January 8, 2013

Quinnipiac Men's Ice Hockey Ranked 5th, Receiving First-Place Votes In Both National Polls

HAMDEN, Conn. – The Quinnipiac University men's ice hockey team was ranked 5th in the latest USCHO.com Division I and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine polls, released on Monday, Jan. 7, 2013. Quinnipiac received first-place votes in both polls, two in the USCHO.com poll and three in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll, for the first time in program history. Quinnipiac is currently 16-3-2 overall, good for a NCAA Division I best winning percentage of .810, as well as 10-0-0 in ECAC Hockey, the best start for a team in Quinnipiac's Division I history in league play.

Quinnipiac is coming off a pair of ECAC Hockey wins this past weekend that included a 3-2 overtime win against No. 8 Dartmouth and a 6-2 win against Harvard. The Bobcats' win against Dartmouth now puts them at 7-0-0 against nationally-ranked opponents. Quinnipiac is also 13-0-1 in its last 14 games, giving the Bobcats the longest unbeaten streak in NCAA Division I hockey this season. In addition, it is the longest unbeaten streak in ECAC Hockey since Quinnipiac joined the league in 2005-06 and the eighth longest in Division I hockey since Quinnipiac elevated from a Division III program in 1998-99. 

USCHO.com Division I Poll - Jan. 7, 2013

  Team (First Place Votes) Record Points Last Poll
1 Minnesota -38 13- 3-3 979 1
2 Notre Dame -8 14- 4-0 915 3
3 Boston College -1 12-3-2 914 2
4 New Hampshire -1 13- 3-2 854 4
5 Quinnipiac -2 16- 3-2 812 5
6 Miami   12-4-4 731 6
7 North Dakota   12-5-3 707 7
8 Boston University   11-6-0 636 9
9 Denver   12-6-3 607 11
10 Western Michigan   12-5-3 568 10
11 Minnesota State   14- 6-2 440 14
12 Dartmouth   8-5-2 420 8
13 Nebraska-Omaha   13- 8-1 397 16
14 Yale   7-4-3 290 17
15 Cornell   7-6-2 264 12
16 Union   9-6-4 231 13
17 Niagara   11-3-4 210 18
18 St. Cloud State   12-10-2 166 15
19 Colgate   11-7-2 125 NR
20 Massachusetts-Lowell   9-7-1 64 NR
Others receiving votes: Robert Morris 61, Ferris State 50, Lake Superior 26, Holy Cross 20, Michigan Tech 4, Providence 4, Northern Michigan 3, Mercyhurst 2.

USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll - Jan. 7, 2012

  Team  Points (First Place Votes)  2012-13 Record Last Poll  
1  Minnesota 476 (21) 13-3-3  1  
2  Boston College 462 (5) 12-3-2 3  
3  Notre Dame 436 (2) 14-4-0 2  
4  New Hampshire 417 (3) 13-3-2 4  
5  Quinnipiac 398 (3) 16-3-2 5  
6  Miami 327 12-4-2 6  
7  North Dakota 306 12-5-3 7  
8  Boston University 276 11-6-0 9  
9  Denver 234 12-6-3 11  
10  Western Michigan 218 12-5-3 10  
11  Minnesota State 132 14-6-2 14  
12  Dartmouth 120 8-5-2 8  
13  Nebraska-Omaha 115 13-8-1 15  
14  Yale 60 7-4-3 NR  
15  Cornell 36 7-6-2 12  
Others receiving votes: Niagara University, 29; Union College, 24; Colgate University, 3; Ferris State University, 3; UMass Lowell, 3; St. Cloud State University, 3; Lake Superior State University, 1; Robert Morris University, 1. 
  • Quinnipiac senior defenseman Loren Barron (Glendora, Calif.) led the Bobcats with four points – one goal, three assists – for the weekend. Barron had two assists on Friday, Jan. 4 in the Bobcats' 3-2 overtime win against Dartmouth. Barron's second assist on the night came on a pass to set-up Jordan Samuels-Thomas with the game-winner. On Saturday, Jan. 5, Barron had a goal and an assist in Quinnipiac's four-goal win against Harvard.
  • Travis St. Denis (Trail, British Columbia) and Bryce Van Brabant (Morinville, Alberta) both scored in each game this weekend. St. Denis currently boasts five goals and four assists in his freshman campaign while Van Brabant has three goals and four assists for seven points on the year, including two goals and an assist in his last four games. 
  • Junior assistant captain Cory Hibbeler (St. Louis, Mo.) returned to the Bobcats' line-uup this past weekend after missing the previous six games. Hibbeler got immediately back into the action, tallying an assist on Friday night against Dartmouth before scoring his third goal of the year against Harvard. 
  • Mike Dalhuisen (Nymegen, Holland) and Matthew Peca (Petawawa, Ontario) had a goal and an assist against Harvard while Ben Arnt (Oakdale, Minn.) had two assists against the Crimson. Arnt, last week's ECAC Hockey Player of the Week, and Peca have both registered two goals and three assists apiece in Quinnipiac's last four games. 
  • Jordan Samuels-Thomas' (Windsor, Conn.) game-winner in overtime against No. 8 Dartmouth was the junior wing's third game-winning goal of the season, and Quinnipiac's second overtime win of the year. 
  • Senior goalie Eric Hartzell (White Bear Lake, Minn.) picked up the win in both games for the weekend, stopping 48 of the opponent's 52 shots on goal for a .923 save percentage while also registering a 1.45 goals-against average. For the year, Hartzell is 16-2-2 for an NCAA-best .850 win percentage while his 1.48 goals-against average ranks third nationally while his .934 save percentage is 12th overall among Division I goalies. Hartzell's GAA is the best in the country among goalies with over 1,000 minutes between the pipes.