Mercyhurst Resumes Conference Play at Qunnipiac Friday

December 2, 2003

Courtesy of Mercyhurst Sports Information Department

Mercyhurst (5-4-1; AH 3-2-0) at Quinnipiac (6-5-2; AH 3-0-2)

Date: Friday, December 5

Time: 7:00pm

Site: Northford Ice Pavillion (1,000)

The Coaches: Rick Gotkin (Brockport State ‘82) is in his 16th season at Mercyhurst with an overall record of 283-159-27. Rand Pecknold (Connecticut College ’90) is in his 10th year at Quinnipiac with an overall mark of 172-96-24.

The Series: Mercyhurst leads 7-5-2.

Scouting Mercyhurst: The Lakers are 1-1-1 in their first three games of an eleven-game road trip. Mercyhurst defeated Western Michigan 7-4 on Saturday, November 22 (its first-ever win over the Broncos), and then followed that last Saturday with a 3-3 overtime tie at #13 Cornell in the teams’ first-ever meeting.

Sophomore forward Scott Reynolds scored his team-leading sixth goal of the season with just six seconds left in regulation to forge the tie. Reynolds finished November with a seven-game scoring streak. He scored at least one point in every November game (3-3-1) and ended the month with six goals and four assists for ten points. Among the goals were four power play and his first career shorthanded tally. Sophomore goalie Andy Franck was brilliant against Cornell, stopping 44 of 47 shots (.936). Franck made 13 saves in each period of regulation and five more in overtime. For his efforts, Franck was named Atlantic Hockey Goaltender of the Week. Freshman defenseman Jamie Hunt scored his first collegiate goal early in the third period while junior defenseman T.J. Kemp scored the Lakers’ first goal of the game in the second period.

Senior forward Adam Tackaberry and junior forward David Wrigley leads the team in points with 12. Wrigley is tops in assists (8) while sophomore Reynolds is best in goals (6). Sophomore goaltender Andy Franck has seen the majority of time between the pipes. Franck is 5-3-1 with a save percentage of .897 and a goals-against-average of 3.41. Mercyhurst is 18 of 53 with the man advantage (.340) and has denied 40 of 48 opponent opportunities (.833). The Lakers are 3-2-1 away from home.

Holy Cross swept Mercyhurst 5-2 and 6-5 (OT) in Erie November 14 and 15 in the most recent conference action.

Mercyhurst went 3-0-1 against the Bobcats last season, including a 4-3 win in the conference championship game, and now leads the all-time series 7-5-2.

Scouting Quinnipiac: After losing two games each at Michigan and Wisconsin, the Bobcats are 4-1-2 in their last seven.

Quinnipiac split a pair of games at Merrimack last weekend, losing 4-1 and winning 3-2. Junior forward Matt Craig was named Atlantic Hockey Player of the Week. Craig netted a pair of goals, including the game-winner, and chipped in an assist, in Saturday’s win. Prior to the contest, Hockey East teams had gone unbeaten against members of Atlantic Hockey, posting a 40-0-5 mark.

For the season, Craig, the Preseason Player of the Year in Atlantic Hockey, leads the club in both goals (7) and points (12). Freshman defenseman Reid Cashman is best in assists with ten.

Junior Jamie Holden has seen the most action between the pipes. Holden was one of the stars last Saturday against Merrimack with 29 saves. He is 4-2-2 with a save percentage of .933 and a goals-against-average of 2.56. Quinnipiac is 7 of 56 on the power play (.125) and has killed 65 of 80 penalties (.812). The Bobcats are 5-0-0 at home.

In its most recent AH action, Quinnipiac played to a 2-2 tie at Army and a 1-1 tie at UConn November 21 and 22.

Up Ahead: Mercyhurst will continue its eleven-game road trip next Saturday at American International at 7:00pm. The Lakers won’t return to home ice until January 9 and 10 when conference rival Bentley visits at 7:30pm.