Quinnipiac University
Colgate
No. 2 Bobcats Set for ECAC Championship Weekend in Lake Placid
3/16/2023 10:23:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
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Saturday, March 18 | 7:30 PM EST | Championship Game (Quinnipiac/Colgate vs. Harvard/Cornell)
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Live Stats: Click Here
HAMDEN, Conn. — In search of their second Whitelaw Cup in program history, the top-seeded and national No. 2 Quinnipiac University men's ice hockey program descended on Lake Placid, N.Y. and the Herb Brooks Arena with its sights on an ECAC Tournament title. The Bobcats will take on fifth-seeded Colgate on Friday at 4 p.m., in the semifinal round, with the winner taking on the Harvard/Cornell victor on Saturday night at 7:30 p.m.
The Bobcats and Raiders split during the regular season, with both home teams taking the win. Quinnipiac knocked off Colgate 3-2 at M&T Bank Arena on Nov. 4 before falling by the same scoreline in Hamilton on Jan. 21.
HOBEY HAPPY
The Bobcats have a pair of players on the Hobey Baker Top 10 list, the organization announced on Wednesday afternoon.
Perets currently leads the country in both goals-against average (1.52) and winning percentage (.875) and currently stands second in shutouts with nine and fifth in save percentage at .927. Graf comes into the weekend third in the nation in both assists per game (0.94) and points per game (1.50) and his 54 points are the most by any Quinnipiac player since the 2008-09 season, when Bryan Leitch had 59 to set the Division I mark.
LOOK AT THIS... GRAF
Collin Graf is currently having one of the best seasons by any sophomore in program history, as his 54 points are the best in the program's Division I era.
He bests Chad Poliquin's Division I mark of 47, set during the 1998-99 season. He also has 34 assists on the year, which is good for sixth-most in a single season by a Bobcat since the program turned Division I.
GREAT MOMENTS...
ECAC Championship Weekend is back in Lake Placid, site of the 1980 Winter Olympics and home of one of the greatest sports upsets in history with Team USA knocking of the USSR.
The Bobcats have had their own championships in the Herb Brooks Arena, taking home the 2016 Whitelaw Cup as the tournament champions en route to a Frozen Four berth.
Rand Pecknold's squad dispatched of Dartmouth in the league semifinals before taking down Harvard to lift the trophy.
THE NATION'S BEST
Four different Bobcats have been tabbed to national award watch lists as the postseason continues. Sophomore winger Collin Graf is also a semifinalist for the Walter Brown Award, given to the best American-born Division I player in New England.
Sophomore goaltender Yaniv Perets is a finalist for the 2023 Richter Award, given to the nation's best goaltender.
Freshman winger Sam Lipkin is also a Walter Brown Award semifinalist, while being named to the Tim Taylor Award Watch List, an honor given to the nation's top rookie.
Senior center Skyler Brind'Amour joins Graf and Lipkin as Walter Brown semifinalists.
DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS
The Bobcats enter the postseason with the nation's best scoring defense, allowing just 1.58 goals-per-game and outscoring teams by an NCAA-best 2.42 goals per night.
The back end of that defensive unit, goaltender Yaniv Perets, leads the country in goals-against average (1.52) and winning percentage (..875) and is second in shutouts (nine).
For an inside look at the Bobcats' postseason run, be sure to follow it on social media @QU_MIH or go to gobobcats.com/mih.
