Sam Anas: Little Big Man Hits 50

Little Big Man Notches # 50

On Friday the 13th of November, Quinnipiac junior Sam Anas scored his 50th NCAA goal, a 15' wrist shot into the top shelf, a signature goal. It took half a period before the Quinnipiac Jumbotron acknowledged the milestone during the Bobcats 4-1 win over Harvard. Coach Pecknold needs prodding to praise his 5' 8" sniper, though Anas has scored goals at a higher clip than Johnny Gaudreau through their first two years in college, and has reached 50 career goals much faster than Jimmy Vesey. Last year Anas finished his season on a devastating scoring clip, racking up goals in 5 consecutive games during the finals stages of the season, including a dramatic GWG to help knock out defending champion Union in the ECAC quarterfinals. But a nasty collision in the late stages of that series blew out his knee. He had to watch his Quinnipiac teammates concede the ECAC Championship tournament to Harvard from the stands in Lake Placid before limping through the Bobcats' NCAA elimination at the hands of North Dakota. A healthy Anas has since returned to the lineup and is scoring at his regular clip for the Bobcats. His 50th career goal helped the Bobcats to their first ever 9-0 start to the season We caught up with Anas the night he reached his magical milestone in Hamden.

RinkRap: Was it kind of appropriate that Landon set you up for magic #50?

Anas: Yeah, it;s been fun playing with him for the last two years. Obviously it's an individual accomplishment, but there's so many guys that have helped me get there along the way. Whether it's Matthew Peca, Travis St. Denis, the Jones twins, it goes down as an individual thing but its'a team thing. I have a lot of guys to thank for helping me get there.

RinkRap: Sam, last time Quinnipiac played Harvard, you were in the upper deck of the 1980 rink, was there any added incentive to get back out there?

Anas: I don't think individually; as a team we knew that Harvard ended our chances at the Whitelaw (ECAC tournament championship trophy). It's one thing that was shown this year was the picture of Harvard's championship, so that was a little fuel to the fire this week. It felt good to get the win.

RinkRap: Was it frustrating to be in the stands last year?

Anas: Yeah. I think any time you are in the stands, whether you are injured or not, and see your team lose, especially in the playoffs is tough, but that's just the way it goes. 

RinkRap: How have you changed over your three years? You look like you play a heavier game, but describe it yourself if you don't mind.

Anas: I try to do a lot more. Obviously my freshman year I was playing with the Jones twins and they were always running and gunning. I kind of try and take a little bit more of a role like that now, trying to set an example for younger guys. I try and play an honest game, play physical when I can, I'm not the biggest guy, but I know sometimes it helps. I'm trying to get better defensively and hopefully keep scoring some goals and setting up my linemates when I can.

RinkRap: You do look bigger. You're a heavier player aren't you?

Anas: Yeah, I've gained about 15 pounds since my freshman year. So definitely that weight room in there has been a big factor for me, and our strength coach, coach "P" (Brijesh Patel) has been awesome and he's really helped me out.

(Final question of the night from Quiinipiac Student media) What's it like to be on a team that has such depth in scoring?

Anas: It's awesome. For me it's fun to score goals, but winning trumps scoring. If I'm not scoring and we're winning, I'm happier than if I'm scoring and we're not winning. It's great to have secondary scoring, it's awesome to see those guys scoring goals and everyone's having fun.