The No. 13 Quinnipiac men’s hockey team (18-8-2, 13-2-1 ECAC) will be facing off this Friday against its ECAC rival No. 20 St. Lawrence (16-10-2, 12-4-0 ECAC). The game is arguably one of the most important games of the season for the Bobcats as the Saints are the team closest to the Bobcats in the ECAC standings.

Sitting at first place in the ECAC with 27 points, the Bobcats have a three-point advantage over the Saints who reside in second place. Leading the Bobcat’s offense is sophomore Sam Anas who has a team leading 16 goals and 32 points this year.

The team leaders offensively for Quinnipiac include Anas, along with junior Travis St. Denis, and senior captain Matthew Peca. St. Denis is close behind Anas in goals with 13 while Peca leads the team in assists.

Last weekend Quinnipiac defeated both Colgate and Cornell keeping its first place spot secure. St. Denis scored in both games last weekend with a goal against Cornell in overtime sealing the victory for the Bobcats.

The Saints have won their past seven games all of which have come against ECAC teams. The team’s most recent victory came against Union in which they blew out the Dutchmen 7-1. Tommy Thompson recorded two goals in the victory and Brian Ward logged two assists.

Ward and Patrick Doherty are tied for the team lead in points each tallying 7 goals and 12 assists for 19 points each. Thompson is just a point behind them with 7 goals and 11 assists.

The Bobcats defeated the Saints in the two teams’ previous matchup in late November in a close overtime game. Sam Anas scored a little over halfway through extra time to cap the victory for the Bobcats.

Both Quinnipiac and St. Lawrence record more than 14 penalty minutes per game. The Saints, however, keep up with their penalties by holding a penalty-killing percentage of 90, which is the second highest in the nation. The Saints also boast a solid 2.00 goals against average good for fifth in the nation.

The puck drops Friday at 7 p.m. for the two teams at High Point Solutions Arena in Hamden.