By Angelique Fiske, QBSN Publishing Editor
The men’s hockey team opened up its weekend series against Robert Morris in explosive fashion. After a scoreless first period, the Bobcats opened the game up with four unanswered goals, anchored by Eric Hartzell’s first shutout of the season, taking the victory by a final score of 4-0.
Quinnipiac broke through the silence halfway into the second period when Russell Goodman (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan) tapped a Loren Barron offering (Glendora, Calif.) into the right corner of the Robert Morris net. The goal not only gave the Bobcats the edge, but both Goodman and Barron earned their first points of the 2012-13 season.
“We certainly got a lot of energy off that first goal, and from there, our compete level kind of ramped up a little bit,” head coach Rand Pecknold said.
Before the period expired, the Bobcats put away another goal, this time off the stick of junior assistant captain Cory Hibbeler (St. Charles, Mo.). Junior Jordan Samuel-Thomas (Windsor, Conn.) earned his second point of the season with the assist.
Four minutes into the third period junior Zach Tolkinen (Lino Lakes, Minn.) was whistled for hooking. Just seconds later, an interference call sent Robert Morris freshman Mac Roy to the box. The Bobcats took advantage of the four-on-four action, and Barron added to his point total with a quick shot from the right side that passed Colonial goaltender Eric Levine before the defense could react. Mike Dalhuisen and Kellen Jones were each credited with the assist.
“It just came down, saw a corner to shoot at, took my shot, and it went in,” Barron said of his goal. “Sometimes it just goes like that.”
Minutes later, senior Jeremy Langlois (Tempe, Ariz.) notched his first goal of the year on, a shorthanded score nonetheless. Clay Harvey (Gull Lake, Saskatchewan) passed the puck off the Langlois on the outside, knocking it in for the close-range score.
With four Bobcats putting points on the board, the depth and talent of every line has not been overlooked.
“We hope it happens every game. That’s the plan,” Pecknold said. “I mean there’s certainly going to be games where your big guns score the whole time. There’s going to be times when your fourth line chips in some goals, so it’s nice some balance.”
While the offense made its presence on the ice known to the Colonial defense, the Bobcat defense denied any chance of late-game heroics. Hartzell turned away all 16 he faced, continuing his team’s expectations of strong play.
“He’s reliable back there for us, and that’s part of the reason that the D is playing so good is that we know back there he’s not going to let anything in from the outside,” Barron said. “As long as we’re doing our job and he’s doing his job, we should see a lot of shutouts this year.”
Hartzell and his defense, through the tests of the Colonial offense, never wavered in these standards.
“We were expecting nothing less for the team, and I sure was expecting nothing less from myself,” Hartzell said.
Although the Bobcats advanced their overall record against the Colonials to 10-4-1, there is still more hockey to be played between the two. The puck drops at 12 p.m. Sunday as the series wraps up in Hamden.
