What to watch for: QU and Colgate battle for third

What to watch for: QU and Colgate battle for third

By Angelique Fiske, QBSN Web-Editor

After both Quinnipiac and Colgate posted losses to ECAC foes, Cornell and Princeton respectively last night, the two teams face-off in a conference battle at 4 p.m. at the High Point Solutions Arena in the TD Banks Sports Center in Hamden.  After a Union win over Harvard, Quinnipiac and Colgate are at a deadlock for third place with 12 points each.  The winner will be awarded a slight edge in the ECAC standings.

Even though Colgate has been better off in the conference with a record of 6-3 when playing ECAC foes and 12-7-2 overall, it and Quinnipiac (12-8-5, 4-5-4 ECAC) both sit in third place with 12 points each.  Quinnipiac leads the all-time series against Colgate, 9-9-2 with its last win against the ECAC opponent on Jan. 7, 2011 at home.

Nationally-ranked No. 12 Colgate lost by a score of 6-2 against fourth place Princeton, making the most goals the Tigers have scored in a game this year.  Six goals allowed also ties a season high for Colgate.  The only other time that has happened was in a 7-6 overtime-victory against Niagara on Oct. 28.  The Raiders come into this game with a record of 5-5 on the road and riding a three-game losing-streak

Quinnipiac’s 3-2 loss against No. 9 and ECAC leader Cornell proved to be a struggle of the penalty kill.  The Bobcats gave up a one goal lead in the third period on two unanswered short-handed goals.  Juniors Jeremy Langlois (Tempe, Ariz.) and Zack Currie (Victoria, British Columbia) netted the only two goals of the game for the Bobcats. 

Keys for the Raiders:

One of the biggest focal points for Colgate is to step up defensively.  As exhibited in last night’s loss against Princeton, teams can really beat up on the Raiders if given the opportunity.  Colgate is a team that gives up goals, managing only one shutout win this season against Dartmouth, and Quinnipiac is a team that, when at its best, really can score.  The Bobcats have scored three or more goals in 14 of its 25 games.  If Colgate has any shot at taking this game, it must score early on to tear down what is left of Quinnipiac’s confidence after falling to Cornell.

Keys for the Bobcats:

As far as the Bobcats are concerned, Austin Smith is Enemy No. 1.  Leading the Raiders with an outstanding 20 goals in 20 games, including both goals in the loss against Princeton, the Bobcats have no choice but to shut him down.  In addition to targeting Colgate’s leading goal scorer, the Bobcats must be more aggressive on their penalty kill.  If the Bobcats give this Colgate team a single second of how they played on special teams against Cornell, they will pay for it in the loss column.  

Last meeting:

The last time the Bobcats and Raiders met up was earlier this season on Nov. 18.  Colgate came up with the win in a 3-1 contest in which Smith pulled off a hat trick, sprinkling one goal in each period.  Connor Jones scored the only Quinnipiac goal in the first period of play.  Eric Hartzell (White Bear Lake, Minn.) had 25 saves in just less than 59 minutes of action, while his counterpart Alex Evin managed 32 stops.