February 18, 2010

Quinnipiac University Bobcats (15-13-2, 9-9-0 ECAC Hockey) at
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Engineers (16-13-3, 9-7-2 ECAC Hockey)
Friday, Feb. 19, 2010 - 7 p.m.
Houston Field House - Troy, N.Y.

#16 Union College Dutchmen (16-8-6, 10-4-4 ECAC Hockey)
Saturday, Feb. 20, 2010 - 7 p.m.
Messa Rink - Schenectady, N.Y.

On The Air - AM 1220 WQUN
Bill Schweizer - Play-by-play
Todd Carroll - Color Commentary

The Capital District
The Quinnipiac University men's ice hockey team hits the road on Friday, Feb. 19 and Saturday, Feb. 20 when they take on Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and #16 Union, respectively. The Bobcats split last weekend, defeating St. Lawrence at Appleton Arena, 2-0, before losing to Clarkson in Potsdam, N.Y., 4-1. The Bobcats are currently 15-13-2 overall and 9-9-0 in ECAC Hockey play, good for 7th in the league standings with 18 points. RPI hosts the Bobcats on Friday night at 7 p.m. at the Houston Field House with a record of 16-13-3 including a 9-7-2 record in ECAC Hockey play. RPI is currently tied for 4th in the league standings with St. Lawrence with 20 points. No. 16 Union is 16-8-6 overall and 10-4-4 in ECAC Hockey play for 3rd place in the conference. They play Princeton on Friday night at 7 p.m. at Messa Rink in Schenectady, N.Y.

Broadcast News
Bill Schweizer will have the play-by-play for both games this weekend while Todd Carroll will have the color commentary.

All-Time Against Rensselaer
Quinnipiac and RPI have met 14 times in their history, dating back to their first contest on Oct. 16, 1999. RPI won that game, 6-4 in Troy, N.Y., as the first of four straight wins for the Engineers on their home ice to begin the all-time series. Following the fourth win to open the series, Quinnipiac has lost to Rensselaer once - earlier this year - posting a 5-1-4 mark in its last 10 meetings with RPI. The Bobcats are 1-1-3 all-time on their home-ice, including a 1-1-2 mark at the TD Bank Sports Center following a 4-1 loss on Jan. 8, 2010.

Scouting Rensselaer
RPI is currently 16-13-3 overall and 8-5-3 in ECAC Hockey play, tied for 4th in the league standings. RPI has won three of it's last five games and have lost just three times in their last 10. The Engineers' Chase Polacek currently leads the nation with 46 points and 23 goals while also adding 23 assists. Polacek's 1.44 points per game ranks 6th overall. Brandon Pirri ranks 20th in the nation with 1.22 points per game after totaling nine goals and 30 assists for 39 points. His 0.94 assists per game rank 5th in the nation. The freshman forward also ranks second in the nation in points per game for rookies. Freshman Jeremy D'Amigo played for Team USA in the World Juniors earlier this year and has totaled nine goals and 19 assists for 28 points. In goal, Allen York has logged the majority of the minutes, totaling over 1,600 over 28 games. York is 13-10-3 for the year with a 2.64 goals-against average while also posting a .907 save percentage.

All-Time Against Union
Quinnipiac and Union have met 14 times, with the Bobcats holding an 8-5-1 record in the all-time series. Quinnipiac won seven of the first eight games between the two teams between 2000 and 2007, while Union has posted a 4-1-1 record in the last six meetings. Quinnipiac is 4-3-0 all-time on its home ice against Union, including a 2-3-0 mark against the Dutchmen at the TD Bank Sports Center following a 2-1 overtime loss on Jan. 9, 2010.

Scouting Union
Union is currently 16-8-6 overall and 10-4-4 in ECAC Hockey play, good for 3rd in the league standings while also ranked 16th in the USCHO.com Division I men's ice hockey poll. Union is led by a trio of 30-point scorers in Mario Valery-Trabucco (17 points, 21 assists, 38 points) Jason Walters (15-20-35) and Adam Presizniuk (10-21-31). Mike Schreiber is close behind 26 points on eight goals and 18 assists. Keith Kinkaid and Corey Milan have split time in goal, with the freshman Kinkaid appearing in 18 games. Kinkaid is 9-4-3 with a 2.71 goals-against average and a .906 save percentage while Milan is 7-4-3 overall with a 2.21 GAA and .908 save percentage.

Back To Back
With a 2-0 win against Colgate on Feb. 6 and a 5-0 shutout against St. Lawrence on Friday, Feb. 12, Quinnipiac became the only ECAC Hockey team to post back-to-back shutouts this season. Quinnipiac is also one of nine Division I men's ice hockey teams to accomplish the feat.

Impressive Clarkie
Dan Clarke became the second Bobcat goalie in Quinnipiac Division I history, joining Jamie Holden, to record back-to-back shutouts. Holden accomplished the feat against Army on Jan. 23 and 24, 2004.

Good For 2nd
Clarke extended his shutout streak through the first period of Quinnipiac's 4-1 loss to Clarkson on Saturday, Feb. 13. Clarke's 151:19 was the second longest in Quinnipiac's Division I history.

The Playmaker
Greg Holt had assists on three of Quinnipiac's five goals against St. Lawrence on Friday, Feb. 12. Holt is the fourth player, along with Scott Zurevinski, Eric Lampe and Jean-Marc Beaudoin, to pass out three assists in a game this season. Holt has two multiple-point games in his last five games and is the only Quinnipiac player with a point in five of Quinnipiac's last 10 games. The senior wing is one of five players in the Quinnipiac line-up with 20 points, after reaching career highs in goals (7), assists (16) and points (23).

A Night For Firsts
In Quinnipiac's 5-0 win against St. Lawrence last Friday, Mike Dalhuisen and Clay Harvey both scored their first career goals. Harvey became the 20th Bobcat to score a goal this season, marking the first time 20 different Quinnipiac players scored in a season since the 2006-07 season.

Glad That's Over With
With a 2-0 win against Colgate on Saturday, Feb. 6, the Bobcats snapped an 10-game winless streak that stretched back to their last win on Dec. 12 against American International College. The Bobcats' 10-game winless streak was their longest in Division I history and longest since the 1994-95 season when Quinnipiac went 11 games without a win.

Shut 'Em Down
In a 2-0 win against Colgate last weekend, Dan Clarke posted the second shutout of his career. The sophomore netminder turned away all 26 shots on goal by the Raiders for his first win since Nov. 28 when he stopped 28 of 32 in a 5-4 overtime thriller against UMass.

Milestone Watch
Quinnipiac University men's ice hockey head coach Rand Pecknold currently boasts 296 career wins, sitting just four W's from the 300 mark. Pecknold would become just the fourth coach in Quinnipiac history, along with Burt Kahn, Dan Gooley and Mike Quitko, to reach the 300-win mark. Quinnipiac has six regular-season games remaining, as well as the ECAC Hockey Tournament to reach the mark this season.

Milestone Watch, II
Senior Eric Lampe has tallied 93 career points, sitting just seven points from becoming the 17th player in Quinnipiac's Division I history, and 31st all-time, to reach the 100-point mark. Senior captain Jean-Marc Beadoin has 89 career points.

Lowe's Senior CLASS Award
Quinnipiac University men's ice hockey senior captain Jean-Marc Beadoin (St. Paul, Alb.) has been named one of the 10 finalists for the prestigious Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. The award is given annually to an outstanding senior NCAA student-athlete who excels on and off the ice. The 10 finalists will be placed on the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award hockey ballot for a nationwide vote beginning today and concluding March 16. Fan balloting is available on the award's official Web site, http://www.seniorCLASSaward.com, as well as through text messaging. Fans can text HOCKEY to 74567 to vote for the finalists. These votes will be combined with votes from coaches and media to determine the recipient of the award.

Closing The Door
Last season, Quinnipiac was 16-0-0 in games in which it led after the second period. In their last 46 games in that scenario, dating back three seasons, Quinnipiac is undefeated at 42-0-4 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 58 games on their home ice, posting a 33-19-6 record.

NCAA Frozen Four Skills Challenge
Quinnipiac University senior assistant captain Brandon Wong , as well as women's ice hockey senior Janine Duffy, has been announced as a preliminary selection for the 2010 NCAA Frozen Four Skills Challenge. Currently, 78 student-athletes from NCAA Division I men's and women's ice hockey have been announced with a goal of 32 student-athletes to be announced later this month. Bobcat fans have an opportunity to help their favorite Quinnipiac ice hockey student-athletes be selected to participate in the prestigious NCAA Frozen Four Skills Challenge by voting online from Feb. 1 through Feb. 15. Bobcat fans can visit www.ncaa.com/frozenfour for more information and online voting.