The Ingalls Rink is a daunting place for any young hockey player who has stepped foot on the ice in the historic building with 60-plus years of operation.
Saturday night was no different when Nick Jermain hopped onto the ice for his first shift against Quinnipiac’s biggest rival, Yale. The sold-out crowd of 3,500 rocked the building, amplifying the rink with every shot, save and whistle.
For a visiting player, an environment like the one experienced Saturday night might force hesitation on the ice.
However, Jermain, a Connecticut native, didn’t allow the aura of the ‘Whale’ affect his play as the freshmen struck for his first two career goals, propelling Quinnipiac to a 5-2 victory over neighboring Eastern College Athletic Conference foe Yale in what was a statement game for the Bobcats.
“I have been coming here my whole life. I have seen a lot of games here,” Jermain said about Ingalls. “So it kind of felt comfortable. I got a couple of lucky bounces, worked hard and was lucky to get those goals.”
Jermain put the Bobcats out in front 3-2 when he skated up the right side, flicking one over the right shoulder of Spano and silencing the Yale faithful at Ingalls as the Quinnipiac fans belted out chants of “he’s a freshman.”
Following the second intermission, Jermain sparked for another goal when Logan Mick played the puck in front of the net to Kevin Duane. Duane, came in front of the goalie, forcing him out of position. Playing the puck with his backhand, Duane played it to Jermain who took advantage of the goalie being out of position, giving Quinnipiac the 4-2 lead on his second goal of the night.
Before Jermain took over the game, the Yale faithful were on their feet early after the Bulldogs struck first when winger Frankie DiChiara received a pass in the slot from Joe Snively. DiChiara, who seemed to be in the slot all game, struck for his eighth goal of the season and gave Yale the early lead just under five minutes into the first period.
The Bobcats answered the early goal from the Bulldogs when a five minute major penalty was called on a Yale skater after a hard hit on Quinnipiac defenseman Luke Shiplo. Quinnipiac looked to the duo of Brogan Rafferty and Chase Priskie. Rafferty dished it to Priskie who connected with the one-timer in the face-off circle to tie the game at one.
“We go out after practice and work on our one-two punch,” Priskie said about his connection with Rafferty. “We have been to capitalize lately and help our team win.”
After another outlandish hit on Shiplo sent the Bulldogs to the penalty kill for five minutes, it was DiChiara who was streaking down the right side, gathering the puck and forcing a holding call on the Bobcats’ Rafferty.
However, with the referee’s arm raised, the Bulldogs wrapped it around the net where DiChiara snuck one by goaltender Chris Truehl for his second of the game, putting the Bulldogs up 2-1.
Not to be outdone by DiChiara, Priskie notched his second goal of the night just three minutes later on a hard slapshot at the point, giving him his second two-goal game in the past four outings.
“We had a gameplan coming into this game,” Priskie said. “We knew we had to play for 60 minutes straight and we were able to do that tonight.”
The Bobcats solidified their victory when Priskie gathered the puck in the defensive zone and picked up speed in the neutral zone. Tim Clifton and Rafferty joined the rush when Rafferty found the puck on his stick, playing it back to Priskie who immediately struck with a one-time pass to Clifton who buried his twelth goal of the season to push the Bobcats’ lead to three, 5-2.
“I’m really proud of our guys,” Quinnipiac head coach Rand Pecknold said. “I thought it was a really good win.”
The Bobcats will return to action Friday night when they host The Clarkson Golden Knights at 7 p.m.
