Do you get deja vu?

On October 7 — the night Quinnipiac raised its 2023 NCAA championship banner — the Bobcats and the Eagles engaged in overtime hockey, with sophomore forward Cutter Gauthier scoring the game-winning goal to defeat the Bobcats 2-1 on their home ice.

176 days later, the Bobcats faced off against the Eagles once more, this time on neutral ice in the Providence regional final of the 2024 NCAA tournament. Similar to their season opener, the game went into overtime. Again, the Eagles advanced, taking down the Bobcats to move on to the Frozen Four. 

Deja vu. 

“I think the fact that both games were overtime games, and so close means that both teams have worked very hard this year and advanced their game,” Boston College head coach Greg Brown said.

While Gauthier did spoil the Bobcats’ season opener, he didn’t clinch the regional final. Instead, it was former Cornell Big Red forward Jack Malone who secured the victory. 

Malone picked up what he termed ‘change’ from a shot by freshman defenseman Drew Forescue, eluding senior goaltender Vinny Duplessis, and fired it into the net, mirroring the Eagles’ opening victory over the Bobcats with a 5-4 score, thus concluding the Bobcats season.

Where did the other eight goals come from?

In the game, nine goals were scored, none of which occurred in the first period as both teams were sizing each other up. The Bobcats initiated an aggressive style in the neutral zone, aiming to disrupt the closest Eagles player with an extra bump.

Two hours before his attempt to propel Boston College to the Frozen Four, Malone sought to put the Eagles ahead but was called for a high stick, keeping the game tied until 1:09 into the second period.

After failing to score a goal in the past two games, junior forward Jacob Quillan gave the Bobcats an early 1-0 lead by tipping in a shot from senior forward Travis Treloar.

Just 35 seconds later, senior defenseman Iivari Räsänen extended the Bobcats’ lead to 2-0 by sniping a shot from the point, putting adversity on the No. 1 Eagles.

“I don’t think we’ve trailed by two very often this year and playing in these types of tournaments you know that at some point you’re gonna face some adversity and credit to our group,” freshman goaltender Jacob Fowler said. “I’m really happy with the response. We had to get one back.”

The Eagles went on a power play after a high-sticking minor on sophomore forward Victor Czerneckianair. Freshman forward Ryan Leonard wasted no time, potting a power-play goal nine seconds into the man-advantage to narrow the Bobcats’ lead to 2-1.

Another goal was scored by the Eagles as sophomore forward Andre Gasseau rocketed a one-timer past Duplessis to tie the game.

Although the Bobcats grabbed the lead again with junior forward Christophe Fillion netting a goal, the Eagles tied it again just under two minutes later, with Leonard once again capitalizing on the power play.

The Eagles finished the game 2-5 on the power play, with the two goals on the man-advantage proving costly for the Bobcats.

“We gave (up) five power plays. We can’t do that. We took some unnecessary penalties,” Quinnipiac head coach Rand Pecknold said. “So I thought 5-on-5 we were the better team tonight. Special teams are huge and that’s where they were better than us.”

Just 16 seconds into the third period, Quillan regained the lead for the Bobcats by scoring from a tight angle, putting them up 4-3.

However, similar to the second period, the Eagles scored again when freshman defenseman Aram Minnetian — who had only two goals prior to the game — found himself alone in the slot and fired one past Duplessis to tie the game at 4-4.

Malone ended the Bobcats’ season, along with the college careers of three graduate students on the roster: Jayden Lee, CJ McGee, and Zach Tupker. Nevertheless, those players leave behind a legacy highlighted by Lee and McGee’s win in the national championship last year.

“It is a brotherhood. It’s hard to put into words but just since the first day I stepped foot on campus I’ve just been able to grow as a person as a hockey player,” Lee said. 

The Eagles fly to Minnesota for a Frozen Four appearance, while the Bobcats must re-tool if they aim to regain this position next year.

“We have such a unique situation at Quinnipiac, with the culture that we have and the experience that these young men and these student athletes get is one of a kind. It’s hard to meet,” Pecknold said.