March 5, 2009

ECAC Hockey Tournament First Round

No. 7 Quinnipiac University (16-15-3, 9-10-3 ECAC Hockey) vs.

No. 10 Colgate University (11-16-7, 6-11-5 ECAC Hockey)

Friday, Mar. 6 – Saturday, Mar. 7 – Sunday, Mar. 8 (if necessary)

TD Banknorth Sports Center – Hamden, Conn.

On The Air

Bill Schweizer (Play-by-play)

Chris Kotsopoulos (Color Commentary)

Bobcats Radio Network
WQUN 1220 AM
ESPN Radio 1410 AM

WLIS 1420 AM

WMRD 1150 AM

www.quinnipiacbobcats.com

Tournament Time

The Quinnipiac University men's ice hockey team will host Colgate University in the first round of the 2009 ECAC Hockey Tournament on Friday, March 6th through Sunday, March 8th (if necessary) at the TD Banknorth Sports Center in Hamden, Conn. Quinnipiac clinched the No. 7 seed in the tournament with a win over Dartmouth last Saturday night while Colgate holds the No. 10 seed in the league tournament. Quinnipiac enters the game with an overall record of 16-15-3 and 9-10-3 in ECAC Hockey play. Colgate stands at 11-16-7 overall, including a 6-11-5 mark in league action.

Broadcast

The game will be available via live webstream from B2 Networks at B2TV.com.

All-Time Against Colgate

Quinnipiac is 3-7-1 all-time against Colgate including losses in their last three games against the Raiders. Quinnipiac's last win against Colgate came on Feb. 17, 2007 to complete the season sweep. In addition, Quinnipiac is 1-2 against Colgate in tournament play and 0-2 all-time at the TD Banknorth Sports Center.

Quinnipiac In The ECAC Hockey Tournament

Since joining ECAC Hockey for the 2005-06 season, the Bobcats hold an 11-5 career record in postseason play. The Bobcats have yet to lose a First Round game, posting a 6-0 record over their first three seasons in ECAC Hockey. Quinnipiac is also 4-3 in quarterfinal games, 1-0 in semifinal games and 0-1 in the championship game. Quinnipiac holds a 4-0 record at home in the ECAC Tournament after back-to-back first round series wins over Brown in 2008 and Union in 2007. Quinnipiac's most successful postseason came in 2007 when the Bobcats swept Union at home before upsetting Cornell at Lynah Rink in two games in the quarterfinals. Quinnipiac continued their run, knocking off St. Lawrence, 4-0, in the semifinals before falling to Clarkson in the Championship Game, 4-2. Quinnipiac led in that game, 2-0, heading into the third period. It was the last time Quinnipiac lost after leading after two periods.

Top Of The Charts

Bryan Leitch became the first Quinnipiac men's ice hockey player in program history to finish the regular season as the leading scorer in Division I men's ice hockey. Through 34 games played, Leitch's 42 assists and 53 points led the nation, while he also chipped in with 11 goals.

First In Line

In addition to leading the country in two of the major scoring categories, Leitch was the first player in NCAA Division I men's ice hockey this season to reach both the 40-point and 50-point marks. He is the fourth player in Quinnipiac's Division I history to reach the 50-point mark and the first since the 1999-2000 season.

Pushing 40

With 42 assists, Leitch became the first player in the Bobcats' Division I history and just the second player at Quinnipiac all-time to record 40 assists in a single season. The last Quinnipiac player to pass out 40 assists in one year was Todd Johnson, who recorded 42 during the 1986-87 season.

2009 NCAA Frozen Four Skills Challenge
Leitch was also chosen as one of the 36 men's college ice hockey players in the nation to participate in the 2009 NCAA Frozen Four Skills Competition, to take place on April 10 at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. Leitch is one of three ECAC Hockey players selected to compete in the event. Leitch is the second Quinnipiac men's ice hockey player selected for the Skills Competition after Reid Cashman was also chosen during the 2006-07 season.

"That's A Lot Of Goals"
With his first goal of the game against Dartmouth, David Marshall became the first player in Quinnipiac history to score 70 goals at the Division I level, and the sixth all-time at Quinnipiac. Marshall scored twice in the game, giving him 71 for his career.

Bobcats and Wolverines

With 53 and 41 points, respectively, Bryan Leitch and David Marshall become the second pair of teammates, along with Michigan's Aaron Palushaj and Louie Caporusso, to reach 40 points this season.

20-20 Vision

David Marshall - 20 goals and 21 assists - is one of four players in the country with 20 goals and 20 assists this season.

Two In The Top 10

Quinnipiac is also one of two teams, along with Minnesota to have two players ranked in the Top 10 in scoring nationally.

Closing The Door

This season, Quinnipiac is 15-0-0 in games in which it is leading

after the second period. In their last 35 games in that scenario, dating back to last season, Quinnipiac is undefeated at 32-0-3 when playing with a lead heading into the final frame. The Bobcats last loss,when leading after the second period, came in the 2006-07 ECAC Hockey Championship Game when Clarkson scored four third period goals to come-from-behind and take the league crown.

Atta Boy Bruiser!
Before Quinnipiac's game against Brown, Chris Myers had scored in three-straight games. He joined Bryan Leitch, Marshall and Lampe as the only four Bobcats to score a goal in three consecutive games. For the year, Myers has seven goals and three assists for 10 points.

Chart Topper
David Marshall scored his 68th career goal in the Bobcats' 5-3 win against Clarkson last Saturday. Marshall passed Chris Cerrella ‘01 for the Quinnipiac Division I record for career goals scored. With a goal against Brown, Marshall has 69 goals and is in the hunt to become the Quinnipiac's first Division I hockey player to scored 70 goals in a career. He would be the sixth player all-time at Quinnipiac to reach the mark, joining Cerrella (99), Bill Veneris ‘82 (92), Todd Johnson ‘89 (91), Jim Hanscom ‘80 (83) and Richard Buckholz ‘87 (76).

Back To Form?
Bud Fisher has emerged as Quinnipiac's go-to goalie over the past four weeks. Despite a 1-2-1 record, Fisher allowed just seven goals in 227:34 minutes in goal for a 1.85 goals-against average while also posting a .943 save percentage. Last weekend, Fisher was 1-1 with a 1.53 GAA and a .956 save percentage. On Saturday, Fisher shut down Dartmouth, holding the Big Green to one goal on 43 shots for his second highest career save total.

Use It To Your Advantage
Quinnipiac is ranked 11th in power-play percentage with 38 goals in 195 chances for 19.5%. On the penalty kill, the Bobcats rank 17th at 86.6% after killing 162 of 187 opponent power-plays. The Bobcats are also ranked 13th in combined special teams at 52.4% (200-382).