Bobcats to Host St. Lawrence in ECAC Hockey Championship Game

Saturday, March 20

Hamden, Conn.

4:00 PM

Quinnipiac University

St. Lawrence

Men's Ice Hockey On End Line During Starting Lineups

Photo by: Rob Rasmussen / P8Photos.com

Bobcats to Host St. Lawrence in ECAC Hockey Championship Game

3/18/2021 8:02:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey

Men's Ice Hockey Looking for Second Whitelaw Cup in Program History

By: QU Athletic Communications

#10/10 Quinnipiac Bobcats (17-6-4, 10-4-4 ECAC Hockey) vs.
St. Lawrence Saints (5-8-3, 4-8-2 ECAC Hockey)
Saturday, March 20 | 4 PM
Frank Perrotti Jr. Arena at People's United Center | Hamden, Conn.
All-Time Series vs. St. Lawrennce: 21-16-6

WATCH (ESPN+) | WATCH (INTERNATIONAL) | LISTEN | LIVE STATS | GAME NOTES | @QU_MIH

HAMDEN, Conn. – The No. 10/10 Quinnipiac men's ice hockey team is back in the ECAC Hockey Championship game in search of their second Whitelaw Cup as the Bobcats host the third-seeded St. Lawrence Saints Saturday at 4 p.m.

Last Time Out
Quinnipiac and Colgate split the Bobcats' final weekend of the 2020-21 regular season as the Bobcats won on March 5 with a 4-2 win before the Raiders rebounded in the regular season finale with a 4-3 win. The Bobcats then received a bye to the ECAC Hockey finals after earning the No. 1 seed and Clarkson pulling out of the tournament.

Scouting St. Lawrence
The Saints snapped a six-game winless streak that ended the regular season with a 5-4 overtime victory over the Colgate Raiders in the ECAC Hockey Semifinals to put them in the championship game for the first time since 2001. St. Lawrence was led by Tucker McIntosh and Cameron Buhl's two goals, while Buhl scored the game-winner in overtime. Goaltender Emil Zetterquist led the Saints with 39 saves between the pipes. Buhl is the Saints' leader with 10 assists and 15 points while Kaden Pickering has a team-best six goals. So far this season, Zetterquist has a .926 save percentage and 2.44 GAA.

All-Time vs. St. Lawrence
Quinnipiac is 21-16-6 all-time against St. Lawrence in 43 all-time meetings, including 4-1-1 this season. The Bobcats have won the last four matchups between the two teams after St. Lawrence opened the season with a tie and a win. Quinnipiac is 12-1-1 in the last 14 games against St. Lawrence since Game Two of the playoffs in 2016-17. The Bobcats are 3-3 all-time in the postseason against the Saints, most recently taking two of three at Appleton Arena in the ECAC Hockey Quarterfinals in 2016-17 to advance to the semifinals.

ECAC Hockey Championship
Saturday marks the first time in ECAC Hockey history that the championship game will be played at a campus site since the league's first since in 1961-62. Quinnipiac earned the No. 1 seed by running away with the Cleary Cup as ECAC Hockey Champions.

Cleary Cup Champs
Quinnipiac won its fifth Cleary Cup in the last nine seasons as the Bobcats were crowned ECAC Hockey Regular Season Champions after going 10-4-4 in league play. The Bobcats have won two of the last three Cleary Cups, showing off their recent run of dominance.

Hobey Baker Top Ten Finalists
Odeen Tufto and Keith Petruzzelli were named Top Ten Finalists for the 2021 Hobey Baker Award, the honor presented to the top college hockey player in the nation. Tufto and Petruzzelli are the third and fourth top ten finalists for the award in program history, and mark the first time Quinnipiac has had two finalists in the same season. Quinnipiac is one of three teams with multiple finalists in 2021, joining Wisconsin (3) and Boston College (2).

Player of the Year
Odeen Tufto was honored as the ECAC Hockey Player of the Year on Friday after leading the league in nearly every statistical category, including 38 assists and 44 points. Tufto is just the second Bobcat to be named the ECAC Hockey Player of the Year after Eric Hartzell in the 2012-13 season. Prior to Quinnipiac joining ECAC Hockey, Reid Cashman '07 earned Atlantic Hockey Player of the Year honors in 2004-05.

Goaltender of the Year
Keith Petruzzelli earned the Ken Dryden Goaltender of the Year in ECAC Hockey after a dominant year in goal, leading the league in every goaltending category. Petruzzelli is the third Quinnipiac goaltender to earn ECAC Hockey Goaltender of the Year honors, joining Hartzell in 2012-13 and Andrew Shortridge in 2018-19. Jamie Holden '05 also earned the Atlantic Hockey Goaltending Award in 2003-04 when the Bobcats were in Atlantic Hockey.

Coach of the Year
Rand Pecknold continued to show why he is one of the best coaches in the nation, earning ECAC Hockey Tim Taylor Coach of the Year honors for the third time in his career. Pecknold was previously named the Coach of the Year in 2012-13 and 2015-16. He has won four coach of the year awards in his career, as he earned Atlantic Hockey Coach of the Year in 2004-05.

First Team All-League
The Bobcats placed three players on the ECAC Hockey First Team for the first time in program history, as Tufto, Petruzzelli and Metsa all earned first team honors. It was each of their first times named to the First Team, and for Tufto it capped off a four-year run as an All-League selection after he was named to the All-Rookie Team in 2017-18 and had back-to-back Second Team selections in 2018-19 and 2019-20.

All-Rookie Team
First year Ty Smilanic was named to the ECAC Hockey All-Rookie Team after leading the nation with 14 goals. Smilanic was one of the most dominant scorers not just in the league but in the nation. He is Quinnipiac's 10^th ECAC Hockey All-Rookie Team selection, and fourth in the last four years. The Bobcats have had 21 All-Rookie Team selections since joining the Division I ranks as members of the MAAC Hockey League followed by Atlantic Hockey.

Chasing Records
In the Bobcats penultimate game of the 2020-21 season, Tufto set the program record with his 126^th career assist to break the previous record held by Reid Cashman '07. Tufto added two more assists on the weekend to finish with 128. He is also closing in the on the Division I program scoring record as his 165 points are just four away from tying the record of 169 held by Bryan Leitch '09 and Brian Herbert '03.

Team Effort
Quinnipiac enters Saturday with the fifth-most goals in the nation at 95 this season and is one of 11 teams averaging 3.50 goals per game. The Bobcats have also allowed the third fewest goals per game, averaging just 1.93 goals allowed per game, while their margin of victory is sixth at 1.59. Quinnipiac also boasts one of the best power plays in the nation at 25.4 percent, good for fifth in the nation, while the Bobcats' 32 power-play goals are the most in the nation.

Junior Success
Quinnipiac's Class of 2022 continues to be one of the best in the nation, as the Bobcats juniors once again lead the nation among their year with 47 goals and 116 points, as well as 19 power-play goals, 25 power-play assists and 44 power-play points. Quinnipiac also leads all juniors averaging 4.30 points per game.

Having an O-Mazing Season
It's been a season to remember for Tufto as he enters the championship game with a nation-leading 38 assists as well as the national lead with 1.41 assists per game, 20 power-play assists and 22 power-play points. His 44 points are second in the nation to Wisconsin's Cole Caufield. Tufto is also second in the nation with a .631 faceoff percentage and fifth with 349 faceoff wins.

Tufto's 38 assists this season are tied with Cashman for the second-most in a single season in Division I program history while his 44 points are tied with Brandon Wong '10 in 2006-07 for the 13^th most.

Ding de Jong
Ethan de Jong is in the midst of his best season as a Bobcat as he has career-highs with 14 goals and 28 points, as well as eight power-play goals. de Jong is riding a six-game point streak entering the championship game, recording 10 points in that span on four goals and six assists. He had three assists on March 5 for his second career three-assist game and third three-point game. de Jong has points in 10 of his last 11 games.

His 14 goals are tied for seventh in the nation while his 28 points are tied for 18^th. He ranks second in the country with eight power-play goals.

Petro Fuel
As evidenced by his multitude of awards, Keith Petruzzelli has been one of the best goaltenders in the nation this season. He is tied for the national lead with 27 starts while his minutes played of 1581:04 is currently second, but ranked first after the 2020-21 regular season. He is also fourth in the nation with 17 wins, four shutouts and a 1.78 GAA while his .929 save percentage is up to ninth.

Jumbo Lombo
Michael Lombardi is also having his best season as a junior as he has posted five goals and 10 assists for 15 points. Lombardi has more points this season than he recorded in his first two seasons combined (14). He had a five-game point streak come to an end on March 6, but since Feb. 5 Lombardi recorded 10 of his 15 points and provided a valuable spark to the Bobcats offense.

Cippy's Reward
Joey Cipollone records his third two-point game against Colgate on March 6, posting a goal and an assist in the losing effort. Cipollone now has two goals and five assists in his first season with the Bobcats.

Peter Piper
Peter DiLiberatore has turned up the heat in 2020-21 with points in five straight games from Feb. 13-March 5, including three power-play goals. All five of DiLiberatore's goals have come on the power play. He is one point shy of his second straight 20-point season. DiLiberatore leads the nation's defensemen with five power-play goals, while he is tied for 11^th among the nation's defensemen with five goals, tied for seventh with 14 goals and tied for 10^th with 19 goals.

Fillin' It Up
Christophe Fillion has been solid for the Bobcats with six goals and four assists for 10 points, reaching the 10-point mark with a goal in the 4-2 win over Colgate on March 5. Fillion is one of five rookie skaters in ECAC Hockey to record 10 points while his six goals are tied with Colgate's Alex Young for second.

Free Bird
TJ Friedmann buried his third goal of the season in the loss to the Raiders on March 6. He now has seven goals and 13 points in his Bobcat career as he has thrived at center this season.

Zach Attack
Zach Metsa has shined all season long from the blue line for the Bobcats as he leads the nation's defensemen with 20 assists and 25 points, while his five goals are tied for 11^th. Metsa has career-highs in goals, assists and points as he built off a breakout season in 2019-20 when he had 17 points.

Destination Desi
Desi Burgart added another assist on March 6 to give him 16 points in 2020-21. He has four more points this season than he recorded in his first two seasons for the Bobcats. Burgart is one of three Bobcats with 10 goals this season.

Duck, Duck Guus
Guus van Nes returned to the scoresheet with his 12^th assist of the season as he assisted Cipollone's power-play goal on March 6 against Colgate. van Nes now has 14 points in 2020-21, one season after picking up five points.

As Far as Iivari Can See
Iivari Räsänen has steadily added points to his season total throughout the month of February, picking up six of his seven points on the year. Räsänen tallied an assist on Fillion's goal on March 5 for the Bobcats in a 4-2 win for his sixth assist and seventh point. He is tied with Jayden Lee for third among Quinnipiac defensemen in scoring, while he is tied for second among ECAC Hockey rookie defensemen with six assists and fourth with seven points.

OC's Playin' Baby!
Joe O'Connor gets it done when he's in the lineup, recording points in two of his last three games and three of his last six. O'Connor recorded an assist on Friedmann's goal on March 6 for his third point of the season and 16^th of his career.