The No. 4 Quinnipiac Bobcats (14-3-0, 6-2-0 ECAC Hockey) and Colgate Raiders (4-9-2, 1-3-2 ECAC Hockey) open up the second half of the season with a meeting at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum Saturday afternoon. The Bobcats shutout the Raiders 5-0 in their first meeting this season back on November 17th in Hamden.
The biggest question coming into the game for Quinnipiac is if they be able to continue their dominant play after three weeks of not playing against another opponent. The Bobcats are coming off of a loss last time out, a 3-1 defeat on December 8th at formerly No. 1 UMass that snapped a seven-game win streak. Quinnipiac senior captain Chase Priskie has shown his NHL potential this season as he leads the team in goals with 12. Those 12 goals have him 3rd in the NCAA in goal scoring, one behind Penn States’ Evan Barrett and five behind Arizona State forward Johnny Walker. Priskie leads the country in goal scoring for defenseman as well, with no other defenseman cracking the top 50 overall in that category.
Quinnipiac was given an early Christmas present in Cameron Boudreau, who was accelerated due to injuries, to help bolster their back end that has played so well this season. Boudreau, the former captain of the Boston Jr. Bruins of the USPHL’s National Collegiate Development Conference, played in 29 games for the Jr. Bruins, tallying three goals and 11 assists for 14 points.
Bobcat head coach Rand Pecknold is searching for win number 500 Saturday, a win that would make him the 26th man in NCAA Division I history to achieve that feat. Pecknold is also two wins away from passing John “Snooks” Kelley, the longtime Boston College head coach, for 25th all time.
For Colgate, this is a team who has been struggling to put the puck in the net this season – they average a measly 1.27 goals per game, which is dead last in ECAC Hockey. Bobby McMann, their leading goal scorer, has four goals on the season, and not a single player on the Raiders roster has double digit points.
One area, the Raiders excel in is blocking shots. This team averages around 14.5 blocked shots per game, with their leader, Paul Meyer, blocking 1.87 shots per game.
Be sure to tune into QBSN’s broadcast of Quinnipiac men’s ice hockey on Saturday, December 29th at 5 p.m. A trio of Dan Bahl, Kirby Paulson and Steven Pappas will have the call for you at www.mixlr.com/qbsn.
