The Quinnipiac Bobcats men’s ice hockey team came back home to M&T Bank Arena and defeated the New Hampshire Wildcats by a score of 8-2. After two losses at Maine in a weekend series last week, Quinnipiac bounced back in a big way.
“I thought it was a crazy game. We struggled early and [Silverstein] made some big saves for us, and we just found a way to score some goals,” head coach Rand Pecknold said of his team’s performance, “UNH is a really good team, we got some really good bounces tonight, it will be a little different tomorrow, so we have to reload and understand that they are going to have a good response tomorrow.”
First year forward Tyler Borgula opened the scoring with his third collegiate goal in four games, a much needed spark for the Bobcats.
“He’s a goalscorer, he’s doing great. We need to work on some other things to round out his game, but he’s working at it, it will come. He’s still young, but he’s been great so far,” Pecknold said of Borgula.
First-year goaltender Dylan Silverstein made his second career collegiate start, and made 28 saves, in the win. On a power play early in the first period, Silverstein made a breakaway save on UNH sophomore forward Ryan Comny, which the Bobcats then turned to attack, as junior forward Jeremy Wilmer netted a wrister to give Quinnipiac a 2-0 lead.
“He’s confident, he’s out challenging, does a good job handling the puck, he’s a big time player,” Pecknold said of his goaltender.
The Bobcats forward line of Aaron Schwartz, Jeremy Wilmer and Mason Marcellus showed their chemistry, contributing to four goals.
“It’s two new guys this year, they are new to the team and the system, but I think they are kind of figuring it out quick, and we’re already four games in and they are making plays like that, so it’s super nice,” Marcellus said of his linemates.
After Quinnipiac allowed a Wildcat goal to make it 4-1, senior forward Jack Ricketts slotted home a breakaway to make it 5-1, taking back control for the Bobcats.
“Just buying into the system, playing hard and fast, something we preach is always keeping your feet moving,” Ricketts said when asked how he succeeds on the ice.
New Hampshire continued to push their forecheck, causing the Bobcats to work harder shifts to make sure that UNH couldn’t get back into the game.
“Those shifts are always really important in a game, to sort of suppress their push. Just going out with a mindset that we’re going to change the tide here, and we were looking to do that.” Ricketts said when asked about his team’s mindset.
“We just found ways, sometimes goals are going to go in for you, and other times it is the opposite,” Pecknold said of his team’s resiliency. “I thought we had some fortunate bounces tonight, and I expect a different [UNH] team tomorrow.”
Quinnipiac will be back in action tomorrow afternoon for another home tilt against New Hampshire with puck drop slated for 4 p.m
