By: MJ Baird
The unbeaten and No. 3 ranked Quinnipiac Bobcats will trek a couple miles down the road to New Haven this Friday night for the first of two ECAC matchups this season with the rivaling Yale Bulldogs. The Bulldogs (5-2-2, 3-1-2) are ranked No. 10 nationally.
On Saturday, Quinnipiac (13-0-2, 4-0-2 ECAC) will head north to Providence, Rhode Island to take on the unranked Brown University Bears.
A big weekend is in store for Rand Pecknold’s squad, coming off a home and home sweep of Umass Amherst last weekend.
Bobcat nation of late:
Sam Anas: The junior from Potomac, Maryland recorded his 100th career point as a Bobcat last Friday night against Umass. His goal and two assists propelled him over the 100-point mark. Achieving this astounding feat as a junior, Anas is only the 37th player in Quinnipiac history to attain 100 points. For anyone who read Q30 Sports’ Morey Hershgordon’s article on Anas, he has never lost to Yale…
Michael Garteig: Quinnipiac’s senior goaltender tied a program record for wins in a career. Garteig earned win No. 59 Saturday night against Umass. Additionally, Garteig won ECAC Goalie of the Month honors for November as well as the Hockey Commissioners Association’s National Player of the Month honors.
Yale: (5-2-2, 3-1-2 ECAC)
Goaltending: one word that will be synonymous to Friday night’s game at Ingalls rink.
The Bulldogs are known for their stout defense and limited goals against. It helps when you have arguably the best goalie in the ECAC between the pipes. Alex Lyon is sporting a .937 save percentage, and a 1.62 goals against average through 9 games. His goals against average is good for second-best in the ECAC. Behind who? Michael Garteig.
Garteig has a .946 save percentage and a 1.28 goals against average for the unbeaten Bobcats. Garteig has 13 wins on the year so far, playing behind an improved Bobcats defense. The likes of Connor Clifton, Devon Toews, and Kevin McKernan have vastly enhanced the Bobcats defense in front of Garteig this season. Part of the reason the Bobcats are only allowing just over a goal per game. Garteig has stolen the show on multiple occasions, particularly two weekends ago in both of Quinnipiac’s ties.
This will be the first matchup of the intense rivalry between the Bobcats and the Bulldogs this season. The battle of Whitney Avenue is on the line again, both teams with a particular chip on their shoulders seeing how in both games last year the teams skated to 2-2 ties.
Brown: (2-4-3, 2-3-2 ECAC)
The Brown Bears host the Bobcats on Saturday for an early evening matinee. Brown (2-4-3, 2-3-2 ECAC) comes into the game not having won a game at home (0-2-1).
Senior Nick Lappin leads the team in assists and points, and co-leads in goals. He will look to find holes in the Bobcats defense this weekend. Lappin was recently named ECAC player of the week.
Similarly, Freshman Tommy Marchin earned ECAC Rookie of the Week and Rookie of the Month. Marchin is the team co-leader in goals with Lappin.
Brown is struggling defensively, giving up on average 2.79 goals per game. However, the Bears are scoring 3.38 goals per game keeping them in many games. The Bobcats score on average 3.8 goals per game, and hold opponents to only 1.4 goals per game.
This weekend Brown is going to need to find a way to get the puck behind Garteig, something that is going to be quite difficult given the Bobcats play of late. If the Bobcats, led by offensive powerhouses Tim Clifton, Sam Anas, and Travis St. Denis, continue to rack up points, Brown will have a hard time keeping up with Quinnipiac’s production.
Matchups to watch
Friday:
Michael Garteig vs. Alex Lyon
This matchup speaks for itself. Two of the best goalies in the ECAC go head to head for bragging rights on Whitney Avenue. This should be a treat.
Saturday:
Sam Anas vs. Nick Lappin
The leading goal scorers for their respective teams look to lead the charge on Saturday afternoon. Each sits near the top of the ECAC in points, and both are natural team leaders. Both have the skill and hockey sense to lead a team to victory. Whichever forward can contribute more to his team will win.