What to watch for: Bobcats visit Brown

What to watch for: Bobcats visit Brown

By Nick Dench, QBSN Staff Writer

Coming off of an exciting win last night in New Haven over Yale, the Bobcats (12-7-4, 4-4-3 ECAC) are back in action tonight against the Brown Bears (6-7-1, 3-4 ECAC) in Providence, R.I at 7 p.m.

These two teams have yet to meet this season; they play their second meeting the final weekend of the season in Hamden on Feb. 24.  The Bobcats have 11 games remaining in their season, and the Bears have 15 games remaining on their schedule.

The Bobcats enter this game 10-4-2 all time against the Bears including last year’s playoff series held in Hamden, when the Bobcats won both games 4-0.  The two teams tied the previous two games against each other.

The Bobcats enter this game 3-0-1 in their last four ECAC games, including their upset of No. 20 Yale last night.  The Bears have won three of their last four games, however only one of those wins was within the ECAC.

The Bobcats enter this game with the possibility of jumping into a tie for first place in the ECAC with a win and losses for both Cornell and Colgate.  Brown is at the other end of the conference in 11^th place with a possibility for a tie of eighth place in the conference.

Keys for the Bears:

The keys for the Brown Bears in this match-up include using the offensive power of Jack Maclellan.  Maclellan leads the team in goals, points, power-play goals, shorthanded goals, and game-winning goals.  The Bears also need to continue shooting the puck, playing strong defense and playing the entire 60 minutes.  The Bears usually outscore their opponents in the first period and get outscored the rest of the game.  Finally, the Bears need to play well on special teams.  Their power play is only nine of 63 this season, while their penalty kill has given up 10 goals in 62 opportunities.  Going up against the power play and the strong penalty kill of the Bobcats, the Bears need to capitalize on their opportunities.

Keys for the Bobcats:

The keys for the Quinnipiac Bobcats in this game include getting both Kellen and Connor Jones (Montrose, British Columbia) going again after their extended breaks from game play.  Going into last weekend’s series against Nebraska-Omaha, Kellen hadn’t played since Nov. 26 against Massachusetts, and Connor hadn’t played since Dec. 2 against Union.  Both Connor and Kellen are keys to the offense of the Bobcats and, after their extended breaks from playing, need to get going again.  The Bobcats also need to wear the Bears down to open up more opportunities later in the game, as the Bears tend to give up more goals as the game goes on.  Finally, like the Bears, the Bobcats need to capitalize on their special teams play.  The Bobcats come into the game with the fifth best penalty kill in the nation and the 36^th best power play in the nation.