After both games ended in ties last season, the first of (at least) two matchups between the neighboring town rivals this year was nothing short of exciting. Quinnipiac and Yale did not disappoint a sellout crowd at Ingalls Rink.
The first period saw mostly even action from both sides, Quinnipiac getting the better of the scoring chances. But it yielded no goals from either side, just eight shots for Quinnipiac and four for Yale.
The second period brought a bit more urgency from both sides.
“I think we were pretty good at reloading,” Quinnipiac captain Soren Jonzzon said.
The reload helped the Bobcats, and Tim Clifton buried his ninth goal of the season off of a rebound shot to break the deadlock just a minute and a half into the second period.
The Bobcats and Bulldogs burned through a series of penalties during the rest of the period. John Hayden, Connor Clifton and Tanner MacMaster found themselves in the penalty box twice in the middle period. But both teams’ penalty killing units came up strong to hold the game at 1-0. The Bulldogs outshot the Bobcats in the period 8-7, but the Bobcats still held the total shots lead, 15-12.
Landon Smith went top shelf, glove side on Alex Lyon just 13 seconds into the third period on a 2-on-1 rush to give the Bobcats a little more room to breath with a 2-0 lead. Throughout the rest of the period, the action was mostly back and forth, Quinnipiac appearing to have a slight edge with a few more scoring opportunities, but not capitalizing until almost the very end.
At the end of the final period, Devon Toews added a wrap-around goal before the Bulldogs had a chance to pull Lyon to try for an extra attacker, sealing the Bobcats’ 14th victory of the season. Jonzzon got his second assist of the night. Michael Garteig earned his 16th career shutout (fifth on the season), stopping all 22 shots he saw from the Bulldogs.
Garteig also earned his 60th career win at Quinnipiac, surpassing the program record of 59 shared by Jamie Holden (’05) and J.C. Wells (’01).
For Garteig, it’s more of a team accolade.
“I’ve been lucky enough to play for some pretty awesome teams here at Quinnipiac,” Garteig said. “It’s a team effort.”
But Quinnipiac head coach Rand Pecknold gives Garteig credit.
“He’s good. His numbers prove it,” Pecknold said. “He didn’t get a win his freshman year. He only started one game, really. He’s [won 60 games] in under three years.”
The Bobcats, remaining undefeated at 14-0-2 (8-0-2 ECAC), travel to Providence to take on Brown, while Yale, now at 5-3-2 (3-2-2 ECAC) will battle with Princeton on Saturday.
