Three Rivers Classic Kicks off Second Half in Pittsburgh

WHEN: Thursday, Dec. 29, 2016 (4:30 p.m.) / Friday, Dec. 30, 2016 (TBD)

WHERE: PPG Paints Arena / Pittsburgh

GAME NOTES: PDF / WEB

HOW TO FOLLOW
- RADIO: WEEI 850 AM -- Jon Rish (Play-by-Play) // Andy Powers (Color Commentary)
- LIVE STATS
- BUY TICKETS

OLD STOMPIN' GROUNDS
Boston College will take part in the Three Rivers Classic for the second time after dominating the competition in 2013. The Eagles took out Bowling Green, 5-0, before an 8-2 throttling of Penn State to win the trophy.

BOSTON COLLEGE vs. QUINNIPIAC
Boston College has revenge on its mind as the Eagles 2016 NCAA championship bid was cut short by Quinnipiac at last year's Frozen Four in the national semifinals on April 7 in Tampa. In the first ever meeting between the two programs, Ryan Fitzgerald scored with less than five minutes remaining in the game to bring the score within one was not enough as the Eagles fell to Quinnipiac, 3-2. Thursday's contest against the Bobcats marks the second-consecutive meeting on neutral ice.

QUINNIPIAC QUERIES
Quinnipiac skates into the Three Rivers Classic with a 10-7-2 mark, including a 6-4-1 record in ECAC play. The Bobcats are ranked 14th in the latest USCHO.com poll following a weekend in which QU was swept by Princeton, 5-3 and 4-1, on Dec. 9-10. Quinnipiac looks to alter its course this weekend, having lost its last three outings, including a 5-2 setback against Union on Dec. 3. Senior Tim Clifton leads Quinnipiac's offense in both goals scored (10) and points (15). Freshman Brogan Rafferty leads the club in assists ( 13 ) and is tied for 21st in scoring, nationally, with 0.79 points per game ( 2 - 13 - 15 ). QU's defense has turned to junior goaltender Chris Truehl, who is 8-5-2 with a .910 save percentage and a 2.40 goals against average. Quinnipiac's offense is averaging three goals per game, which is right in the middle of the pack, tied for 29th nationally. The defense is ranked 19th, surrendering 2.68 goals per outing. The Bobcats' strong suit is their penalty kill which is ranked seventh in all of college hockey, killing off 87 of their 100 opportunities.

BOSTON COLLEGE vs. FERRIS STATE
The last time the clock struck 00:00 when Boston College and Ferris State met, jubilation took hold as the Eagles won their fifth national championship on April 7, 2012 after defeating the Bulldogs, 4-1. Top-seed Boston College scored twice in the first period and sealed the fifth national championship in program history with two more goals in the third. BC has never lost to Ferris State, as a potential meeting with the Bulldogs on Friday would mark the fourth in program history. All four games would be in tournament play as BC beat Ferris, 9-6, in the first-ever meeting on Dec. 28, 1983 in Duluth, Minn. before a 3-3 draw in the 2004 Denver Cup.

BULLDOG BITES
Ferris State enters the Three Rivers Classic with a 7-11-1 record and a 6-7-1 total in WCHA, having won four of its last six games. Senior forward Gerald Mayhew guides the Bulldogs' offensive efforts in both goals scored ( 10 ) and points ( 17 ). Mayhew is the 47th most prolific scorer in college hockey, averaging 1.13 points per game. His 0.67 goals per game is tied for 18th in the game. He is also one of five skaters in all of college hockey to have accrued four game-winning goals or more thus far. Rookie Craig Pefley is the 14th most prolific scorer amongst all first-year skaters this season, averaging 0.88 points per game, having scored three goals and 12 assists this season. Between the pipes, the Bulldogs have split time between sophomore Darren Smith ( 2-10-1 | .899 | 3.12 ) and freshman Justin Kapelmaster ( 5-1-0 | .932 | 2.19) this year. Ferris State's offense is 36th overall, averaging 2.79 points per game while the defense ranks 27th, giving up 2.84 goals per game.

BOSTON COLLEGE vs. ROBERT MORRIS
If Boston College and Robert Morris were to play on Friday, it would mark the first encounter between the two programs.

BULLETS ON BOBBYMO
Robert Morris, host of the Three Rivers Classic, boasts a strong 9-6-3 overall record with a 7-5-2 record in Atlantic Hockey play. The Colonials have won only one game in their last four outings, most recently having lost (4-3) and tied (2-2) against Mercyhurst. RMU touts one of the most lethal scorers in the country, junior Brady Ferguson, who is averaging 1.78 points per game (14-18-32). Senior Daniel Leavens and sophomore Daniel Leavens are also within the top 20, nationally, both averaging 1.33 points per game. Ferguson's 0.78 goals per game has him as the seventh highest prolific scorer in college hockey. Most notably, Ferguson has accounted for EIGHT power play goals this season. That mark stands as the most in all of college hockey. Ferguson is riding a 12-game point streak, scoring 9 goals and 13 assists for 22 points in that span. Defensively, Robert Morris has some heavy artillery in net. Rookie goaltender Francis Marotte possesses the NCAA's best save percentage at .942. Marotte is fourth nationally with a 1.87 goals against average (second in Atlantic Hockey) and holds a 7-3-2 record, making 11 starts and playing in 13 of the team's 18 games. Robert Morris' offense and defense are somewhat balanced as the Colonials are scoring at a rate of 3.22 goals per game and allowing 2.72 goals per game. The offense is ranked 19th while the defense is 21st. With much thanks for Ferguson, the power play ranks third in the nation. RMU is converting at a success rate of 24.5 percent, having scored on 25-of-102 chances.

POINT PLUNDER
No other team in college hockey has scored as many points as BC has this season. The Eagles are first in the NCAA in total points (206), assists (133) and tied for first with three (3) hat tricks. Boston College also leads the nation in most road points scored with 133. Boston College is tied for second in goals scored with 71. The Eagles are also third in the nation in plus/minus differential (+30).

IN THE RED
The Eagles are outscoring their opponent at a significant margin and possess the sixth-highest mark in the NCAA. BC's + 1.20 goal differential is the best in Hockey East as the Eagles have netted 73 goals and given up only 49. The +55 mark, as a club, is second best in the NCAA.

AGAINST THE ODDS
Boston College is currently tied for second with Penn State and Bemidji State for second-most wins to close out the first half. ( Union led with 14 ). The Eagles did so, though, by having to trot out the penalty-killing unit 125 times, second most behind Michigan Tech ( 126 ) this season. At such a high frequency, BC is killing off opponents' power play opportunities at a rate of 82.4 percent (105 - of - 124).

COUNTIN' ON COTTON
Freshman David Cotton has scored six goals as an Eagle this season. Half of Cotton's goals have stood as game-winning goals while another half have come via the power play after scoring his third power play goal of the season on Dec. 10 at Notre Dame. Cotton is one of 29 skaters in all of college hockey with three of more game-winning goals.

PLAYING WITH POWER
Boston College scored a pair of power plays (David Cotton & Julius Mattila) in the first period at Notre Dame on Dec. 10. It marked only the second time the Eagles' have turned that trick, doing so against Colorado College on the first period of the home opener on Oct. 21 (Colin White & Casey Fitzgerald).

Three Rivers Classic Kicks off Second Half in Pittsburgh

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Players Mentioned

David Cotton

Casey Fitzgerald

Ryan Fitzgerald

Julius Mattila

Colin White