Fresh off of a tie at Madison Square Garden against Cornell, the Quinnipiac men’s ice hockey team returned home to Hamden to defeat the RPI Engineers 3-1. With the victory, the Bobcats move back over .500 in ECAC play.
“It was a good win. I thought that the team battled hard. Dylan [Silverstein] made some saves when we needed it and the power play was good, so we take our win and we move on,” head coach Rand Pecknold said.
A physical battle from the opening puck drop, the Bobcats and Engineers both enjoyed some good chances early on. An strong open ice hit by Quinnipiac sophomore forward Mason Marcellus and a missed shorthanded breakaway opportunity by first year forward Chris Pelosi highlighted the first period for the home team.
“I thought for us, when we’re skating and competing and moving the puck north, I thought that was to our advantage,” Pecknold added.
The second period mirrored the first period with end to end action, until Quinnipiac had a power play opportunity midway through the frame. A pass by Quinnipiac graduate forward Travis Treloar was mishandled by RPI goaltender Noah Giesbecht, leading to an easy finish at the net for Quinnipiac sophomore forward Andon Cerbone to give the Bobcats a 1-0 lead.
“We were just running a set breakout, [Mason] Marcellus did a really good job bringing the puck up with speed, a nice pass to [Travis] Treloar who kind of ripped it at me, and it bounced in front. I was able to tap it in,” Cerbone said.
After a Quinnipiac goal was waved off for goaltender interference, the action got heated as RPI first-year forward Rainers Rullers was ejected from the game for a game misconduct. With a five minute man advantage, the Bobcats were able to run a pretty tic-tac-toe play with Treloar getting an open shot in the slot and firing it home, making it 2-0 Bobcats.
To begin the third period, Quinnipiac senior forward Jack Ricketts blocked a pass and headed the other way with a breakaway, which he finished by inches, as the puck was able to find a way past the goal line. With that goal, Ricketts was able to notch his 50th career collegiate goal, extending the Bobcats’ lead to 3-0.
“It’s been a long five years, but it’s been fun,” Ricketts said. “I’ve played with a bunch of really good players that have helped me along the way, so I give a lot of credit to those guys.”
A late goal by RPI sophomore defenseman Jimmy Goffredo gave the Engineers some life, but it wasn’t enough, as Quinnipiac was able to close out the game.
First-year goaltender Dylan Silverstein, minutes away from his second career collegiate shutout, had a strong performance in net tonight, making 17 saves on the evening.
“It’s huge to have a big time goalie behind you. It lets you play with more confidence on the offensive side of things. [Silverstein] is doing a good job making big time saves,” Cerbone said.
Quinnipiac will be right back in M&T Bank Arena tomorrow to face the Union Garnet Chargers, with puck drop scheduled for 4 p.m.
