The No. 10 Quinnipiac men’s ice hockey team lost 3-2 to the unranked New Hampshire Wildcats at M&T Bank Arena on Saturday.  

The outcome is Quinnipiac’s first regulation loss on home ice since February 25th, 2022, a 974-day span.  

The second of a two-game series in Hamden, a day after Bobcats handed the Wildcats an 8-2 loss the night prior, highlighted by a two-goal game by first-year Aaron Schwartz and a four-point outing by junior Jeremy Wilmer.  

A scoreless tie was broken with just over seven minutes left in the second period when New Hampshire senior centerman Robert Cronin poked the puck off the stick of the Bobcat’s senior Mason Marcellus in the neutral zone, allowing junior left-wing Cy LeClerc to skate the puck into the right circle and slip a shot past sophomore netminder Dylan Silverstein.  

On the power play with a minute remaining in the middle period, a beautiful one-touch passing play by the Wildcats ended in the back of the Bobcat net, courtesy of sophomore center Nick Ring.  

The goal forced the Bobcats to regroup, down 2-0 going into the final period of play. New Hampshire had 19 shots on goal in the second to Quinnipiac’s nine. 

“We had some chances… but we need to play better,” Quinnipiac head coach Rand Pecknold said on his team’s play. “It’s a young team with a lot of transfers, it’s a work in progress.” 

The Bobcats were given life eight minutes into the third period when Wilmer found graduate center Travis Treloar on a backdoor pass on the power play to bring Quinnipiac within one. 

New Hampshire rebounded from the goal hungry to get their insurance back. A group of Wildcats pressured Quinnipiac’s junior winger Alex Power in the neutral zone, allowing sophomore J.P. Turner to emerge with the puck and take a shot from the high slot, fooling Silverstein to put the Wildcats up 3-1. 

The New Hampshire goal came just 30 seconds after allowing Quinnipiac to get on the scoreboard. 

The Bobcats showed no signs of backing down with three minutes remaining in regulation, graduate defenseman Cooper Moore whipped a cross-ice pass from the corner that found the tape of first-year forward Tyler Borgula in front, putting Quinnipiac within one in the dying minutes of play.  

Pecknold pulled Silverstein with two minutes left to get the extra attacker for the Bobcats.  

The Wildcats weathered the late surge, holding on to secure the victory.  

“He’s a huge talent, and he’s gonna keep getting better.” Pecknold said of Silverstein. 

New Hampshire jumps to 2-1-1 on the season following the upset victory. They will take on the Providence Friars in a home-and-home matchup next weekend.  

Quinnipiac drops to 2-3 and will face the Holy Cross Crusaders next Saturday.