The Quinnipiac University men’s ice hockey team skated off the ice at Madison Square Garden as the winners of the “Rivalry on Ice.” But just barely.
Derek Smith won it for the Bobcats (19-1-3, 10-0-2 ECAC) 2:55 into the overtime period when he put a shot past Harvard University goaltender Michael Lackey for a 5-4 win.
It was a dramatic finish to a dramatic start for Quinnipiac. The Bobcats came out roaring in the first period, with Alex Miner-Barron, KJ Tiefenwerth and Sam Anas all scoring within a 36-second span. Travis St. Denis added a fourth goal less than five minutes later, and the Bobcats left the ice after the first period with a 4-0 lead over the Crimson (8-3-3, 4-3-3 ECAC).
In a surprising move, Harvard did not choose to switch goaltenders.
“Thought about it,” Harvard head coach Ted Donato said. “(But) I didn’t want to single him out in a period where, quite frankly, we didn’t show up.”
But a game that seemed out of hand for Harvard was soon within reach.
By the end of the second period, Harvard had pulled within one of Quinnipiac after goals from Alexander Kerfoot, Tyler Moy, and Ryan Donato.
And then halfway through the third period, Colin Blackwell tied it for the Crimson and Quinnipiac’s four-goal lead was gone.
“That’s not the way you write it up,” Smith said. “We kind of laid back and they came pretty good. They’re a good hockey team.”
Despite just being a regular conference game between Quinnipiac and Harvard, both teams could appreciate the opportunity to play in a building as legendary as Madison Square Garden.
“First off, I thought just the whole Madison Square Garden experience was phenomenal,” Quinnipiac head coach Rand Pecknold said. “With our fans, it was pretty cool.”
Donato echoed Pecknold’s sentiment.
“It’s just a tremendous place to play,” he said.
There were over 12,000 people in attendance at the game, with an especially big Quinnipiac crowd.
“We still are a relatively young program,” Pecknold said. “We’re still building that fanbase and moments like this, moments like three years ago at the Frozen Four…it just galvanizes our university.”
This was the final of the regular season games between Harvard and Quinnipiac, with the Bobcats winning both, and Harvard is already thinking about redemption.
“Hopefully we’ll see them again,” Blackwell said.
