Quinnipiac lost the second game of its series against North Dakota, falling 3-1 due to a stellar defensive effort from the Fighting Hawks.

This game was dedicated to Michael Torello, a teenager who passed away earlier this year and was an avid supporter of Bobcats men’s ice hockey.

“He meant the world to us… he’s been a part of this family longer than I have… it’s really special,” said senior forward captain Wyatt Bongiovanni.

Quinnipiac and North Dakota both started off physically. The Hawks have been physical all weekend and didn’t let up at all throughout the series.

Within the first minute, Quinnipiac graduate student forward Oliver Chau and senior forward Ethan De Jong were flying into the glass and onto the ice due to North Dakota checks.

At 6:07 into the first period, Quinnipiac struck first when Bongiovanni flicked a shot close-up over North Dakota senior goaltender Zach Driscoll to give Quinnipiac its first lead of the game and Bongiovanni’s second goal of the year. Chau and senior defenseman Marcus Chorney grabbed the assists on the play.

North Dakota responded back when Quinnipiac graduate student goaltender Dylan St. Cyr tried to make a pass out of the net up the middle of the ice, but was intercepted by North Dakota captain Mark Senden, who shot the puck into the wide open Quinnipiac net to even the game at one.

Overall, the Bobcats put the puck on net more often than North Dakota, outshooting them 12-4 in the first period, but the Hawks physicality and stellar goaltending kept the score even.

Moving into the second period, North Dakota started and ended the period in dominant fashion, killing Quinnipiac power plays. 

North Dakota struck on the offensive side of the power play, when a battle in front of the Quinnipiac net led to junior forward Judd Caulfield poking the puck by St. Cyr on a controversial call to extend the Fighting Hawks lead to 2-1. 

Graduate student forward Connor Ford and sophomore defenseman Jake Sanderson both helped Caulfield battle in front of the Quinnipiac net. 

With about four minutes to go in the second period, Quinnipiac went onto a 5-3 power play versus the Fighting Hawks yet couldn’t convert. The Fighting Hawks defense fought hard to kill the powerplay and, ultimately, kill the Bobcat’s momentum for the rest of the game. 

Keeping with the theme of this weekend, the third period was filled with scuffles between the Bobcats and the Hawks. 

Specifically, around 4:30 into the third period, Quinnipiac first-year winger Cristophe Tellier and Hawks sophomore defenseman Tyler Kleven had a mini brouhaha in front of the North Dakota net, resulting in penalties for both of them. 

Shortly afterwards, North Dakota’s Sanderson served Ford a pass across the ice, where he fired a slapshot past St. Cyr from North Dakota’s right dot to extend the lead to 3-1. 

The biggest adjustment Quinnipiac has to make from this game is on its power play. The Bobcats went 0-5 on the power play today, not converting on any of the opportunities that the Hawks provided them. 

“We had our chances on the power play, we just didn’t execute. We’ll keep working on it, it’s a work in progress,” said head coach Rand Pecknold. 

Quinnipiac will look to find the momentum again against Holy Cross on Tuesday Oct. 26 at 7:00 PM at the People’s United Center.