January 21, 2010

Quinnipiac University Bobcats (13-9-1) vs.
Niagara University Purple Eagles (6-13-2)
Jan. 22-23, 2010, 7 p.m.
TD Bank Sports Center - Hamden, Conn.

Getting Back On Track
The Quinnipiac University men's ice hockey team will host Niagara University in a pair of non-conference games at the TD Bank Sports Center in Hamden, Conn. The Bobcats currently stand at 13-9-1 overall while Niagara enters the weekend series with a record of 6-13-2 with wins in three of its last five games, including wins against nationally-ranked Bemidji State, and ECAC Hockey foes Colgate and St. Lawrence. The Bobcats and Purple Eagles hit the ice at 7 p.m. on both nights.

Broadcast News
Bill Schweizer will have the play-by-play for tonight's game against St. Cloud State. Analyst Chris Kotsopoulos will handle the color commentary duties for the two-game ECAC Hockey set.

Saturday Night Broadcast
Saturday night's game against Niagara will be televised live on the Niagara Sports Network and Fox College Sports Pacific.

All-Time Against Niagara
The Purple Eagles have had the Bobcats' number since the two teams first played each other on Oct. 15, 1999. Niagara took that game, and the next four to open the all-time series with five straight wins. Quinnipiac's first win against NU fell on Jan. 28, 2006 with a 5-2 decision at the Northford Ice Pavilion. After Niagara rattled off wins in the next four games of the series, including the first two games between the two teams at the TD Bank Sports Center in 2008, Quinnipiac split the two-game set in Niagara last season. Overall, the Bobcats are 2-10-0 against Niagara all-time, including a record of 1-3-0 at home, 1-5-0 on the road and 0-2-0 at a neutral site.

Scouting Niagara
Niagara is led by senior Chris Moran, who has tallied three goals to go along with his team-high 21 assists for 24 points. Ryan Olidis leads the Purple Eagles with 12 goals, while also assisting on eight more for 20 points. Seniors Tyler Gotto (4g-11a-15pts) and Egor Mironov (6-6-12) also rank among the Purple Eagles top-five in scoring. In goal, Chris Noonan has started 11 games for Niagara, including the last eight games. Noonan is 4-7-0 with a 3.38 goals-against average and a .904 save percentage.

Russell Goodman...On The Board
Freshman Russell Goodman scored his first career goal in last Friday's loss to St. Cloud State. He was assisted on the play by senior captain Jean-Marc Beaudoin and classmate Eric Lampe.

25-25 Guys
Quinnipiac is one of five team's nationally, along with UMass, Canisius, Denver and Union, to boast two players (Wong, Lampe) with 25 points.

Double-Double Too
Wong and Lampe join the group of 28 players in Division I men's ice hockey to reach double figures in goals and assists to date.

Inside The Numbers
Quinnipiac and Minnesota Duluth are the only two teams NCAA Division I men's ice hockey to boast three players with at least 10 goals to date. Wong (12), Lampe (10) and Scott Zurevinski (10) lead Quinnipiac in goals scored. Quinnipiac is also one of 10 teams nationally with at least two players to reach double-figures in goals scored.

Number Crunching
The Bobcats are currently ranked ninth nationally with 76 goals in 23 games for a 3.30 clip. The Bobcats have scored five goals in a game eight times.

Special Teams
Quinnipiac is currently tied for 11th on the power play, nationally, at 21.9% (25-114) and 13th on the penalty kill at 85.5% (94-110). The Bobcats are ninth in combined special teams at 53.1% (119-224).

Youth Movement
Last season, through 39 games, Quinnipiac freshmen accounted for 18 of Quinnipiac's 124 goals (14.5%). This season, through the team's first 23 games, Quinnipiac freshmen have 18 of the Bobcats 76 goals for 23.7%.

Closing The Door
Last season, Quinnipiac was 16-0-0 in games in which it led after the second period. In their last 43 games in that scenario, dating back three seasons, Quinnipiac is undefeated at 40-0-3 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.

TD Bank Sports Center History
Since the door's opened on Quinnipiac University's state-of-the-art arena on Jan. 27, 2007, the Bobcats have played 56 games on their home ice, posting a 32-19-5 record.