NEW YORK – The No. 18 Quinnipiac Bobcats took the ice at Madison Square Garden in New York City, home of the NHL’s New York Rangers, to face the No. 11 Cornell Big Red in the Frozen Apple.

In front of a packed house in Midtown Manhattan, Cornell jumped out to an early lead.

Two minutes into the game, sophomore forward Jonathan Castagna skated the puck from behind his own net 200 feet down the ice into Bobcat territory. 

Castagna’s shot from the corner was stopped but came right back to his stick, where he circled the Quinnipiac goal and sifted a pass to the slot, connecting with senior winger Sullivan Mack to send the Cornell faithful into pandemonium at the world’s most famous arena. 

With just over a minute remaining in the first, the Big Red found themselves on a rare short-handed two-man breakaway where they would make no mistake. 

Boston Bruins draft pick and sophomore center Ryan Walsh dished a pass over to junior winger Dalton Bancroft to extend the lead to two.

The Big Red commanded the shots on goal category after 20 minutes of play, leading 15-6.

The Bobcats needed a spark in the second period, and they got it just 11 seconds in as sophomore forward Andon Cerbone buried a loose puck in the crease to put Quinnipiac on the board.

With Quinnipiac on a man advantage due to a delayed penalty,  junior forward Jeremy Wilmer fired a sharp-angle pass to the tape of first-year winger Aaron Schwartz in the blue paint to tie the game five minutes into the second frame. 

Schwartz’s team-leading sixth goal of the season sparked a new game in the Big Apple.

Later in the period, no time was greater for graduate defenseman Cooper Moore to score his first goal of the season.

First-year centerman Chris Pelosi entered the zone and skated cross-ice, drawing the Big Red defensemen in. He dropped it to Schwartz in the slot who found an undetected Moore at the right circle, hammering it home to give the Bobcats their first lead of the game. 

“He was excellent. I thought that was the best game of the year he’s played for us,” Quinnipiac head coach Rand Pecknold said of Moore.

The hectic middle frame saw three Cornell penalties, playing a crucial role in the turnaround period for Quinnipiac, out-shooting the Big Red 13-4 in the second. 

Early goals started the first and second, so why not the third?

Just over a minute into the final period of regulation, senior winger Jack O’Leary potted a loose puck in front to tie the game for Cornell after first-year netminder Dylan Silverstein was seemingly knocked out of position in front, however, Pecknold would not challenge the play for goaltender interference.

Despite two prime scoring chances by the Big Red in the final minute of play that had fans at the edge of their seats, the Bobcats survived to force overtime. 

In the sudden-death period, the Bobcats slowly and methodically held possession for most of the five minutes. Even with a few opportunities, they could not get one past Cornell’s senior netminder Ian Shane. 

The two ECAC opponents battled to a tie at the end of overtime, meaning a shootout would be needed to determine the winner of the Frozen Apple in the concrete jungle. 

Bancroft, who scored in the first period for Cornell, shot first and beat Silverstein five-hole.

Wilmer shot first for Quinnipiac and missed the net wide.

Up next for the Big Red, senior defenseman Hank Kempf beat Silverstein with a deke but lost the handle as the puck slid wide.

Quinnipiac graduate forward Travis Treloar’s backhand attempt was blockered away by Shane. 

Walsh, who had the other first-period tally for the Big Red, had the chance to win it but was stopped by Silverstein to keep the Bobcats alive.

Needing a goal to keep the game alive, Cerbone was called up to shoot for Quinnipiac but was stopped by Shane, making Cornell victors of the Frozen Apple.

“It was a really cool atmosphere, a really cool venue to play in, and the boys found a way to get it done tonight,” Bancroft said.

Although Cornell was victorious in the shootout, this game does not count for ECAC play and goes down as a 3-3 tie in the season standings.

The Big Red, now 4-2-3 on the season, will return home to Ithaca, NY for a Friday night showdown against Colgate.

The Bobcats, sitting at 6-6-1, head back to Hamden to prepare for a matchup with RPI on Friday.

“There was a ton of positives tonight. A lot of guys played really well, we just have to mature and have some poise for 60, play hard for 60,” Pecknold said.