Quinnipiac University
St. Lawrence
#11/12 Bobcats Host St. Lawrence in Weekend Series
2/4/2021 4:13:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey
Men's Ice Hockey Takes on Saints with Pair of 4 PM Puck Drops
St. Lawrence Saints (4-4-2, 4-4-2 ECAC Hockey)
Friday, Feb. 5 | 4 PM
Frank Perrotti Jr. Arena at the People's United Center | Hamden, Conn.
All-Time Series vs. St. Lawrence: 17-16-6
WATCH (ESPN+) | WATCH (INTERNATIONAL) | LISTEN | LIVE STATS | GAME NOTES | @QU_MIH
#11/12 Quinnipiac Bobcats (10-5-3, 4-3-3 ECAC Hockey) vs.
St. Lawrence Saints (4-4-2, 4-4-2 ECAC Hockey)
Saturday, Feb. 6 | 4 PM
Frank Perrotti Jr. Arena at the People's United Center | Hamden, Conn.
All-Time Series vs. St. Lawrence: 17-16-6
WATCH (ESPN+) | WATCH (INTERNATIONAL) | LISTEN | LIVE STATS | GAME NOTES | @QU_MIH
HAMDEN, Conn. – The No. 11/12 Quinnipiac men's ice hockey team returns to the ice after a weekend off as the Bobcats host the St. Lawrence Saints in a pair of games at Frank Perrotti Jr. Arena.
Last Time Out
Quinnipiac battled in a three-game series at Clarkson last weekend, going 0-1-2 as each team earned a shootout win for extra points in league play. In each of the first two games, the Bobcats and Golden Knights skated to 1-1 ties before Clarkson took the final game of the series, 4-2. TJ Friedmann scored the game-tying goal on Friday night while Ethan de Jong scored the initial goal on Saturday before Ty Smilanic and Guus van Nes closed out the weekend scoring on Sunday. Quinnipiac and Clarkson were pretty even in their six games against each other this season, with each team winning a game in regulation, overtime and in the shootout.
Scouting St. Lawrence
The Saints enter the weekend with a 4-4-2 record on the season as well as in ECAC Hockey play, sitting in third place and just two points behind Quinnipiac and Clarkson tied for first place. St. Lawrence is 2-3 in its last five games against Clarkson and Colgate, and went 1-2 with an overtime loss in a three-game series last time out. Cameron Buhl leads the Saints with eight assists and 10 points this season while Kaden Pickering and Nicholas Trela are tied for the team lead with four goals. Emil Zetterquist has stole the show and shined between the pipes, going 4-3-2 with a 2.08 GAA and .936 save percentage. St. Lawrence also boasts one of the best penalty kills in the nation at 90.6 percent.
All-Time vs. St. Lawrence
Quinnipiac owns a 17-16-6 record against St. Lawrence as they enter the 40th meeting in program history dating back to the first meeting between the two teams in 2000. The Bobcats and Saints skated to a 2-2 tie in the ECAC Hockey opener on Dec. 31 before St. Lawrence won 4-2 in Hamden on Jan. 3. Quinnipiac had won eight straight games before the Dec. 31 game and St. Lawrence's win snapped the Bobcats' nine-game unbeaten streak.
National Rankings
The Bobcats remained at No. 11 in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll and fell one spot in the USCHO.com Division I Men's Poll to No. 12 in the nation. Quinnipiac received 366 points in the USCHO Poll and 152 in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll to remain the top-ranked ECAC Hockey team.
Hobey Baker Award Nominees
Odeen Tufto and Keith Petruzzelli were each nominated for the 2021 Hobey Baker Award this weekend, with Tufto earning his second straight nomination. Tufto is tied for the national lead in points and leads the nation in assists while Petruzzelli has been one of the top goaltenders in the nation this season.
Mike Richter Award Watch List
Petruzzelli was also named to the 2021 Mike Richter Award "Watch List," an award which is presented to the nation's top goaltender. He is among the nation's leaders with four shutouts and 10 wins, and also owns a 1.79 GAA and .929 save percentage.
ECAC Hockey Player of the Month
The recognition continues to pile up for Tufto as he was named the ECAC Hockey Player of the Month for January, the first time he has been named the league's player of the month. Tufto led the league with 10 assists and 11 points in January. He was previously named the league's Rookie of the Month in February 2018. Earlier this season, Tufto was named the National Player of the Month in December by the Hockey Commissioners' Association.
Rising in the Record Books
Odeen Tufto continues to see his name quickly climb up the Quinnipiac men's ice hockey record books as he recorded another assist this past weekend at Clarkson. Tufto's assist was the 114th of his career, giving him sole possession of third place in program history. He trails only Bryan Leitch '09 with 116 assists and Reid Cashman '07 with 125 in their careers.
Tufto also picked up the 149th point of his Quinnipiac career, passing Cashman for third in Division I program history and eighth in program history. Next on the list is Rick Ciardiello '87 with 158 assists for seventh and then Leitch and Brian Herbert '03 who are tied for first in Division I program history and fifth in overall history with 169 points.
Odeen, Odeen, Odeen, Odeen
Tufto has been one of the most prolific scorers in 2020-21 as he is tied for the nation's lead with Wisconsin's Cole Caufield with 28 points in addition to his nation-leading 24 assists. Tufto has nine more assists than the next closest skaters, teammate Zach Metsa and Western Michigan's Drew Worrad. Tufto also leads the nation with 12 power-play assists and 14 power-play points while his .617 faceoff percentage is third among centers in the nation.
Keith's a Keeper
Keith Petruzzelli has dominated between the posts this season and this weekend was no different despite a 4-2 loss as he maintained a 1.79 GAA and .929 save percentage. Petruzzelli had his impressive shutout streak come to an end in game one of the series at Clarkson at 201:41, the second-longest in program history behind the 203:31 streak from Michael Garteig '16 in the 2015-16 season.
Over the last six games for the Bobcats, Petruzzelli is fifth in the nation with a 0.97 GAA and is eighth with a .958 save percentage. Overall this season, Petruzzelli is second in the nation with four shutouts and third with 10 wins.
de Jong Guns
Ethan de Jong was among the top scorers this time out for the Bobcats as he had a goal and an assist to take a two-game point streak into Saturday. He now has eight goals this season, tied for 23rd in the nation. His eight goals are the second-most he's scored in a season in his career and is just two shy of tying his career-high 10 from 2018-19.
Dishing Out Apples
Zach Metsa recorded a pair of assists in Sunday's loss at Clarkson for his fifth multi-point effort of the season. He now has a career-high 14 assists and tied his career-high with 17 points. Metsa is tied for fifth in the nation in assists, and first among defensemen, while he is tied for first among defensemen in points and 25th overall in points.
Bow Ty
Ty Smilanic scored the Bobcats first goal Sunday at Clarkson for his 11th tally of the season, tied for fourth in the nation. He only trails Arizona State's Matthew Kopperud in rookie scoring as Kopperud has scored 12 goals. Smilanic is tied for ninth among the nation's rookies with 14 points this season
The Guus is on the Loose
Guus van Nes found the back of the net for the second time in 2020-21 with a goal Sunday at Clarkson to tie his career-high from last season. van Nes has also reached the 10-point mark with his goal Sunday, making him the seventh Bobcat with at least 10 points this season.
Free Bird
TJ Friedmann got the monkey off his back Friday night with his first goal of the season that tied the game and force overtime. His goal was his first since he found the back of the net in a 5-0 win against then-No. 1 Cornell on Jan. 31, 2021. Friedmann now has five goals in his career.
Leasy Does It
Jayden Lee assisted de Jong's goal Saturday for his fifth assist of the season as he continues to set career-highs in his sophomore campaign with five helpers and six points. Lee has recorded four of his six points against Clarkson this season.
Brita
Logan Britt assisted Friedmann's game-tying goal Friday night for his first assist of the 2020-21 season and set a career-high with three points. Britt now has a goal and an assist against the Golden Knights this season.
OC Baby
Joe O'Connor returned to the lineup in Saturday's tie and recorded the primary assist on de Jong's goal for his first helper of the season. O'Connor now has two point this season after scoring a goal against AIC on Dec. 26.
