“I like the way we battled back,” Quinnipiac men’s hockey head coach Rand Pecknold said after Friday’s triple overtime win against Union.
This matchup was the first out of a best-of-three series between Quinnipiac (22-9-4, 16-3-3 ECAC) and Union (18-17-2, 8-13-1 ECAC) for the ECAC quarterfinals. But this battle was not an easy one for the Bobcats.
Quinnipiac started the first period – as it often does – weakly. Matt Wilkins put the first one in for Union on the power play around the ten-minute mark. Wilkins then assisted line mate Mike Veccione minutes later to give the Dutchmen the 2-0 lead.
The Bobcats struggled defensively, and couldn’t keep the puck out of their own zone. At the end of the first there was no doubt the No. 10 seeded Dutchmen were in control of the Cleary Cup-winning Bobcats.
Coming out of the locker rooms Quinnipiac still looked rough, and Sam Anas got called on a big hit on Mike Veccione. The Bobcats effectively killed off the penalty.
Union continued to put on the pressure offensively but Justin Agosta was able to put an end to Quinnipiac’s scoring drought with five minutes remaining in the second. Devon Toews had an opportunity to tie things up on a penalty shot, but Union goalie Colin Stevens effectively blocked the shot.
Going into the third it was clear the momentum had shifted for the Bobcats, but they needed to get a goal to prove it. Union, however, had other plans. While Quinnipiac was playing more cohesively, Union remained focused. Michael Pontarelli put in a quick wrister past Michael Garteig to give Union the 3-1 lead.
Things were looking grim for the Bobcats with two minutes remaining in the third period. With an empty net and an extra player, Anas put one in past Stevens. Then with just 37 seconds left to play – he did it again. The Bobcats had clawed their way back to tie the game at three and force overtime play.
Anas credited his first goal to Justin Agosta’s assist.
“He fooled their whole team; I think he fooled me at first,” he said. “I wasn’t really expecting it and then I just saw the open net.”
So it was on to overtime for Quinnipiac and Union. The last time these two teams went into overtime with each other was in 2010 when they played for just over 150 minutes – the second longest game in NCAA history.
Quinnipiac had the obvious momentum coming off of Anas’s back-to-back goals, but with Unions strong offense, it was unclear to know who would capitalize first.
Both teams came out firing in the first overtime. Each had some good looks but the goaltending from Stevens and Garteig proved to be too strong.
In the second overtime Union looked tired and Quinnipiac was gaining control. Garteig held strong in net and the Bobcats confidently killed off a penalty on a call for too many men. Quinnipiac outshot Union 25 goals to 11, but it just couldn’t seem to find the back of the net.
After 100 minutes of hockey, Quinnipiac and Union took the ice for a third overtime. Alex Barron was called for hooking four minutes in and the Dutchmen looked to capitalize on the power play. The Bobcats killed off the penalty and got to business.
Connor Clifton sent a pass up the ice from the Quinnipiac bench to Dan Federico. Federico took a shot and Baron tipped the puck in past Stevens to end the game with a 4-3 win.
“We can’t be down,” Union head coach Rick Bennett said after the game.
The two squads face off again on Saturday, Mar. 14 at 7 p.m. for the second game of their best-of-three series.
