Photo Courtesy of QU Athletics

By Mark Spillane

Coming off a 24-10-6 season that resulted in a semifinal exit from the conference tournament, and a first round departure from the NCAA tournament, Quinnipiac men’s ice hockey released its official 2014-2015 schedule on Wednesday. And there are plenty of intriguing games to focus on.

But Quinnipiac has some changes to make from a year ago. The Bobcats need to replace three career 100-point scorers in seniors Connor Jones, Kellen Jones, and Jordan Samuels-Thomas. They also need to replace senior captain Cory Hibbeler, and 135 game veteran senior defensemen Zach Tolkinen.

Add in the fact that would-be senior power forward Bryce Van Brabant left at the end of last season to play for the Calgary Flames, and QU has some pretty big shoes to fill, both literally and figuratively.

The speed on the roster is still there with Matt Peca, Sam Anas, and Travis St. Denis leading the way, but losing Van Brabant leaves Quinnipiac as a small team in comparison to others. Dan Federico, listed at 6’1” and 205 lbs., becomes the only 200 lb. player that has at least 20 games of experience.

But the Bobcats have never been particularly physical, and instead have relied on active sticks from their defensemen and offensive prowess to control the puck and win games.

The maturity of sophomore defensemen Connor Clifton, Derek Smith, and Devon Toews, each of whom played at least 35 games last season, could be the key to success. Led by Federico and Alex Barron, those young defensemen should give the Bobcats a strong, deep defensive corps similar to the one that helped lead them to an Eastern College Athletic Conference regular season title two years ago.

And with that kind of talent manning the blue line, it seems  that second year starting goaltender Michael Garteig will have another good year between the pipes for Quinnipiac.

Now let’s take a look at a countdown of the top five matchups to watch the new look Bobcats this season.

Photo Courtesy of USCHO.com

Top Five Matchups to Watch:

Number 5:
The first matchup to watch for Quinnipiac this season is the Cornell Big Red. Cornell doesn’t initially jump off the page as a team to focus on, but consider this: Quinnipiac and Cornell have played seven times in the past two years alone. That’s more than any QU opponent in the ECAC besides Yale.

Some might remember that the Big Red were part of an epic ECAC Quarterfinals series with the Bobcats two years ago. The three-game tilt ended on a double-overtime series winner off the stick of Kevin Bui. But that was only after Cornell hit two crossbars, including one in overtime, and after Andy Iles made 60 stops on 63 shots in one of the best goaltending performances in ECAC Hockey history.

But this year’s Cornell team will have a new look in net. Iles’ graduation in the spring leaves a void that will prove difficult to fill. He played in 118 games over his four years in Ithaca, N.Y. and would routinely keep the Big Red in games even when they were being outplayed. For Bobcats fans, think of how Quinnipiac adjusted to losing Eric Hartzell before last season, and then multiple that by two.

Joining Iles in leaving Cornell is leading scorer Brian Ferlin, who signed an entry level deal with the Boston Bruins in the spring. He was routinely a thorn in the side of Quinnipiac, and will be sorely missed up front for the men in red.

But Cornell is always a tough matchup, and historic Lynah Rink is never an easy place to win. The familiarity of the two squads makes for fast, physical, and entertaining hockey games that are worth extra attention come Nov. 8 in Hamden, Conn. and Feb. 6 in Ithaca.

Number 4:
The next matchup for Bobcats’ fans to get excited for this season is one they haven’t seen much of in the past, with just five contests ever between the two squads. QU will open the New Year at Herb Brooks National Hockey center in St. Cloud, Minn. for a pair of contests against the Huskies of St. Cloud State.

The two teams squared off two years ago in the NCAA national semifinal in Pittsburgh, PA as Quinnipiac prevailed with a 4-1 victory to advance to the national championship game, but the two teams haven’t met since, and the two squads had a very similar season a year ago. St. Cloud finished with a 22-11-5 record, good for first place in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference during the regular season. But, just like the Bobcats, the Huskies had a disappointing finish to the year.

First, they were eliminated in the first round of the NCHC “Frozen Faceoff” tournament by Miami (OH) in just two games. Then they bounced back with a 4-3 overtime win over Notre Dame in the first round of the NCAA tournament, but couldn’t carry that momentum with them, as they fell 4-0 to Minnesota in the NCAA quarterfinals. The Huskies finished ranked 8th in the final USCHO.com poll, just one spot ahead of the 9th ranked Bobcats.

St. Cloud lost captains Nic Dowd and Kevin Gravel to graduation in the spring, but still has an incredibly experienced squad, with roughly 70 percent of the roster being upperclassmen.

This two game set with St. Cloud State gives QU another chance to continue establishing itself as a national force in college hockey, which is something for Bobcats fans to cheer about.

Quinnipiac makes the long flight to play St. Cloud on Jan. 2, and Jan. 3.

Number 3:
The number three matchup to watch for the upcoming Quinnipiac men’s ice hockey season is one that many fans would choose as number one, the 23rd and 24th meetings with cross-county rival, Yale.

Last season the Bobcats went 1-0-1 against the Bulldogs during the regular season with a come-from-behind 3-3 tie at home in November, and a 4-0 drubbing of the Eli’s at the Whale in February.

The two squads also met in the ECAC Quarterfinals at High Point Solutions Arena in Hamden. QU prevailed with a 2-0 series victory behind 6-2, and 5-3 wins, ending Yale’s ECAC run and knocking them from contention for the NCAA tournament. But despite a 5-1-2 record versus the Bulldogs over the last two years, the QU players and coaches will be the first to tell you that no matchup with Yale is ever an easy one.

The intensity in games between the two is always high, and seems to increase with every passing battle – something not likely to change this year.

Much like Quinnipiac, Yale has some losses to replace, with leading scorers Jesse Root and Kenny Agostino departing with graduation. Overall, the Bobcats should still be a better squad, but Yale’s young rising goalie, Alex Lyon always gives them a chance, and you can never predict games between these two squads.
Quinnipiac will travel to Ingalls Rink on Jan. 31, before Yale returns on Feb. 20.

Number 2:
The number two matchup to watch for Quinnipiac is the squad’s first big test in October. It’s a rematch of a series a year ago, as the Bobcats take on the UMass Lowell River Hawks in a home-and-home series.
In last year’s matchup the Bobcats swept the River Hawks with two final scores of 3-1. Quinnipiac controlled the play in both games, and took advantage of a Lowell team that did not start the season at it’s best, as it opened with a 1-3 start including the losses to the Bobcats.

But, from that point forward the River Hawks went 25-8-4 before falling to Boston College in NCAA Quarterfinals. They have 13 upperclassmen returning this season, but do lose the reigning Mike Richter Award winner – awarded to the nation’s best goaltender – in Connor Hellebuyck, who left early by signing a contract with the Winnipeg Jets. Despite losing Hellebuyck, UMass Lowell is well-coached and has a winning culture, meaning this year’s version of the River Hawks will still be tough to handle.

The two squads will play their games on Oct. 17 in Hamden, and Oct. 18 at Tsongas Arena in Lowell, Mass.

Number 1:
The number one matchup for Quinnipiac fans, coaches, and players to watch should bring two words to mind: national champions… as in, the defending national champion Union Dutchmen, who will faceoff with the Bobcats on Nov. 14 in Schenectady, N.Y. and Jan. 10. in Hamden.

While both of these two squads have been near the top of the ECAC for the past couple years, the Dutchmen have proven time and again that they are the class of the conference. They’ve done so with three ECAC Tournament victories in a row, two of the last three regular season conference titles, and now an NCAA national championship.

The Bobcats fared pretty well against the eventual Cleary Cup champs a year ago, splitting the two games with a 6-4 loss on the road, and a 2-1 win at home. Like the Bobcats, the Dutchmen won’t have as much firepower as last season.

Union lost leading scoring Daniel Carr and captain Mat Bodie among other key pieces to graduation, and also lost elite defensemen Shayne Gostisbehere, who will forego his senior season to pursue a chance to play in the NHL in the Philadelphia Flyers system.

However, goaltender Colin Stevens, second leading scoring Daniel Ciampini, and proven clutch goal scorer Max Novak will return for their respective senior seasons. Combine those experienced players with the winning culture established inside the Union locker-room and the Bobcats have two big matchups with which to test themselves.

So there they are – the top five matchups to watch for during the upcoming Quinnipiac men’s ice hockey season. Overall, the schedule is one that should give the Bobcats strength in the polls and Pairwise Rankings, but certainly does not provide for much time to breathe. Each weekend presents a new challenge, mostly of the difficult variety.