The Quinnipiac Bobcats men’s hockey team overcame conference rival Cornell 2-0 in what turned into an action-packed, heated outing from both organizations on Saturday night.

The Bobcats’ night was defined by their dominant first-period performance, during which the team recorded 18 of their 28 total shot attempts. In contrast, Cornell ended the period still with no recorded shot attempts on the stat sheet.

Out of this barrage of early shot attempts, it was second-year forward Jacob Quillan’s mid-period swing that stood as the only of such to go unblocked by Cornell goalkeeper Ian Shane. 

“It’s a grind out there, and we just keep talking about embracing the grind, and they did that out there tonight,” Quinnipiac head coach Rand Pecknold said of the team’s all-gas-no-breaks approach to the match.

The only player on both ends to score all night, Quillan slid in the second of his goals within the closing 15 seconds of the match. Shane, who only sat for two minutes all game, was inserted back into the match after Cornell’s defense proved unable to shoo Quinnipiac’s offensive unit away from its empty net.

“He’s been great,” Pecknold said on Quillan’s rapid development as a player. “I thought he just got better and better last year as a freshman and really kind of took off in the second half of the year.”

The game progressed and Colgate proved capable of recovering from its opening stumbles, as the intensity of the match began to skyrocket. Nine separate players – five of Cornell’s and four of Quinnipiac’s – were slapped with penalties over the course of the match.

Not even the referees were safe in the midst of the chaos. As the third period reached its halfway point, one ref took a tumble after being caught in the crossfire during one of the match’s countless aggressive collisions between red and yellow jerseys.

The most significant of these penalties came late in the second period, when 6 foot, 4 inch Cornells forward Gabriel Seger was ejected from the match after receiving penalties for “hitting from behind” and “game misconduct” on an aggressive collision with a Quinnipiac player. 

Aside from prompting a series of “you can’t do that!” chants from Quinnipiac fans, the ejection also meant that Colgate’s second-tallest asset would be removed from the game. For Pecknold, the team’s towering size served as one of his biggest concerns heading into the match.

“I’d probably say that they’re the biggest team in our league if not one of the bigger teams in the country,” senior defenseman Jayden Lee said after the game.

The match also marked the 100th collegiate game for Lee, who’s night was highlighted by a down-to-the-wire save in the closing moments of the game.

“It’s flown by, to be honest,” Lee said on achieving the exclusive athletic accomplishment. “It’s been a lifelong dream to play college hockey and to say I’ve played 100 games is pretty awesome.”

The Bobcats, who now boast a 5-1-2 record, are currently in the midst of enjoying a three-game winning streak. In overcoming Cornell, the franchise remains undefeated against fellow ECAC opponents.

Quinnipiac’s next outing will be in Providence against the Brown Bears on Friday, Nov. 11.