The No. 6 Quinnipiac Bobcats (15-4-1, 6-3-1 ECAC Hockey) continue their longest home stand of the season as they play host to the Dartmouth Big Green (5-7-2, 4-2-1 ECAC Hockey) Friday night in Hamden.
Quinnipiac enters the game riding their longest winless streak of the season. While it might be just two games, the Bobcats have looked vulnerable as of late. Both games last weekend showed Quinnipiac jumping out to an early multi-goal lead just to relinquish it, resulting in an overtime loss to Colgate and a tie against No. 20 Cornell.
Dartmouth felt the same fate as Quinnipiac last weekend as, in their only game, the Big Green tied the Bentley Falcons 3-3 in Waltham, Massachusetts. Much like the Bobcats, the Big Green jumped out to a 2-0 lead before surrendering that lead. The Big Green hopped back in front just a minute and a half into the third period on a power play goal by Will Graber. They held the lead until under a minute to play when Bentley found an equalizer.
For the Bobcats, their defense is going to be the key in this one. Their blue line has been one of the best in the nation all season, and in their last meeting with the Big Green, the Bobcat defense had one of their worst outings of the season after giving up a season worst five goals. Players like Karlis Cukste and Brogan Rafferty are going to need to have big games against the Dartmouth goal scorers for Quinnipiac to win this one.
For Dartmouth, getting the first goal and taking the crowd out of it will be a major factor in their success Friday night. The Big Green is 3-1-2 when scoring first this season as opposed to their 2-6-0 record when being scored upon first. When facing a team like Quinnipiac, who has scored first in 15 of their 20 games played this season, it’s imperative to take the crowd out of this one early.
Be sure to tune into QBSN’s broadcast of Quinnipiac men’s ice hockey on Friday, January 11th at 7 p.m. Steven Pappas has the call for you at www.mixlr.com/qbsn.
