By Gilbert A. Celaya, QBSN Staff Writer
The Quinnipiac Bobcats (6-4-2, 3-2-1 ECAC) host No. 3 Clarkson Golden Knights (10-2, 4-0 ECAC) on Friday night at the High Points Solutions Arena at 7 p.m. The Bobcats, coming off a 3-2 win against Rensselaer last Saturday, are 5-14-2 all time against the Golden Knights. Clarkson, whose only losses were against No. 4 Mercyhurst and No. 10 North Dakota, lost to the Bobcats last season in the first round of the ECAC Hockey Tournament, two games to three.
The only time the Bobcats have only beaten Clarkson at the High Points Solutions Arena was in their first ever meeting in 2002 by a 5-3 score. QU will look for its second home win against the Green Knights after seven games in 10 years.
Quinnipiac head coach Rick Seeley will be facing his old squad. Before taking the reins as the head coach of the Bobcats, Seeley boasted a 93-67-18 record as the head coach at Clarkson. Since Seeley’s departure, the Green Knights have become the first team in the history of women’s college hockey to have co-head coaches. Shannon and Matt Desrosiers hold an 85-55-22 overall record in only four seasons. They have also led Clarkson to its first ever trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2010. Clarkson has made the ECAC Hockey Playoffs eight straight times dating back since the 2004-05 season.
Quinnipiac senior goalkeeper Victoria Vigilanti will have her hands full facing Clarkson. The Green Knights are ranked eight in the nation in scoring offense with 3.50 goals-per-game. Clarkson also has the second best power-play percentage at 34 percent, 18-for-53. The Bobcats will have to focus on stopping Green Knights junior forward, Jaime Lee Rattray, who comes into this Friday’s game with nine goals and 11 assists.
However, Clarkson’s defense will also have to tighten up. Junior forward Kelly Babstock is the ECAC Hockey Player of the Month and has become the first player in QU history to reach 100 career points. Babstock also broke the record for goals in a game by a Bobcat when she scored four goals in a 6-1 victory against Maine on Oct. 12.
Despite only having one home win against Clarkson in the program’s history, the Bobcats have scored at least two goals in every game this season, with the exception of the teams losses against Syracuse and Harvard. QU also holds the 11th best scoring offense in the country with 3.25 goals per-game.
