The M&T Bank Arena was packed and loud for the much-anticipated men’s ice hockey season opener against the Boston College Eagles. After raising the program’s first National Championship banner, the Bobcats fell to the Eagles by a goal scored in overtime.
“They gave us exactly what we expected,” said Boston College head coach, Greg Brown. “There’s no free ice when you play against Quinnipiac, they make you earn every inch.”
The first period was a physical one with seven penalties between the teams – two of which kept Quinnipiac star forward Sam Lipkin on the sidelines for a total of 15 minutes and forced a game ejection.
Despite out-attempting the Eagles (5-6), Quinnipiac found themselves trailing by a goal scored by sophomore forward Andre Gasseau.
The unassisted goal came during a powerplay in Quinnipiac’s favor with just under two minutes to go in the period. Quinnipiac tried to take advantage of their opportunity with a shot on net but Eagles goaltender Jacob Fowler was ready with a save that sent the momentum going the other way.
Gasseau quickly got up the middle of the ice and finished the play with a quick goal to put Boston College ahead.
Fowler had six saves that period and would go on to finish the game with a total of 29 while Quinnipiac goaltender Vinny Duplessis had 21.
Of the 29 saves, 13 of those were in the second period where the Bobcats were again scoreless with 13 attempts.
“Credit to Boston College, thought they were really well prepared,” said head coach Rand Pecknold, illustrating the mutual respect between the two ranked teams. “Obviously, they got some high-end players. Fowler was outstanding with a lot of big saves. He’s a big-time goalie so I give them a lot of credit.”
Regardless, Pecknold was pleased with the Quinnipiac for not giving up. In the third period Quinnipiac stayed aggressive and, with a little over five minutes to go, they were able to see the puck go through the net in their favor.
With his first goal of his college career, first-year Mason Marcellus was in the right place at the right time to tip the puck in after a near miss from sophomore Charles Alexis Legault.
Through adversity and various penalties, the teams battled it out to end the game tied at regulation.
Overtime kept the full arena at the edge of their seats as both teams were able to get good looks at the net.
However, with just nine and a half seconds to go on the clock, the fifth-overall draft pick in the National Hockey League, Cutter Gauthier sent a snipe to the upper left part of the back of the net to hush the crowd and sent his team to victory.
The Bobcats look to bounce back as they travel to Northeastern University to face the Huskies tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. for an exhibition contest.
