Team Notes: Quinnipiac Opens 2011-12 Season at Ohio State

Season Opener
The Quinnipiac men's ice hockey team will travel to Columbus, Ohio to take on Ohio State in a pair of games on Friday, Oct. 7 and Saturday, Oct. 8. Both games are set for a 7 p.m. start.

On The Air
The "Voice of the Bobcats" Bill Schweizer can be heard on AM 1220 WQUN, or by click on the "Audio" links at www.QuinnipiacBobcats.com. Live stats are  also available.

Their Last Time Out
Twins Connor and Kellen Jones had a hand in two of Quinnipiac's goals in the Bobcats' 5-2 exhibition win against Acadia this past weekend. Connor scored twice while Kellen assisted on both.

All-Time Against Ohio State
Quinnipiac is 3-2 all-time against Ohio State, including a 2-1 mark at OSU's Value City Arena. Quinnipiac shocked then-nationally-ranked Ohio State two seasons ago when they opened the season with a weekend sweep of the Bobcats in Columbus, Ohio. Last season, Quinnipiac and Ohio State split their weekend set in Hamden, with the Bobcats taking the first game, 2-1, before Ohio State responded with a 4-0 win the following night. 

Scouting The Buckeyes
The Buckeyes will bring back 15 letterwinners from 2010-11 and welcome 13 newcomers to the roster. Danny Dries is the leading active scorer in the Buckeyes line-up after totaling 15 goals and 12 assists for 27 points last season. In goal, Cal Heeter was 15-18-4 with a 2.30 goals-against average and a .923 save percentage.

ECAC Hockey Preseason Polls
The Quinnipiac men's ice hockey team was picked to finish sixth in both the 2011-12 ECAC Hockey Preseason Coaches and Media Association Polls, while also receiving one first place vote in the Coaches poll. 

USCHO.com Preseason Poll
The Quinnipiac men's ice hockey team received votes in the first USCHO.com Division I poll of the 2011-12 season, released by the popular college ice hockey website on Monday, Sept. 26. The Bobcats received four votes in USCHO.com's first poll of the season and were among six ECAC Hockey schools in the first nationally rankings of the new year.

Everybody's Back
The Bobcats will return 23 letter winners from last year's team including nine of its top 10 scorers.

The Captain
Second-year captain Scott Zurevinski (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan) was the only Bobcat to reach double figures in goals (14) and assists (11) on his way to a team-high 25 points.

The MVP
2010-11 team Most Valuable Player, as well as 2009-10 team Rookie of the Year, Jeremy Langlois (Tempe, Ariz.) continued to develop as one of the top offensive threats in ECAC Hockey with a team-leading 18 goals as a sophomore.

The Twins
Sophomore twins Connor and Kellen Jones also placed in the top-five in the Bobcats line-up in scoring, combining for 17 goals and 29 assists for 46 points between the two of them.

The Barron
Loren Barron (Glendora, Calif.) became the first defenseman to lead all Quinnipiac players in assists (18) since former three-time All-American and first-year assistant coach Reid Cashman.

The Goalies
The Bobcats also return two proven, veteran goalies in Dan Clarke (Belleville, Ontario) and Eric Hartzell (White Bear Lake, Minn.), who have each spent time among the national leaders in all goalie categories over the last two years.

The New Guys
The Bobcats will welcome four freshmen to the roster this season, in Matthew Peca (Petawawa, Ontario), Bryce Van Brabant(Morinville, Alberta), Jack Callahan (Red Bank, N.J.) and Dan Federico (Acton, Mass.). Peca was named at the top forward at the RBC Cup Championship last season, and was highly recruited by several major junior teams. Van Brabant is a big, physical player while Callahan and Federico will add depth to the forward and defenseman spots, respectively.

Something For Later
In addition to the first-year players, the Bobcats will add Jordan Samuels-Thomas (Windsor, Conn.), who transferred from Bowling Green after leading the team in scoring for the past two seasons and will join the team in 2012-13.