, on Senior Night before blanking the Bulldogs, 5-0, in a dominant effort to finish the season.
Scouting Sacred Heart
The Pioneers come into this week's matchup with a 1-1 record after splitting their season-opening series at Holy Cross. Sacred Heart won their opener against the Crusaders, 2-1, behind Marcel Godbout's game-winner before coming up short after allowing five unanswered goals in a 6-3 loss. Godbout and Ryan Steele each have two goals and one assist for three points through the first two games to lead the offense while junior goaltender Josh Benson has a 3.50 GAA and .897 save percentage in net. Monday and Tuesday's games are among just four non-conference games for Sacred Heart this season.
All-Time vs. Sacred Heart
Quinnipiac enters Monday with a 23-8-4 record all-time against Sacred Heart in 35 meetings, and have a 19-3-3 record against the Pioneers at the Division I level. The Pioneers won last season's meeting in the championship of the inaugural Connecticut Ice Tournament, marking the first meeting between the two teams since Dec. 30, 2013. Quinnipiac has won seven of its last nine meetings with Sacred Heart since the 2003-04 season.
It's Been How Long?
It's been 289 days since the Quinnipiac men's ice hockey team defeated Yale, 5-0, to close out the 2019-20 regular season before the postseason was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 289 days is the longest span between hockey games in program history as the Bobcats take a three-game winning streak into Mondays' game.
National Rankings
The Bobcats enter Monday as a top-10 team in the nation, ranked No. 10 in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll as well as No. 11 in the USCHO.com Poll. The Bobcats were initially ranked No. 14 in both national preseason polls and have steadily climbed in the rankings over the past four weeks. The Bobcats concluded 2019-20 ranked No. 13 in the final polls of the seasons.
Oh Captain, My Captain
A new season brings a new crop of leaders to the Quinnipiac men's ice hockey program as Odeen Tufto was named the 47th captain in team history after being voted on by his teammates and coaches. He is the first Minnesota-native to be tabbed captain since Derek Smith '17 in 2016-17 and the fourth in program history, also joining Reid Cashman '07 and Ty Deinema '06.
Juniors Wyatt Bongiovanni and Peter DiLiberatore were each selected as the team's assistant captains after spending their first two seasons as two of the seasons working with the team's previous leaders and cementing themselves among the faces of the program.
Welcome to the Class of 2024
Quinnipiac brings in a five-member first-year class with the Class of 2024 as well as a transfer for the 2020-21 season. Denver-native Ty Smilanic highlights the class alongside Nick Bochen, Corey Clifton, Tyler Ghirardosi, Iivari Räsänen. Joey Cipollone also joins the Bobcats as he transferred to Quinnipiac after transferring in from the University of Vermont.
Smilanic's Made His Mark
Ty Smilanic has already made his mark on the program without playing a game yet in his career as he became the highest draft pick in program history as the Florida Panthers drafted him in the third round with the 74th overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft. Smilanic joins senior goaltender Keith Petruzzelli as third round picks, with Smilanic's 74th selection coming 14 picks before Petruzzelli was taken. Smilanic comes to Quinnipiac via the United States National Team Development Program where he thrived in two years as a forward with the program.
Class of 2020
The Bobcats graduated three talented players in the Class of 2020 whose leadership in the program will be missed. Karlis Cukste and Alex Whelan each signed AHL contracts for the upcoming 2020-21 season with the San Jose Barracuda and Hartford Wolf Pack, respectively, while former captain Nick Jermain inked an ECHL deal with the Greenville Swamp Rabbits. Jermain set career-highs in 2019-20 with 12 goals, nine assists and 21 points while Whelan finished his career with three straight seasons of 13-plus goals and tied for 24th in program history with 48 career goals. Cukste was a shutdown defenseman who finished his career with 292 blocked shots and ranks 12th among Quinnipiac defenders in program history with 66 career points.
Alumni NHL Update
Quinnipiac alumni have continued to make an impressive impact at the NHL level as Devon Toews reached the NHL Eastern Conference Finals and Connor Clifton had a solid run to the conference semifinals with the Boston Bruins. Toews posted two goals and eight assists with 10 points in 22 playoff games in 2020 after recording six goals and 22 assists for 28 points in the regular season while Clifton posted a goal and two assists in eight playoff games after two goals in 31 regular season games.
Since the NHL Postseason Bubble concluded, Toews was traded to the Colorado Avalanche and signed a four-year contract with the Avs after a successful two-year stint to open his NHL career. Matthew Peca re-signed with the Ottawa Senators on a one-year, two-way deal after being traded at the deadline in February while Connor Clifton will begin his new three-year deal with the Boston Bruins this season in 2020-21. Sam Anas is also headed to a new organization as he signed a two-way NHL deal with the St. Louis Blues.
Sacred Heart Pioneers (1-1-0, 1-1-0 Atlantic Hockey)
Monday, Dec. 14 | 7 PM
Frank Perrotti Jr. Arena at the People's United Center | Hamden, Conn.
All-Time Series vs. Sacred Heart: 23-8-4 (Lost last meeting, 4-1, on Jan. 26, 2020)
WATCH (U.S.) | WATCH (INTERNATIONAL) | LIVE STATS | GAME NOTES | @QU_MIH
#10/11 Quinnipiac Bobcats (0-0-0, 0-0-0 ECAC Hockey) vs.
Sacred Heart Pioneers (1-1-0, 1-1-0 Atlantic Hockey)
Tuesday, Dec. 15 | 7 PM
Frank Perrotti Jr. Arena at the People's United Center | Hamden, Conn.
All-Time Series vs. Sacred Heart: 23-8-4 (Lost last meeting, 4-1, on Jan. 26, 2020)
WATCH (U.S.) | WATCH (INTERNATIONAL) | LIVE STATS | GAME NOTES | @QU_MIH
HAMDEN, Conn. – The moment has finally arrived and the Quinnipiac men's ice hockey is set to open the 2020-21 season with a two-game series beginning Monday evening against the Sacred Heart Pioneers at Frank Perrotti Jr. Arena.
Last Time Out
Before the 2019-20 postseason was cancelled, the Bobcats closed out the season with back-to-back wins against the Brown Bears and Yale Bulldogs in the 18th annual Heroes' Hat game. The Bobcats took down the Bears, 2-1, on Senior Night before blanking the Bulldogs, 5-0, in a dominant effort to finish the season.
Scouting Sacred Heart
The Pioneers come into this week's matchup with a 1-1 record after splitting their season-opening series at Holy Cross. Sacred Heart won their opener against the Crusaders, 2-1, behind Marcel Godbout's game-winner before coming up short after allowing five unanswered goals in a 6-3 loss. Godbout and Ryan Steele each have two goals and one assist for three points through the first two games to lead the offense while junior goaltender Josh Benson has a 3.50 GAA and .897 save percentage in net. Monday and Tuesday's games are among just four non-conference games for Sacred Heart this season.
All-Time vs. Sacred Heart
Quinnipiac enters Monday with a 23-8-4 record all-time against Sacred Heart in 35 meetings, and have a 19-3-3 record against the Pioneers at the Division I level. The Pioneers won last season's meeting in the championship of the inaugural Connecticut Ice Tournament, marking the first meeting between the two teams since Dec. 30, 2013. Quinnipiac has won seven of its last nine meetings with Sacred Heart since the 2003-04 season.
It's Been How Long?
It's been 289 days since the Quinnipiac men's ice hockey team defeated Yale, 5-0, to close out the 2019-20 regular season before the postseason was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 289 days is the longest span between hockey games in program history as the Bobcats take a three-game winning streak into Mondays' game.
National Rankings
The Bobcats enter Monday as a top-10 team in the nation, ranked No. 10 in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll as well as No. 11 in the USCHO.com Poll. The Bobcats were initially ranked No. 14 in both national preseason polls and have steadily climbed in the rankings over the past four weeks. The Bobcats concluded 2019-20 ranked No. 13 in the final polls of the seasons.
Oh Captain, My Captain
A new season brings a new crop of leaders to the Quinnipiac men's ice hockey program as Odeen Tufto was named the 47th captain in team history after being voted on by his teammates and coaches. He is the first Minnesota-native to be tabbed captain since Derek Smith '17 in 2016-17 and the fourth in program history, also joining Reid Cashman '07 and Ty Deinema '06.
Juniors Wyatt Bongiovanni and Peter DiLiberatore were each selected as the team's assistant captains after spending their first two seasons as two of the seasons working with the team's previous leaders and cementing themselves among the faces of the program.
Welcome to the Class of 2024
Quinnipiac brings in a five-member first-year class with the Class of 2024 as well as a transfer for the 2020-21 season. Denver-native Ty Smilanic highlights the class alongside Nick Bochen, Corey Clifton, Tyler Ghirardosi, Iivari Räsänen. Joey Cipollone also joins the Bobcats as he transferred to Quinnipiac after transferring in from the University of Vermont.
Smilanic's Made His Mark
Ty Smilanic has already made his mark on the program without playing a game yet in his career as he became the highest draft pick in program history as the Florida Panthers drafted him in the third round with the 74th overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft. Smilanic joins senior goaltender Keith Petruzzelli as third round picks, with Smilanic's 74th selection coming 14 picks before Petruzzelli was taken. Smilanic comes to Quinnipiac via the United States National Team Development Program where he thrived in two years as a forward with the program.
Class of 2020
The Bobcats graduated three talented players in the Class of 2020 whose leadership in the program will be missed. Karlis Cukste and Alex Whelan each signed AHL contracts for the upcoming 2020-21 season with the San Jose Barracuda and Hartford Wolf Pack, respectively, while former captain Nick Jermain inked an ECHL deal with the Greenville Swamp Rabbits. Jermain set career-highs in 2019-20 with 12 goals, nine assists and 21 points while Whelan finished his career with three straight seasons of 13-plus goals and tied for 24th in program history with 48 career goals. Cukste was a shutdown defenseman who finished his career with 292 blocked shots and ranks 12th among Quinnipiac defenders in program history with 66 career points.
Alumni NHL Update
Quinnipiac alumni have continued to make an impressive impact at the NHL level as Devon Toews reached the NHL Eastern Conference Finals and Connor Clifton had a solid run to the conference semifinals with the Boston Bruins. Toews posted two goals and eight assists with 10 points in 22 playoff games in 2020 after recording six goals and 22 assists for 28 points in the regular season while Clifton posted a goal and two assists in eight playoff games after two goals in 31 regular season games.
Since the NHL Postseason Bubble concluded, Toews was traded to the Colorado Avalanche and signed a four-year contract with the Avs after a successful two-year stint to open his NHL career. Matthew Peca re-signed with the Ottawa Senators on a one-year, two-way deal after being traded at the deadline in February while Connor Clifton will begin his new three-year deal with the Boston Bruins this season in 2020-21. Sam Anas is also headed to a new organization as he signed a two-way NHL deal with the St. Louis Blues.
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Ice HockeyCoaches Road Show at Bears BBQ
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2024-25 Men's Ice Hockey Senior Tribute
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