What to Watch For: The Golden Knights roll into Hamden

What to Watch For: The Golden Knights roll into Hamden

By Mark Spillane, QBSN Staff Writer

The Bobcats men’s ice hockey team (7-3-1), nationally ranked in the 19^th spot, will host the Clarkson Golden Knights (6-2-2) at the High Point Solutions Arena at the TD Bank Sports Center on Friday, Nov. 11.

Quinnipiac is coming off of a 2-2 tie at Harvard last Friday, while Clarkson is looking to rebound from a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Union College last Saturday. The Bobcats defeated the Golden Knights 3-2 the last time these two teams met in January, while Clarkson holds a one game edge in the all time series.

The Bobcats, who have yet to lose at home this season, feature a high-powered offense and suffocating defense with a goal differential of +21, while Clarkson, who is 1-0-2 on the road this year, boasts an impressive +14 goal differential.

So far this year the Bobcats have won all of their games by multiple goals, except one, with all three of their losses being of the one goal variety. These close losses show that the Bobcats have struggled in close, end-of-game situations this season.

Key for the Bobcats:

In order to have success, Quinnipiac must get out to a fast start and take control of the game. They have done a tremendous job this year of getting the lead early and have scored first in all seven of their victories.

Key for the Golden Knights:

The keys to victory for Clarkson are to stay out of the penalty box and force the puck to somebody other than Quinnipiac junior Jeremy Langlois (Tempe, Ariz.) on defense. The Bobcats have found the back of the net 12 times on the power play this season, and Langlois leads the team with nine goals overall. Quinnipiac has other options, but Langlois has proven to be a top ECAC player and shares the conference goals lead.

Players to Watch for:

For the Bobcats, freshman Matthew Peca (Petawawa, Ontario) has been on fire of late and is a player to pay attention to. He has recorded a point in 10 consecutive contests and is closing in on the Quinnipiac freshman record of 12.

On the Clarkson side, the Golden Knights feature a fantastic goalie, senior Paul Karpowich.  Karpowich has faced 298 shots this season, while allowing just 19 goals. His 279 saves and six wins rank first in the ECAC, and his outstanding .936 save percentage is second among goalies with at least five starts.