October 1, 2010

Quinnipiac University Bobcats vs.
St. Thomas University Tommies
Sunday, Oct. 3, 2010 - 2 p.m.
TD Bank Sports Center - Hamden, Conn.

Behind The Bench
Quinnipiac University Men's Ice Hockey Head Coach Rand Pecknold returns for his 17th season behind the Bobcats bench following a 2009-10 season that saw the Bobcats reach new heights. Last season, Quinnipiac won 12 of its first 13 games, cracking the Top 10 in the national polls en route to its highest ranking of all-time, 4th in the USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine national polls.

To Be The Best, You Have To Beat The Best
Quinnipiac's early-season success featured wins against nationally-ranked Ohio State on the Buckeyes' home-ice to open the season before running its record to 12-1 through its first 13 games. Included in the run that culminated with the No. 4 ranking were wins against nationally-ranked UMass and Cornell, including Quinnipiac's second win in their last three regular-season games at Lynah Rink.

"Scouts?"
When the dust settled, Wong was signed by the Grand Rapids Griffins of the American Hockey League, while Lampe and Jean-Marc Beaudoin landed in the East Coast Hockey League, with Lampe lacing them up for the Florida Everglades while Beaudoin helped the Bakersfield Condors to their league championship for the first time in program history. Recently, Wong signed with the Hartford Wolf Pack and Lampe signed with the Syracuse Crunch.

The 300
In addition to his team's success, Pecknold won his 300th career game as the Bobcats clinched their ECAC Hockey First-Round series.

Point Blank
With the loss of Wong, Lampe and Beaudoin, as well as seniors Mike Atkinson and Greg Holt, the Bobcats will look to replace over 450 career points and close to 200 career goals.

The Captain
Senior captain Scott Zurevinski decided to stick around for his junior season in Hamden after several offers from NHL teams. Zurevinski was the only underclassman in the Bobcats' regular rotation to reach the 30-point mark and ranked second among all QU skaters with 16 goals. For his career, Zurevinski has tallied 27 goals and 21 assists for 48 points through two seasons.

Jeremy Spoke In...
Team Rookie of the Year Jeremy Langlois showed signs of brilliance last year and will be looked upon to continue his growth as a scorer in the Bobcats' line-up. Last season, Langlois led all freshman with eight goals and 12 assists for 20 points.

Welcome Back Yuri
Junior Yuri Bouharevich will add to the Bobcats' scoring punch after missing the second half of the season to an injury. In 20 games last season, Bouharevich scored four goals and assisted on eight more for 12 points.

Dis-Spence-Ing Points
Junior Spencer Heichman (3 goals, 1 assist) will look to rebound from last season when his numbers dropped from a promising freshman year (4-11).

The Grinders
Second-year skaters Russell Goodman (2-3, 19 games), Ben Arnt (2-4), Reese Rolheiser (4-4) and D'Arcy Oakes (5-6) will be looked on to contribute.

The New Guys
The Bobcats add several promising players to their offense, highlighted by the Jones brothers, Connor and Kellen, who was selected in this past season's NHL Draft by the Edmonton Oilers. The twin brothers electrified the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) last year, leading the Vernon Vipers to their sixth Coupe RBC National Championship. In addition to the Jones', Pecknold has also brought in Corey Hibbeler from the United States Hockey League's Lincoln Stars, Brooks Robinson from the Nanaimo Clippers of the BCHL and John Dunbar from the Calgary Canucks from the Alberta Jr. Hockey League (AJHL) to add to the Bobcats depth on offense.

The Blue Line
The Bobcats will bring back five players who played at least 36 games last season on the blue line. Leading the defensive core will be senior assistant captain Zach Hansen and junior assistant captain Mike Glaicar.

Hansen. We Want The Hansen.
Hansen has established himself as a solid defensive presence as well as one of the top scoring defenseman in ECAC Hockey over the last three seasons. Last year, Hansen tallied three goals and 16 assists for 19 points, pushing his career total to 11 goals and 41 assists in 108 games played.

Big Guy
Glaicar is a big, physical presence on the ice for the Bobcats and will continue to be a leader, on and off the ice.

Keep It Goin'
Zach Davies had an outstanding first season on defense for Quinnipiac, scoring twice and passing out 12 assists. Davies became one of the Bobcats' top players on special teams, as his stick-handling ability made him a natural on the power play.

Getting It Done
Loren Barron played in 37 games in his first season at Quinnipiac, scoring three goals and assisting on five more from the blue line, while Mike Dalhuisen tallied a goal and six assists in 36 games played. Both are physical players on defense and add a level of toughness in front of the Bobcats' goalies. Zach Currie saw playing time in 25 games, missing time sporadically with a lingering injury that has since been remedied. Newcomer Zach Tolkinen will look to crack the Bobcats defensive pairings in his first season.