By Marty Joseph, Broadcast Manager

The Quinnipiac men’s ice hockey team opens its ECAC home schedule Friday night at 7 p.m. against the Brown Bears at the High Point Solutions Arena. The Bobcats head into the weekend ranked fifth in the USCHO.com poll and are winners of eight in a row. Brown opened its ECAC schedule in Providence last weekend falling to Clarkson and tying St. Lawrence.

Keys for Quinnipiac:

• The Bobcats need to keep their emotions in check. This not only goes for Friday night, but Saturday night as well. Last season, Brown exposed Quinnipiac at times when the Bobcats were unable to stay focused. Through nine games this season the Bobcats have played with plenty of intensity and motivation, but have executed as a result of their focus. The Bobcats need to downplay all the hype this weekend has attracted and just play their game. The best way to avenge last season’s ECAC Semifinal loss to Brown is by getting two points on Friday. Focused play and execution will get the Bobcats the win.
• Along with playing focused Quinnipiac will need to capitalize on the power play. The Bobcats come into the weekend with a power play that has been a weapon for the team in the early season. As good as Quinnipiac has been on the power play, Brown has been that bad at killing penalties. If that trend continues tonight, look for players like Jordan Samuels-Thomas and Sam Anas to take advantage of Brown’s weak unit. Five of the last six regular season games between the two teams have ended in a tie and special team execution could serve to be the difference for the Bobcats on Friday night.

Keys for Brown:

• The Bears were a thorn in the side of the Bobcats last season, tying the Bobcats twice in the regular season before ending their ECAC title hopes in Atlantic City last spring. Anthony Borelli was a big reason for Brown’s late season success, especially in the ECAC tournament as he outplayed opposing goaltenders Jason Kasdorf and Eric Hartzell, leading the Bears to the tournament championship game. So far this season Brendan Whittet has decided to split goaltending duties between Marco DeFilippo and Tyler Steel. DeFilippo has been slightly better between the pipes and should get the start against Quinnipiac. If he gets the nod in net Friday night he will need to be a difference for Brown against a Quinnipiac team that is scoring more than three goal a game thus far.
• Brown will also need to play with discipline on Friday night. Over the past three years these two teams have played against each other 12 times and the matchups have been heated at times. Expect the intensity to be high on Friday night, but the Bears need to play smart. Quinnipiac is tied for the lead in the nation with 13 power play goals and Brown’s penalty kill unit is next to last. If the Bears spend the night in the penalty box, this game will quickly get away from them.

(Photo by Rebecca Castagna)