The Quinnipiac Bobcats (3-5-1 overall, 0-3-0 Eastern College Athletic Conference) will look for their first conference win as they face the Brown University Bears (2-4-0 overall, 2-4-0 ECAC) Friday at 7 p.m. at the Frank Perrotti, Jr. Arena.
For the first time since the Bobcats started playing in the ECAC, they have lost their first four games in conference play. The Bobcats are in last place in the ECAC standings, but they’ve already played three of the top four teams in the conference (No. 6 Cornell, No. 19 Colgate, Union).
They have also gone up against goaltender’s like Cornell’s Matthew Galajda, Colgate’s Colton Point, and Union’s Darion Hanson, all who have been virtually unstoppable in the first half of the season. All three goaltenders gave up one goal while playing the Bobcats.
Point made one of the best saves of the season when Karlis Cukste passed the puck right across the crease to an open Alex Whelan. Point used his left pad to help him slide to the other side of the net, where he made a sensational right pad save on Whelan’s one-timer that he only took about five feet from Point.
Just like the Bobcats, Brown’s goaltenders Gavin Nieto and Luke Kania have been struggling early for the Bears. Nieto and Kania both have goals against averages higher than 2.5. However the Bears offense is helping out its defense, averaging 2.5 goals a game.
Sophomore forward Brent Beaudoin leads the Bears in points with five while five other players are tied for second with four points.
Freshman forward Odeen Tufto still leads the Bobcats with 10 points. Sophomore forward Alex Whelan hasn’t scored a goal for the Bobcats since he sniped one past Northeastern’s Ryan Ruck in overtime. Tanner MacMaster and Chase Priskie have stepped up recently on the offensive end of the ice. Priskie is showing how big of an offensive threat he can be even as a defenseman. Priskie’s tied for the team lead in goals (four) and is tied for fourth in the ECAC in points (six).
In order for the Bears to beat the Bobcats, they have to stay out of the penalty box. In the Bears past three losses, they have been sent to the box five or more times, and their opponents have scored at least once on the power play. The two ECAC games in which the Bears have won, they have taken advantage of their power play opportunities, even though they haven’t gotten as many chances as they’ve given their opponents. The Bobcats have committed 47 penalties this year, so the Bears will most likely get several power play opportunities throughout the night. If the Bears keep their penalties to a minimal, they should do fine.
If the Bobcats are going to win their first conference game of the year, they can’t afford to give the Bears any odd-man rushes. Too many times this year, the Bobcats have either been caught trying to get fresh legs out on to the ice while their opponent has possession of the puck or their defense gets too deep into the offensive zone trying to keep the pressure on their opponents defense. If the Bobcats can make line changes at the right time while still being able to put pressure on the Bears defense, they too will be in good shape.
Be sure to tune into the broadcast of the game between Quinnipiac and Brown. On the call will be Kirby Paulson and Mike Dalton. To receive updates on the game, follow @QBSN on Twitter.
