University of Connecticut Athletics
UConn Set to Host Holy Cross and Quinnipiac
11/20/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
STORRS, CT (Nov. 20) - The University of Connecticut men's hockey team will continue their five-game home stretch with games on Friday, Nov. 21 and Saturday, Nov. 22 at the UConn Ice Arena. Both games are set for 7:05 p.m. On Friday the Huskies will face Holy Cross, and on Saturday they will take on in-state rival Quinnipiac.
The games will be a true test for UConn, as Holy Cross and Quinnipiac are currently ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the Atlantic Hockey Association. With a 2-2-1 AHA record, the Huskies are fourth in the standings. UConn has compiled an overall record of 3-4-2, and most recently defeated AHA rival American International by a score of 7-4 on Nov. 15.
With five goals, junior Beau McLaughin (Virginia Beach, VA) currently leads the Huskies and also ranks in a tie for second among all players in the AHA. His goal total has already surpassed both of his totals from his first two seasons at UConn. With two assists added, McLaughin also leads the team in points with seven. Freshman Trevor Stewart (Elk River, MN) is close behind with four goals and two assists for six points. Sophomores Chris Uber (Ithaca, NY) and Eric St. Arnauld (Marquette, MI) are tied for first on the team in assists with five apiece, which also ties them for sixth in the AHA.
UConn goaltender Scott Tomes (Windham, NH), only a freshman, has started in eight of nine contests for the Huskies, with a save percentage of .882. Tomes has played more minutes so far this season (496:31) than all but one other goaltender in the AHA, and has allowed just 29 goals while stopping 216 shots.
Holy Cross recently handed Mercyhurst their first AHA losses of the season to remain undefeated themselves with a 6-0-1 record in the conference. Overall, the Crusaders are 6-3-1. Pierre Napert-Frenette has five goals and five assists on the season for 10 points, which leads Holy Cross and ties him for first in the AHA. Napert-Frenette is the reigning AHA Co-Player of the Week after recording two goals and two assists in the Crusaders' 6-5 overtime defeat of Mercyhurst on Nov. 15.
Crusader goaltender Tony Quesada has proved tough to get past this season, with a league-leading goals-against average of 2.07. His record of 4-1-0 in net also leads the AHA, and Quesada is second in save percentage, stopping 92.6 percent of shots on goal.
In the second game of the weekend, the Huskies will face Quinnipiac in the second game of a three-game series which will decide the winner of the "Heroes Hat," an award created to honor and remember those who lost their lives in the September 11, 2001 tragedy. UConn suffered a 4-2 road loss to the Bobcats earlier in the season in the first game of the series.
The Bobcats are 5-4 overall, and are undefeated in AHA play with a record of 3-0. They will face Army on Nov. 21 before traveling to UConn on Nov. 22. Quinnipiac holds an all-time record advantage of 11-9 over the Huskies, but the two teams have split in their most recent two meetings. Quinnipiac's Matt Craig leads the team and ranks in a tie for second in the AHA with five goals, and Reid Cashman leads the team and is tied for first in the conference in assists with seven.
Quinnipiac has two strong goaltenders in Justin Eddy and Jamie Holden. Eddy (2-2-0) leads the AHA in save percentage, having stopped 92.6 percent of shots on goal, and Eddy splits time with Holden who has a record of 3-2-0 and has stopped 92.3 percent of shots on goal.
