Quinnipiac University
LIU
#11/12 Bobcats Host LIU Monday Night
2/22/2021 11:39:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Men's Ice Hockey and Sharks Set to Face Off for First Time in Program History
LIU Sharks (3-7-0)
Monday, Feb. 22 | 6 PM
Frank Perrotti Jr. Arena at the People's United Center | Hamden, Conn.
All-Time Series vs. LIU: First Meeting
WATCH (ESPN+) | WATCH (INTERNATIONAL) | LISTEN | LIVE STATS | GAME NOTES | @QU_MIH
HAMDEN, Conn. – The No. 11/12 Quinnipiac men's ice hockey team brings its four-game unbeaten streak back to Frank Perrotti Jr. Arena Monday night as the Bobcats host the LIU Sharks in the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
Last Time Out
Quinnipiac picked up five out of a possible six points on the road last weekend as the Bobcats tied Colgate 2-2, Friday night but took the shootout, 1-0, before demolishing the Raiders, 9-0, Saturday night. Matthew Fawcett had a goal and an assist to lead the Bobcats Friday before 17 skaters recorded a point in Saturday's dominant win. Keith Petruzzelli and Yaniv Perets combined for the shutout.
Scouting LIU
The Sharks have lost two straight heading into Monday's matchup as they were swept in a weekend series at Robert Morris, 4-1 and 4-0, on Feb. 4 and 5. LIU is 3-7-0 on the season and have not defeated a Division I opponent since Jan. 16 at Army West Point in overtime, 3-2. Christian Rajic and Nolan Welsh are tied for the team lead with five points while Zack Bross and Gustav Muller are the leaders with three goals. Four different players have each tallied three assists. Garrett Metcalf has seen the bulk of the goaltending minutes with a 2-4-0 record, 3.18 GAA and .919 save percentage but Vincent Purpura has start three straight games going 1-2-0 with a 3.40 GAA and .902 save percentage.
All-Time vs. LIU
This is the first meeting between the two programs, after two prior scheduled games were cancelled.
Chasing the Cleary Cup
The Quinnipiac men's ice hockey team heads into the final two weekends of the ECAC Hockey season with a nine-point lead in the ECAC Hockey Standings over the Clarkson Golden Knights, 28-19, although Clarkson has played two fewer league games. The Bobcats are also the only team in the league above .500 in league play at 7-3-4, while Clarkson is 4-4-4. Quinnipiac is chasing its fifth Cleary Cup in the last nine seasons (2012-13, 2014-15, 2015-16, 2018-19).
Weekly Awards
Quinnipiac swept the ECAC Hockey Weekly Awards for the second time this season on Feb. 15 as Matthew Fawcett earned his first player of the week, Keith Petruzzelli earned his second straight, and third of the season, goaltender of the week, and Iivari Räsänen won his first rookie of the week. The Bobcats previously swept the weekly awards on Jan. 18.
National Rankings
The Bobcats spent their idle week ranked No. 11 in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Men's Hockey Poll and fell one spot to No. 12 in the USCHO.com Division I Men's Poll despite not losing the previous week. The Bobcats have been consistently ranked in the Top 12 in at least one poll since Dec. 28, and both polls since Jan. 4.
Hobey Baker Award
Fans are encouraged to keep voting in the Hobey Baker Fan Vote that is well underway for the 2021 Hobey Baker Award. Odeen Tufto is up for the honor for a second straight season while Keith Petruzzelli earned his first-ever nomination for the award. Fans can vote once per day at HobeyBaker.com/Vote
Mike Richter Award
Petruzzelli has also been nomination as a candidate for the 2021 Mike Richter Award, presented annually to the nation's top goaltender. This season also marked Petruzzelli's first nomination for that honor as he has proven to be one of the top goaltenders in the nation.
Senior CLASS Award
The award nominations don't stop there as Odeen Tufto has been nominated for the Senior CLASS Award, which is presented annually to the top senior student-athlete who chose to return to their institution for their senior season. Tufto is one of 15 nominees for the award.
Rising in the Record Books
Tufto is chasing history in his senior season as the senior captain moved into second place in program history with 117 assists after a pair of helpers in the Bobcats' 9-0 win at Colgate last Saturday, passing Bryan Leitch '09 on the all-time list. Tufto trails only Reid Cashman '07 with 125 assists on the all-time assists list.
Tufto's 152 points also keeps him ranked eighth in program history, and third in Division I program history behind only Leitch and Brian Herbert '03 with 169 points. Next up on the all-time points list for the Bobcats is Rick Ciardiello '87 with 158 points in seventh.
Odeen's Regime
With Tufto's two assists at Colgate, he secured his spot as the fourth Bobcat in Division I program history to record four straight 30-point seasons, joining Matthew Peca '15, Leitch and Herbert as the only Bobcats to do so. Chris Cerrella '01 also had four straight 30-point seasons including his final season at Division II in 1997-98.
Tufto ranks second in the nation with his 31 points while his 27 assists and 1.23 assists per game are good for first in the nation. With his two-point game, Tufto recorded his 10th multi-point effort of the season, the 46th of his career and now has four straight seasons of double-digit multi-point games. He is one of four players in the nation with at least 10 multi-point games this season.
All Gas, No Breaks
Petruzzelli went 1-0-1 to shine between the pipes once again as he picked up his 13th win of the season, now the fifth most in the nation. He also has 47 wins, pulling him within three wins of becoming the fifth goaltender in Division I program history to record 50 wins. Petruzzelli ranks fourth in the nation with a 1.66 GAA and is tied for 10th with a .933 save percentage.
Full Fawce
Matthew Fawcett has been on a tear as of late, recording back-to-back two-point games last weekend at Colgate for the first time in his career and now has six points in his last four games. Fawcett had a goal and an assist in the Bobcats' 2-2 tie to open the weekend at Colgate before picking up a pair of helpers in the 9-0 win en route to his first player of the week honors. Fawcett now has eight points on four goals and four assists in his sophomore season, with every game he's recorded a point resulting in a two-point game.
Cippy's Happy
Joey Cipollone is heating up at the right time for the Bobcats as he matched Fawcett with a goal and three assists for four points with back-to-back two-point games at Colgate. Cipollone entered the weekend with one point on the weekend before assisting both goals in the tie before scoring his first goal as a Bobcat and adding another assist the following night. Cipollone now has two two-assist games and three two-point games dating back to his first season-and-a-half at Vermont.
On Demand
Zach Metsa recorded a three-point weekend, including his first second career two-goal game, at Colgate last weekend. Metsa was the first defenseman in 2020-21 to reach the 20-point mark and is now tied for the national lead among defensemen, while his five goals are tied for fifth. Metsa has now tied his career-high with five goals, while he marks the eighth straight season a Quinnipiac defenseman has recorded at least 20 points.
Three's Company
Guus van Nes recorded the first three-point game of his career with a trio of assists in the 9-0 win at Colgate as he continues to impress as a sophomore. He had recorded a couple two-point games in his career before his three-assist game against the Raiders. van Nes now has his first double-digit assists season with 11 helpers and 13 points, good for fourth on the team in assists and tied sixth in points.
All the Razz
Iivari Räsänen had a weekend to remember at Colgate as he scored his first career goal and added an assist leading to his first ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Week award. Räsänen fired home a shot from the point in the first game for his first tally before assisting a goal in the 9-0 win. Three of his four career points have come in the last four games.
Leyhser Show
Ethan Leyh is starting to heat up as he had a goal and an assist in the 9-0 shutout at Colgate for his third career multi-point game and second of the season. Leyh's goal was his first season the season-opener, and his nine points are one shy of tying his rookie total from a season ago. He now has points in two of his last three games.
Filly Filly
Christophe Fillion recorded his first two-point game with a goal and an assist in the rout of the Raiders. Fillion has made an immediate impact since joining the Bobcats, ranking second among the first years with three goals and seven points, and leading all first years with four assists.
Brindy's Back
Skyler Brind'Amour is also starting to heat up for the Bobcats as he picked up a pair of assists in the 9-0 win for his first multi-assist effort and second multi-point game of the season. Brind'Amour now has seven assists and nine points in 2020-21, approaching his career-highs of nine and 13 from a season ago. He has points in two of his last three games.
Burgart King
Desi Burgart found the back of the net for the first time since Jan. 15 as he scored his ninth goal of the season, good for the third-most on the team. Burgart has points in three of his last four games as he continues to be one of the top offensive weapons for the Bobcats.
All Smiles
Ty Smilanic got back in the scoring groove with his 12th goal of the season that opened the scoring in that 9-0 win. Smilanic is tied for sixth in the nation in goals, and remains tied for the national rookie lead in scoring. His 15 points are 15th in the nation among rookies. Quinnipiac is 7-2-1 when Smilanic scores a goal this season.
Leeding the Way
Jayden Lee scored his second goal of the season and third of his career with a power-play goal at Colgate. Lee now has a career-high two goals as he has upped his play in his sophomore campaign.
Frieds is Fired Up
TJ Friedmann rounded out the scoring in that 9-0 win with his second goal of the season, and first career power-play goal as well. He now has six goals and 12 points in his career.
de Jong Guns
Ethan de Jong has continued to impress a junior as he picked up another point with an assist at Colgate for his ninth of the season to give him 19 points. de Jong now has points in five of his last six games as he pulls within a point of his second career 20-point season.
Dilly Dilly
Peter DiLiberatore returned to the scoresheet with an assist for his first point since Jan. 15 with an assist in the 9-0 rout of the Raiders. DiLiberatore is up to 12 assists and 14 points this season, tied for sixth in assists among defensemen in the nation and tied for 13th in points.
Lombardi's Lighting it Up
Michael Lombardi is another Bobcat on a nice little run as he picked up an assist at Colgate to tie his career-high of nine points from his rookie season in 2018-19. Lombardi has four points in his last four games.
No Boch About It
Nick Bochen assisted Jayden Lee's power-play goal for his first point since Jan. 17 against Colgate to up his season total to three assists and six points. The Bobcats are now 4-1-0 when Bochen tallies a point.
Perets Debuts
Yaniv Perets made his Quinnipiac debut in relief of Keith Petruzzelli at Colgate on Saturday night, playing the final 14:49 and stopping all eight saves he faced. Perets joined the team before the second semester and is the fourth Quinnipiac goaltender to see the ice this season, with all three backups playing perfect in relief of Petruzzelli.
