ECAC Men’s Ice Hockey Tournament final: Quinnipiac (1) vs. Harvard (3)
How they got here: Both teams are coming off big victories Friday night in the ECAC semifinals. The Bobcats cooled off a hot Dartmouth team by a score of 3-1.
Harvard was forced to play overtime against St. Lawrence, but escaped with a 2-1 victory.
Previous meetings: The Bobcats swept the season series against Harvard.
Quinnipiac beat the Crimson handily 4-1 back on their home ice in November.
However, the Bobcats went to overtime when the two teams met at Madison Square Garden in January.
Quinnipiac jumped ahead 4-0 early but that lead vanished after Harvard answered with four straight goals to tie the game.
Quinnipiac’s Derek Smith was the overtime hero after he rifled one past Harvard goaltender Michael Lackey just a little over two minutes into overtime, sending the Quinnipiac faithful home happy.
Quick note: Quinnipiac is 1-3 against Harvard in postseason play, including a loss against the Crimson in the ECAC semifinals last season.
Brosh’s prediction: The Bobcats seem to be finding their stride we saw back in the first half of the season.
Since beating Brown for the ECAC regular-season title, the Bobcats have been unstoppable.
Goaltender Michael Garteig saw some serious chances by Dartmouth Friday but turned away all but one.
Offensively, the Bobcats are a true juggernaut right now with 13 different skaters finding the back of the net this postseason and all four lines playing at their best. It’s hard to see Quinnipiac stumbling here against Harvard.
I think the Bobcats are truly clicking on all cylinders and every move head coach Rand Pecknold makes is working.
Bobcats win and get their first Whitelaw Cup, backed by goals by Sam Anas (2), Scott Davidson, Chase Priskie and Tim Clifton.
Quinnipiac wins 5-3.
Cloutier’s prediction: There are three teams in the ECAC that have never won the Whitelaw Cup: Brown, Dartmouth, and Quinnipiac.
Only one of those three has the opportunity in front of them.
The previous games between Quinnipiac and Harvard have been high scoring with back-and-forth action.
The difference between those previous matchups is that this is playoff hockey. All of the loose screws from earlier in the season have been tightened.
I believe this game will be more of a coach’s style game.
Dump-and-chase hockey, neutral zone traps and board play will all be vital keys to winning this game. Quinnipiac has the advantage in all of these aspects of the game.
The Bobcats win 2-1 and capture their first Whitelaw Cup.
Brosh’s player(s) to watch: He got the wheels going in game three against Cornell and continued his dominance yesterday with his stick handling and another goal on the power play.
Sam Anas is a big key in this one.
Anas shows up when the spotlight is at it’s brightest and will be crucial to the Bobcats’ search for better production on a power play that was 1-6 in the semifinals.
Also, watch out for Quinnipiac’s Scott Davidson to get involved on the score sheet today.
The freshman does absolutely everything you want from a fourth line forward, including not being afraid to lay a hit.
Davidson played out of his mind yesterday and that is usually a good recipe for the next day.
Cloutier’s player(s) to watch: As I stated earlier, this game will revolve around dumping the puck, neutral zone traps, and board play. I also mentioned that Quinnipiac has the advantage in all three of these aspects.
That advantage stems from the line of Soren Jonzzon, Tim Clifton and Scott Davidson.
Expect this game to be tied for a while, but that will change after a grinder goal from any one of these three players.
