Quinnipiac/Brown Series History:
Quinnipiac has a 19-7-6 all-time record against Brown. Quinnipiac is 14-2-3 versus Brown on home ice. The Bobcats defeated the Brown Bears in their regular season finale by a final score of 4-1.
What’s at Stake:
A best-of-three series will determine who will advance to the quarterfinals in the Eastern College Athletic Conference Hockey tournament. Game one is on Friday, game two is set for Saturday and if necessary, game three will take place on Sunday. The winner of the series will play No. 4 St. Lawrence starting March 10.
No. 5 Quinnipiac (19-13-2, 13-8-1 ECAC) in the ECAC Tournament:
Since 2005-2006, Quinnipiac holds a 33-22 all-time record in the ECAC Hockey Tournament. Quinnipiac has won six out of the last eight postseason meetings against Brown; their last postseason meeting was a Bobcat 4-0 loss back in 2013. The Bobcats have never lost a first-round series as they possess an impressive 14-2 record in first round play.
Scoring often has been key:
Thirty of 33 postseason victories have come when Quinnipiac has scored at least three or more goals.
Bobcat Players to Watch:
Junior Landon Smith is tied for regular season points with sophomore Chase Priskie at 25, all of which occurred on the power play as Smith tallied nine goals and 16 assists. Freshman Brogan Rafferty leads the Bobcats with 21 assists on the season while enior assistant captain Tim Clifton is tied with Bo Pieper with 12 regular season goals. Defenseman Karlis Cukste has tallied 60 blocked shots on the defensive end while also assisting the scoring attack with five goals and 10 assists.
Recent Bobcat Honor:
Goaltender Andrew Shortridge was named ECAC Hockey rookie of the Week on Feb. 28, 2017. He has performed well between the pipes registering a .915 save percentage, a 2.16 goals-against average and posting a 9-5-0 record.
Productive Special Teams:
Quinnipiac’s special teams have played well as their power play percentage is 24.8 while their penalty kill percentage is 89.3.
No. 12 Brown (4-23-2, 3-18-1 ECAC) down the stretch:
Brown has lost six straight games and only won one out of their last 17 contests heading into this first-round matchup. Brown has played in the first round of the ECAC Hockey Tournament on 19 occasions since 1989-1990. 1997-98 season. The Bears have an all-time 14-23-0 record in first round games as they’ve won five of those series since the 1997-1998 season.
Notable Bears:
Junior Sam Lafferty leads with Browns with 12 assists and 33 points; he’s ranked seventh in ECAC scoring. Forward Charlie Corcoran tallied a team-high 15 goals along with 12 assists totaling 27 points on the season. Barnstable Massachusetts native Max Willman is another Bears 25-point scorer with 10 goals and 15 assists. Freshman goaltender Gavin Nieto has a 3-18-1 record along with a 3.95 goals-against average and a .879 save percentage on the regular season.
Impactful Trio:
Top line of Charlie Corcoran, Sam Lafferty and Max Willman has accounted for 49 percent of the team’s point scoring. As juniors, the trio has combined for 37-48-85 in 29 games after accumulating 51 points over their first two seasons.
Special Team Struggles:
Browns’ special team numbers aren’t impressive as their power play percentage is at 8.4 and their penalty kill percentage stands at 73.6.
