No. 13 Quinnipiac University
Bobcats (9-1-0, 5-0-0 NEC) vs. No. 5 Cornell University
Big Red (5-1-0, 4-1-0 ECAC) Saturday, Nov. 21, 2009 - 7 p.m. Lynah Rink - Ithaca, N.Y.
ON THE AIR AM 1220 WQUN Bill Schweizer -
Play-by-play Chris Kotsopoulos -
Color commentary
Battle For First The No. 13 Quinnipiac University men's ice hockey team will face No. 5 Cornell tonight, Saturday, Nov. 21, at 7 p.m. at Lynah Rink in Ithaca, N.Y. The Bobcats are 9-1-0 overall and a perfect 5-0-0 in ECAC Hockey for first place in the conference standings. Cornell is currently 5-1-0 overall including a 4-1-0 mark in ECAC Hockey action and in second place in ECAC Hockey. Quinnipiac defeated Colgate last night, 5-3, while Cornell defeated Princeton, 5-2.
On The Air Bill Schweizer will
have the play-by-play for the two-game series, with color commentary provided
by Chris Kotsopoulos on AM 1220 WQUN. Bobcat fans can also click the speaker
icon on the schedule at www.QuinnipiacBobcats.com.
Scouting Cornell Cornell is currently 5-1-0 overall and 4-1-0 in ECAC Hockey, while ranking nationally in the
USCHO.com/CBS College Sports and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine polls at No. 5.
Against Princeton on Friday night, Blake Gallagher scored twice to lead the Big Red. Cornell features the nations top two leading scorers in points per game in
Colin Greening (3G-9A-12Pts.; 2.00) and Blake Gallagher (7-5-12; 2.00). Junior
Joe Devin checks in at 4th in the category (4-6-10;1.67). Gallagher is one of
five players, along with Bobcats senior Eric Lampe, to average a goal per game
while Greening ranks first in NCAA Division I hockey with 1.50 assists per
game. Junior Riley Nash ranks sixth in assists per game at 1.00 with six
assists in six games. Through six five games, the Big Red have the No. 1 scoring
offense in the country with 27 goals for a 4.50 per game average.
Cornell, Quinnipiac (4.30) and Merrimack (4.00) are the only three teams
nationally to average four goals per game. Cornell is also first nationally in power-play percentage (11-32; 34.4),
penalty-kill percentage (30-32; 93.8) and combined special teams (41-64; 64.1).
All-Time Against
Cornell Quinnipiac has won
just three of 12 games all-time against Cornell, with two of those three wins
coming in the 2007 ECAC Hockey Quarterfinals to send the Bobcats to the
tournament quarterfinals that year. In their last five meetings, Quinnipiac has
managed just one point, posting a 0-4-1 record. The Bobcats are 2-4-1 all-time
in Ithaca.
Poll Position The Quinnipiac
University men's ice hockey team was ranked 13th in the USCHO.com/CBS College
Sports Division I Men's Ice Hockey Poll, and the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine
Men's College Hockey poll, both released on Monday, Nov. 16. Quinnipiac broke
into the USCHO.com/CBS Sports poll last week at No. 20 and leaped seven spots
after sweeping Harvard (5-1) and Dartmouth (4-2) this weekend. This is the
first appearance by the Bobcats in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll this
season. In addition to the USCHO.com/CBS College Sports poll, Quinnipiac was
also ranked 12th in the INCH Power Rankings, a weekly poll hosted by
InsideCollegeHockey.com.
PairWise Rankings Quinnipiac was also
third in the latest PairWise Rankings, which are updated following each contest
and is used to select the field for the NCAA Tournament. They are also ranked
sixth by the KRACH ratings, another tool used to measure a team's success
nationally. Quinnipiac's Ratings Percentage Index (RPI), another tool used by
the NCAA Selection committee, is fourth at .6072.
First Time Quinnipiac has won
its last four games, all ECAC Hockey contests, to remain perfect in ECAC Hockey
play and secure first place in the league standings after two weeks of play.The
Bobcats have never opened their ECAC Hockey schedule with four wins in their
first four games. In 2006, Quinnipiac was 2-0-2 through its first four ECAC
Hockey games.
Against The Nation At 8-1-0 overall, the
Bobcats have the best winning percentage, .889, of any team in the nation. In
addition, Quinnipiac ranks second in NCAA Division I hockey in scoring offense
at 4.22 goals per game. Quinnipiac has totaled 38 goals in nine games, while
holding its opponents to 20 goals, for a 2.22 per game average. The Bobcats'
goal differential, +2.00, ranks third in the country while their combined
special teams, 56.1% (60-107) rank seventh in the country.
Clarke Does It Again Quinnipiac University
sophomore Dan Clarke (Belleville, Ontario) was named the ECAC Hockey Goaltender
of the Week on Monday, Nov. 16 following a weekend that saw Clarke pick up his
fourth consecutive win. The award is Clarke's third of the season after he won
last week and on Oct. 12 following a 44-save outing against Ohio State.
The Numbers From This
Past Weekend Are In Clarke stopped 60 of
the 63 shots on goal this weekend against Harvard and Dartmouth for a .952 save
percentage. Clarke allowed three goals while playing all but 13 seconds of both
games for a 1.50 goals-against average. Clarke totaled 27 saves against Harvard
and 33 against Dartmouth as he won back-to-back for the second consecutive
weekend, pushing Quinnipiac's winning-streak to four games and into first place
in the ECAC Hockey standards at 4-0-0.
Good Start For Clarke For the year, Clarke
is 5-1-0 with a .937 save percentage and a 2.20 goals-against average. Clarke
becomes the first three-time weekly award winner in ECAC Hockey this season
among the three awards announced each Monday of the season. Last season, ECAC
Hockey featured three goals that were three-time goalie of the weeks, including
Cornell's Ben Scrivens (four times), Princeton's Zane Kalemba and St.
Lawrence's Alex Petizian.
Clarke Among The ECAC
Hockey Leaders Dan Clarke currently
leads ECAC Hockey with a .937 save percentage after stopping 178 of 190 shots
on goal so far this season. His 2.21 GAA ranks second in the league. Against
ECAC Hockey teams, Clarke is 4-0-0 with a 1.77 GAA (1st) and a .945 save
percentage (1st).
ECAC Hockey Goalie of
the Week Clarke was named the
ECAC Hockey Goaltender of the Week for the second time this season on Monday,
Nov. 9. Clarke became the first Quinnipiac goalie to this season to start
consecutive games, logging 120 minutes against Clarkson and St. Lawrence.
Clarke helped Quinnipiac to wins in both games, posting 34 saves against
Clarkson and 27 against St. Lawrence to send the Bobcats into a four-way tie
for first place in the ECAC Hockey standings with four points. Clarke posted a
2.00 goals-against average while his 61 saves on 65 shots gave him a .938 save
percentage.For the year, Clarke is 3-1-0 with a .930 save percentage and a 2.60
goals-against average.
Lampe Makes The
Crimson See Red Senior Eric Lampe had
a hand in four of Quinnipiac's five goals in a 5-1 romp of Harvard on Friday,
Nov. 13. Lampe had his second career hat trick while also picking up another
assist.
Leader Board Report Eric Lampe currently
leads ECAC Hockey in goals (nine) while ranking second in total points (14) and
plus/minus (+11). Lampe is also tied for the league lead with four power-play
goals.
One In Five Lampe is also one of
five players nationally averaging a point per game with nine goals in nine contests.
The Scott Zurevinski
Note Sophomore Scott
Zurevinski is quickly making a name for himself among the league opponents.
Zurevinski currently boasts the longest active scoring streak in the Bobcat
line-up (seven games) and was one of three players, along with Jean Marc
Beaudoin and Zach Hansen, to tally a point this past weekend.
Three In Double
Figures Quinnipiac, Cornell
and Rensselaer are the only three teams in ECAC Hockey to feature three
double-digit scorers in their line-up to date. Eric Lampe (9-5-14), Brandon
Wong (4-9-13) and Scott Zurevinski (7-5-12) represent Quinnipiac.
Plus/Minus Having outscored its
opponents 38-20 throught its first nine games, Quinnipiac features five players
in the top 10 in plus/minus in the league. Eric Lampe (+11), Scott Zurevinski
(+10), Zach Davies (+9), Zach Hansen (+8) and Jean Marc Beaudoin (+7) lock down
50% of the top 10 spots.
All Night Wong Brandon Wong is
currently third among the ECAC Hockey scoring leaders with 13 points and third
on the league's assists charts with nine.
Mike The Mad Hatter Mike Atkinson became
the first Bobcat to record a hat trick this season, scoring three times against
Clarkson in a 4-2 win last Friday. Atkinson's two shorthanded goals in the
second and third period, respectively, pushed the Bobcats out in front.
Nice Hustle Mook Mike Atkinson became
the first Quinnipiac men's ice hockey player to score two shorthanded goals in
a game since Brandon Wong did it against Bentley on Feb. 6, 2007.
Big Night For JMB Senior captain Jean
Marc Beaudoin's three assists against Harvard were a career high for the fourth
year forward. Beaudoin entered the game with one goal and one assist for the
year. He also added a goal against Dartmouth on Saturday.
Jeremy Spoken Freshman Jeremy Langlois scored his first career goal
against Harvard on Friday, Nov. 13. Langlois leads all Quinnipiac freshmen
scorers with a goal and four assists for five points.