If hockey games were thirteen minutes long, the Quinnipiac Bobcats (6-9-2 overall, 3-5-1 ECAC Hockey) would have grabbed themselves a commanding 3-0 win against the Maine Black Bears (7-7-1 overall, 4-4-1 Hockey East).
Unfortunately for the Bobcats, it was the latter forty-seven minutes that came back to haunt them as they allowed an early three goal lead to slip from their grasp, falling 7-4 at the hands of the Maine.
The Bobcats came out of the gates firing Friday night and wasted no time getting on the board against their Hockey East opponents. Three goals in the first 9:44 had Quinnipiac up big just halfway through the first period. But from there, the momentum shifted completely, and in the final 50:16, it was all Maine.
The Black Bears finished the game by outscoring the Bobcats 7-1, a comeback that began with a defensive lapse allowing Maine forward Mitchell Fossier to get behind the back line while still staying onside. Fossier poked a shot into a wide open right side of the net to make a dent in the Bobcat lead.
“That was a huge mistake…when you’ve got a 3-0 lead, you can’t let a guy slip behind you,” Bobcat head coach Rand Pecknold said on the Fossier goal. “We’ve got to be mentally tougher than that. We’ve got to realize we still got a 3-1 lead, but after that, it was just chaos and panic.”
The Bobcats outshot Maine 21-4 in the first period; but in the second, two power play goals and fifteen saves from Black Bear goalie Jeremy Swayman brought Maine level with Quinnipiac after forty minutes. Despite doubling the Black Bears on shots, the Bobcats found themselves in a tied hockey game. Getting numbers of shots on goal without seeing production is nothing new for this Bobcat team; it’s a recurring theme that Pecknold pointed out after the game.
“For thirteen minutes, we were awesome. Dominant. Fifty-plus shots on net again, we need to win those hockey games.”
Cukste put the Bobcats ahead early in the third period when a Swayman save fell right to his stick at the top of the crease. Quinnipiac carried the slim lead all the way to the 10:20 mark, until Maine winger Eduards Tralmaks broke out the filthy dekes on Brandon Fortunato and scored a goal that was worthy of a SportsCenter Top 10 nomination. After that, Maine found the back of the net three times in 72 seconds, putting the nail in the coffin for a Bobcat team that had already appeared dead.
Pecknold acknowledges his team’s shortcomings, but he also knows that Maine deserves their share of credit as well.
“They struggled early. They were down 3-0, and they battled back. Their goalie found a way to right the ship. Got to give them credit. They played well tonight. On our end, it continues to be frustrating. We can’t seem to do anything right right now,” Pecknold said.
Pecknold also thinks that the reason his team has fallen short of preseason expectations this year is their poor response when faced with adversity.
“We’ve got to find a way to deal with adversity better. It’s been a problem this year. We’ve got to find a way to fight our way through it.”
“We’re definitely not playing to our identity. The buy-in is not there,” Pecknold said. “I think they want to do it…it’s a good group of guys. Things just start not going our way, and we need to toughen up mentally. We’ve got to battle through.”
Fortunately for the Bobcats, they get another crack at the Black Bears Saturday night, and they’ll be looking to avenge the loss and exit the weekend at 1-1. Puck drop is set for p.m. at the Frank J. Perrotti, Jr. Arena.
