The Union Dutchmen’s hopes of repeating as both ECAC Champions and defending their national title were dashed on Sunday night. The top seeded Quinnipiac Bobcats (23-10-4, 16-3-3 ECAC) defeated Union (19-18-2, 8-13-1 ECAC) by a score of 3-1, taking the series two games to one.
“This is gonna sting,” Union head coach Rick Bennett said. “It will sting for a while, but you know what, we’ll move on.”
Though the victory was huge for the Bobcats, as the team spent most of the game without leading scorer sophomore Sam Anas. Anas left in the first period favoring his right leg after a flurry of bodies and sticks collided in the nearside corner.
Two of the Bobcats goals were because of the strong force and presence of the second line. The first was a short pass from freshman Landon Smith in the far corner to junior Soren Jonzzon coming in at the half boards. His shot sailed cleanly past Union’s goaltender Colin Stevens to break open the scoring.
Jonzzon scored again at 4:10 of the second period, on another feed from Smith. He went in through the neutral zone and caught Jonzzon streaking with him on a two-on-one, beating Stevens over the shoulder once again.
“We’ve been together now for half a season,”Jonzzon said. “We’re starting to know who’s gonna be where when… we kinda know for the most part where we’re gonna be, so it makes it a lot easier.”
The series was a battle of two goaltenders through all three games, with junior Michael Garteig stopping a new career high 38 shots on goal.
“There’s no doubt if he hadn’t played the way he did that that is a completely different game,” Jonzzon said. “We had some huge breakdowns, they had a breakaway, they had a couple of chances… He came up huge for us.”
“I thought he was the best player on the ice tonight,” head coach Rand Pecknold said. “I thought he was outstanding. I thought Garteig was excellent tonight.”
Two hundred feet across the ice, Stevens stood on his head for the Dutchmen, giving his team every opportunity to win.
“I thought Colin Stevens was excellent,” Pecknold said. “I still don’t know how a couple of those pucks didn’t go in the net in the early part of the game. I thought we’d be up 3-0, 4-0.”
“I thought to this point Colin Stevens outplayed me,” Garteig said. “I thought he was the better goalie in the first two games.”
Quinnipiac will again take on Harvard in the ECAC playoff semifinals at Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid, New York. The first game will be on Saturday, March 20.
“We’re really excited,” Jonzzon said. “It was a hard-fought series. Union really gave us a heck of a run. But I think at the same time we’re conscious that just going to Lake Placid isn’t what we’re satisfied with this year… [it’s] keeping our season alive and advancing so that we can hopefully gain that championship we’re looking for.”
