February 1, 2013

No. 2 Quinnipiac Bobcats (18-3-4, 11-0-2 ECAC Hockey) at
No. 7 Yale Bulldogs (13-5-3, 9-4-1 ECAC Hockey)
Saturday, Feb. 2, 2013 • 7 PM
Ingalls Rink • New Haven, Conn.
Series vs. Yale: 7-5-2
Record At Home vs. Yale: 4-2-1 (4-1-1 @ TD Bank Sports Center)
Record On The Road vs. Yale: 3-3-1
Last Time QU Faced Yale: T, 2-2 (Feb. 25, 2012 - New Haven, Conn.)
Last Quinnipiac Win Against Yale: W, 2-1 (Jan. 6, 2012 - New Haven, Conn.)
Last Quinnipiac Win Against Yale At Ingalls Rink: W, 2-1 (Jan. 6, 2012 - New Haven, Conn.)

Current Streak vs. Yale: Tied 1
Audio: AM 1220 WQUN
Video: www.YaleBulldogs.com 
Live Stats: www.YaleBulldogs.com

Complete Game Notes In PDF Format (Updated Feb. 2, 2013)

The Battle For Whitney Ave.
No. 2 Quinnipiac will head to Ingalls Rink in New Haven, Conn. to take on ECAC Hockey foe Yale University at 7 p.m. The game can be seen live on CPTV Sports, where available. 

On The Airwaves
Bill Schweizer and Chris Kotsopoulos will have the call on AM 1220 WQUN for both games this weekend. Bobcat fans can access the live audiostream on the web at www.WQUN.com or by clicking the “Audio” link at www.QuinnipiacBobcats.com. Audio is also available on all mobile devices/smart phones from the official Quinnipiac Athletics app, as well as Shoutcast and TuneIn Radio. 

On The Tube
Saturday night’s game between Quinnipiac and Yale from Ingalls Rink can be seen live on CPTV Sports featuring Ron Vaccaro with the play-by-play and Steve Conn with the color commentary.  CPTV Sports is available on Comcast (966), Cox (805), Cablevision (139), Charter (223), Thames Valley (87) and MetroCast (418). The channel is also available digitally over the air at channels 24.3 (Hartford), 49.3 (Bridgeport), 53.3 (Norwich) and 65.3 (New Haven).

Multimedia
Live audio, video and statistics can be accessed by clicking the appropriate links at the Official Website of Quinnipiac Athletics, www.QuinnipiacBobcats.com.

Last Time Out
On Friday, Feb. 2, Connor Jones scored the Bobcats’ only goal in a 1-1 tie at Brown while Eric Hartzell stopped 30 of the Bears’ 31 shots on goal in the tie. Quinnipiac’s 18-game unbeaten streak is the longest in the NCAA since Boston College went 19-straight games without a loss en route to last season’s national championship. Jones’  goal gives Quinnipiac a power-play goal in three straight games and seven in its last seven games. Matthew Peca’s assist on Jones’ goal gives him a point in five straight games, the longest active streak for Quinnipiac.
What’s Up NextFollowing the Bobcats’ ECAC Hockey weekend series at Brown on Feb. 1 and at Yale on Feb. 2, Quinnipiac will face Cornell and Colgate on the road on Feb. 8-9,  respectively. 

Poll Jumping
The Quinnipiac men’s ice hockey team retained its No. 2 ranking in both national polls this week, while also receiving the most first place votes in program history. Quinnipiac received 22 of the 50 first-place votes in the USCHO.com poll and 11 of the 34 votes in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll. 

The PairWise Rankings
Including Friday night’s tie at Brown, the nationally-ranked Quinnipiac men’s ice hockey team, currently on a NCAA-leading 18 game unbeaten streak (15-0-3), hold down the top spot in the PairWise Rankings.  It is the second time in program history that the Bobcats have held down the top spot in the PWR’s. In 2009, Quinnipiac moved into the top spot after opening the season at 12-1-0.

Scouting the No. 7/8 Yale University Bulldogs
Yale enters the weekend at 13-5-3 overall and 9-4-1 in ECAC Hockey, good for second place in the league standings, after a 4-2 win against Princeton on Friday night. The Bulldogs are also ranked 7th in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll and 8th in the USCHO.com Division I poll and are 5th in the PairWise Rankings. The Bulldogs featured a trio of 20-point scorers in junior Kenny Agostino (12-15-26), Antoine Laganiere (12-11-23) and Andrew Miller (10-13-23). Agostino leads the team with 15 assists while Lagoniere has scored a team-high 12 goals. In goal, Jeff Malcolm is 11-4-2 with a .918 save percentage and a 2.48 goals-against average and is a two-time ECAC Hockey Goalie of the Week (Jan. 15 & 22). Nick Maricic is 2-1-1 with a 3.19 GAA and a .876 save percentage. 

All-Time Against Yale
Quinnipiac and Yale have met 14 times since Quinnipiac joined ECAC Hockey in 2005-06 with the Bobcats posting a 7-5-2 record in the all-time series. Last season, Quinnipiac defeated Yale, 2-1, at Ingalls Rink before the two teams skated to a 2-2 draw at High Point Solutions Arena. Quinnipiac is 3-3-1 all-time on Yale’s home ice. 

Against The Best
Quinnipiac improved to 8-0-0 on the year against opponents ranked in the USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll at that time. For the year, Quinnipiac is also 9-1-1 against teams that have been ranked at one point during the season and 12-2-2 against teams ranked or receiving votes in 2012-13. 

The Nation’s Best Winning Percentage
Quinnipiac is currently 18-3-4 overall, good for a NCAA Division I best winning percentage of .812, as well as 11-0-1 in ECAC Hockey, the best start for an ECAC Hockey team since Quinnipiac joined the league in 2005-06. 

Respect The Streak
Quinnipiac is also 15-0-3 in its last 18 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 sixth longest in Division I hockey since Quinnipiac elevated from a Division III program in 1998-99. 

All-Time Best Ranking
Quinnipiac’s No. 2 ranking in the USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll is its highest in program history. Entering this season, the Bobcats’ highest ranking fell on Nov. 30, 2009 when they were fourth in the USCHO.com Poll and sixth in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll. 

Do You Believe In Magic?
At 11-0-2 in ECAC Hockey play, Quinnipiac’s magic number to secure home ice for the upcoming league tournament is one. If the Bobcats win three-in-a-row, they can’t finish lower than fifth, while four in a row would give them a first round bye.  

Defense Wins Games
Quinnipiac has allowed more than two goals in a game just once since Nov. 1, 2012. In addition, Quinnipiac has allowed the fewest goals (17) in ECAC Hockey games this season while their team defense (1.58 goals-per-game) ranks 2nd nationally.