Midseason MVP:

Brosh: Tim Clifton bursted onto the scene last season and many expected a slump this year. But with the Bobcats failing to find a goal scorer in the first few weeks of the season, it was Clifton’s hard-hitting and power-style offense that lead the way to narrate the tone of this Bobcats team. He leads the team with 10 goals, with most of them coming off gritty and strong plays in front of the net as he continues to be the Bobcats’ main force of offense.

Clouts: Brogan Rafferty has without a doubt been the best player for this Bobcats team.  Losing a player like Devon Toews absolutely kills most teams, but Rafferty has been able to fill the role of a star defenseman while also running the power play. He is the most poised on the puck in all three zones and looks as if he has been playing college hockey for years.  His 15 points are good for a three-way tie for first place on Quinnipiac’s team. Rafferty is tied for second in the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference in points for a freshman. This late bloomer has found his place with Quinnipiac and his play during the second half of the season is pivotal for the Bobcats to make a run for the Cleary Cup.

Biggest disappointment:

Brosh: There were times this year when the power play was downright non-existent. With the departures of Travis St. Denis, Devon Toews, Sam Anas, and power-play coach Reid Cashman, the Bobcats were sure to find themselves in a slump. They have only struck 22 times on the power play this year, and they will need that number to rise if they want to find themselves back in the Frozen Four.

Clouts:  The players you expected to score going into this season have, but there has not been scoring from the people that were supposed to step into larger roles due to the departures the Bobcats had. So the biggest disappointment has been the Bobcats’ secondary scoring. This Bobcats team needs goals, and it is as simple as that. The defense and goaltending have been fantastic, but if they want to make a run the Bobcats are going to need secondary scoring.

Biggest surprise:

Brosh: It cannot be stated enough the amount of firepower the Bobcats lost last season when it came to the offensive side of the ice. However, the emergence of Craig Martin has been a positive sign for the Bobcats as he has been able to come up with big goals for Quinnipiac during key parts of games in the first half of the season. Rifling off five goals so far this season, Martin seems to have grown the mentality of a goal-scorer seeming to always find his way into the slot for a strong scoring chance.

Clouts:  Connor Clifton’s season so far has to be the biggest surprise. His leadership is obvious and the Bobcats are clearly a better team with him on the ice, but his play has been off. It was a surprise Clifton has not been a go to for the Bobcats on the power play and that is a huge reason why his point totals have been so low. However, Clifton is sitting at a minus eight right now in the plus/minus category, and for a player with his knowledge of the game and pure talent, that is a huge surprise. Expect him to have a huge turnaround in 2017.

Largest first-year player impact:

Brosh: There was some question coming into the 2016-2017 season about how the Bobcats were going to replace the performance of Devon Toews when he went on to the National Hockey League. Luckily, Brogan Rafferty has stepped in to be a strong offensive presence for the Bobcats. Even when he isn’t striking often in the goals department, Rafferty seems to be doing everything that the coaching staff asks of him. From keeping pucks in the zone to having a way to find a goal scorer with his team-leading 13 assists, the Chicago native continues to impress for the Bobcats as they head into the second part of their season.

Clouts: Rafferty and Karlis Cukste have had huge impacts so far on the Bobcats this season, but for me the player that has had the largest first-year impact has to be Andrew Shortridge. Shortridge came in and took the backup goaltender position and ran with it; his best performance has to be from an overtime win at Maine. Alfond Arena up in Orono may be the hardest rink to play in in all of college hockey, so for a freshman to go there, accumulate 20 saves and help the Bobcats win coming off an overtime loss the night before is huge. At this point of the season it is safe to assume that Shortridge is the backup, barring Pecknold riding a hot hand. But to have a backup as good as Shortridge, that is nothing but motivation for Chris Truehl to be at the peak of his game.

Player to watch going forward:

Brosh: Chase Priskie seems to be on the brink of a breakout game every time he is on the ice for the Bobcats. Still able to feed his teammates for goals as he is tied for second on the team for assists with 10, Priskie continues to just miss goal opportunities while ringing posts. Sooner or later, the Capitals draft pick will get the puck to start falling his way and when he does it could help the Bobcats offense heading into the latter part of the season.

Clouts: Two players to watch for the Bobcats going forward are Connor Clifton and Landon Smith. I already mentioned Clifton above, so I’ll keep this one to just Smith. Smith so far has had a solid season, but if these Bobcats want to make some noise across the nation then he needs to start putting up serious number in the goal column. He has the ability to do so as well, as Smith accounts for the last two Quinnipiac men’s ice hockey hat tricks.

Overall thoughts looking ahead:

Brosh: The Bobcats, minus the two losses to Princeton had a very strong first half of the season. Losing two of the best offensive weapons the school has ever had in St. Denis and Anas, along with a defensive star in Toews, while losing the program’s most winningest goaltender could cripple a team. But with the Bobcats ability to stay in games, work in the corners, and find balanced scoring, I find it hard to believe the Bobcats won’t be in the running for both the Whitelaw and Cleary Cups come February and March.

Clouts:  The record may not show it, but the first half was absolutely a success for the Bobcats. They now know what they need to work on, and what their strengths and weaknesses are. There is no doubt in my mind that these players have the potential to conquer both the Cleary and Whitelaw cups, but it is going to take some major adjustments from the players and the coaches. If there is one thing that I have learned from this team so far is that they are never out of a game, and that is a testament to their mental and physical toughness.