Team Notes: Quinnipiac Hosts Sacred Heart, Princeton

The Quinnipiac men's ice hockey team will host Sacred Heart on Friday, Dec. 9 at 7 p.m. and ECAC Hockey opponent Princeton on Sunday, Dec. 11 at 12 p.m. at High Point Solutions Arena at the TD Bank Sports Center. 

All-Time Against Sacred Heart
Quinnipiac and Sacred Heart have met on the ice 32 times since their first match-up on Dec. 12, 1993 – a 7-5 Quinnipiac win in Milford, Conn. – but have not played each other since Feb. 26, 2005. The Bobcats hold the advantage in the all-time series, 21-7-4, including a 17-2-2 mark at the Division I level. Quinnipiac took the last two meetings between the two teams, and seven the last 10 match-ups. The Bobcats are 12-2-2 all-time on its home ice, but have never faced the Pioneers at High Point Solutions Arena at the TD Bank Sports Center.

Scouting The Pioneers
Sacred Heart enters this weekend at 1-14-1 overall, including a 0-10-1 mark in Atlantic Hockey play. The Pioneers lost their first 11 games of the season before shocking nationally-ranked Yale, 7-6, on Nov. 22. Sacred Heart has gone winless since then, with a 4-4 tie against Niagara on Nov. 27 as one of their two non-losses this seasons. Matt Gingera leads Sacred Heart in goals (8) is tied for the team with 13 points. Eric Delong has matched Gingera's 13 points through SHU's first 16 games, while also logging a team-best seven assists. Brian Sheehan (5-7-12) and former Bobcat Ben Ketchum (6-4-10) round-out the Pioneers' double-digit scorers. In goal, Steven Legatto and Andrew Bodnarchuk have split a majority of the minutes. Legatto is 1-9-0 with a 5.23 goals-against average and a .883 save percentage while Bodnarchuk is 0-5-1 with a 5.15 GAA and a .853 save percentage. Head coach C.J. Marottolo is 28-48-11 in two-plus seasons.

All-Time Against Princeton
Quinnipiac is 6-9-1 all-time against Princeton, with one of its six wins coming this season, 5-3 on Nov. 1, in Princeton, N.J. The Bobcats won four of the firist six match-ups before Princeton rattled off four straight, and have won six of the last nine meetings since Nov. 24, 2007. The Bobcats are 2-5-0 all-time on its home ice, including a 2-3-0 mark at High Point Solutions Arena at the TD Bank Sports Center. Quinnipiac is also 0-1-1 in overtime against Princeton. 

Scouting The Tigers
Princeton is currently 4-7-2 overall and 3-5-1 in ECAC Hockey play. The Tigers are currently riding a three-game unbeaten streak (2-0-1) with wins against nationally-ranked Providence, 3-1 on Nov. 26; Rensselaer, 5-3 on Dec. 2; and a 3-3 tie against nationally-ranked Union on Dec. 3. Jack Berger was named the ECAC Hockey Player of the Week after a four-goal weekend in a 5-3 win against Rensselaer before scoring two of Princeton's three third-period goals in a 3-3 come-from-behind tie against No. 9 Union. Andrew Caloff also scored twice in the Tigers win against Rensselaer. In net, Sean Bonar has seen a majority of the minutes in goal, logging a 4-5-2 record with a 2.84 goals-against average and a .901 save percentage.

Next Up For The Bobcats…A Little Break
Quinnipiac will not return to action until Dec. 30-31 when it takes on Nebraska-Omaha at the Qwest Center in Omaha, Neb. The Bobcats then play at Yale (Jan. 6) and Brown (Jan. 7) before returning home on Jan. 13-14 to host Cornell and Colgate, respectively.

Big Week For The Big Goalie

Eric Hartzell (6-foot, 4-inches) went undefeated last weekend, posting a 1-0-1 record against Union and RPI, stopping 55 of 59 shots in goal in two pivotal ECAC Hockey match-ups. On Friday, Hartzell stopped a season-high 35 of 37 as the Bobcats gained a point in a 2-2 tie against nationally ranked No. 9 Union. The third-year Bobcat then picked up career win No. 20 as he improved to 4-3-3 on the season with a 20-save performance in a 3-2 win against Rensselaer. 

Great Numbers Hartzy
For the year, Hartzell holds a 1.96 goals-against average and a .906 save percentage. In his last eight games, he has allowed just 12 goals, while holding the opponent to two or fewer in each game.

Insert Tolkinen Here
Sophomore defenseman Zach Tolkinen helped the Bobcats to three points in a 1-0-1 weekend against Union and RPI, totalling a goal and two assists. Tolkinen scored his second goal of the year to give Quinnipiac a 1-0 lead against Union, on the power play, as the Bobcats tied No. 9 Union, 2-2. Tolkinen then had assists on the game-tying and game-winning goals in the Bobcats' 3-2, come-from-behind win against RPI on Saturday. Tolkinen was also a +2 for the weekend, while also blocking a team-high four shots in two games.

One Of Those Work Pale Guys
Yuri Bouharevich scored the game-winner for the Bobcats in a 3-2 ECAC Hockey victory against RPI on Saturday, Dec. 3 with a one-timer from Ben Arnt that left 2.4 seconds to play in regulation.

Glad That's Over

Quinnipiac captain Scott Zurevinski scored the game-tying goal against RPI on Saturday, Dec. 3. It was Zurevinski's first goal since Oct. 15, snapping a 13-game goal-less streak for the fourth-year Bobcat.

No More Mustaches, Guys

None of Saturday's three goal scorers found the back of the net in the month of November, as Matthew Peca's last goal before his tally in the first period against RPI came against Robert Morris on Oct. 22.

Strong Month
For the month of November, sophomore Connor Jones (Montrose, B.C.) led Quinnipiac in goals (2), assists (5) and points (7) in eight games played in the month of November. Jones had back-to-back two-assist nights against Princeton in a 5-2 win and Dartmouth in a 5-4 loss. He also had Quinnipiac's only goal in a 3-1 loss at Colgate before adding a goal and an assist against UMass to snap the Bobcats' six-game winless streak. For the month, Jones was a +1 and won 69.7% (108-of-156) of the face-offs he took.

Hartzy Heating Up
For the month of November, Eric Hartzell (White Bear Lake, Minn.) started five of Quinnipiac's eight games, posting a 1.47 goals-against average after allowing eight goals in over 325 minutes in net. Hartzell also stopped 97 of 106 shots on goal for a .924 save percentage.

Clay Pigeons
Clay Harvey's goal against UMass was his first this season, and first since Dec. 8, 2010. Harvey snapped a 36-game goal-less streak with a scored just 1:16 into the Bobcats win against UMass.

Zack Attack
Zach Currie registered his first career multiple-point game with a goal and an assist against UMass in a 4-2 win. Currie stepped into the Bobcats' starting line-up and has totaled two goals and three assists to date. 

Contact: Ken Sweeten, kfsweeten@quinnipiac.edu