The Quinnipiac men’s ice hockey team capped off a successful weekend in ECAC play with a 3-1 win over Union on Saturday.
An early turnover in their own zone led to a quality chance in front for senior forward Caden Vilegas, but first-year goaltender Dylan Silverstein went butterfly to stop a possible early goal.
Union continued to pour on the early pressure as they outshot Quinnipiac 4-1 just five minutes in. Silverstein would have to stand on his head again after Vilegas would find himself just feet from the net before the Calabasas native scooped up the puck. After some early struggles, Quinnipiac would head to the power play at 8:12 in the first period, but they would fail to convert after a couple shots from sophomore forwards Andon Cerbone and Mason Marcellus.
Right before the media timeout, things would get chippy after a lot of physical hits between both sides led to lots of jeers from the crowd. Quinnipiac would even challenge one of those hits, but the call on the ice would stand. With 3:27 to go in the period, Union’s DJ Hart would go off for roughing to give Quinnipiac a chance to score before the intermission. However, the Bobcats would fail to score making a 0-0 game at the end of the first period.
Moving into the second period, it would only take Union 15 seconds to score. A backhand pass attempt by junior forward Nate Hanley in front of the net would bounce right off of Silverstein’s skate and into the back of the net.
With the Bobcats in need of a goal, first-year defenseman Braden Blace would step up to the challenge. Just four minutes later, he would fire one from the point right past the outstretched glove of junior goalkeeper Kyle Chauvette to make the game even at 1-1.
After the game, Blace talked about his first collegiate goal.
“It feels good to finally get that one off my back,” Blace said. “I’m not usually the goal scoring type, but it’s always nice to get the first one for sure.”
Union almost responded right back after first-year forward Riley Brueck found himself right next to Silverstein, but the net would come off its hinges, forcing a stoppage in play. The Garnet Chargers would still have the shot on goal advantage at the media timeout, 19-14 over the Bobcats.
With just over seven minutes to play, Quinnipiac would head to their third power play of the game after a holding call against Union’s Josh Nixon.
After going 0/2 on the previous man advantages, graduate forward and captain Travis Treloar was found open in front and went five-hole on Chauvette to give Quinnipiac their first lead of the game.
Quinnipiac would continue to extend that lead. With 3:25 to go in the second period, junior forward Victor Czerneckianair found a beautiful pass from first-year forward Ryan Smith to make it a 3-1 game in favor of the Bobcats. After the goal was scored, the dime disher Smith, would be issued a game misconduct and ejected from the game for using the butt end of his stick. Quinnipiac would kill off the majority of the five minute penalty before hitting the intermission with 1:35 left on the misconduct.
The third period started off slow for both teams as few shots would be recorded. Union would get some momentum in their favor after first-year defenseman Elliott Groenewold headed to the box for an interference call with just under 14 minutes to play. Union would fail to convert, but they would get another chance just minutes later as Quinnipiac had too many men on the ice.
Despite some quality chances on the offensive end, Quinnipiac would hold on to their two goal lead. With six minutes to go, sophomore forward Matthew McGroarty had a chance on a breakaway, but his shot dinged off the post to keep the score 3-1.
Union head coach Josh Hague made the risky decision to pull Chauvette out of from the goal with five minutes left in the game. With 2:19 to go, Cerbone headed off for a penalty, making it six on four hockey. Despite the two-man advantage, the Garnet Chargers would not convert, keeping the Bobcats’ 3-1 lead for the victory.
“We still got some rolling to do,” head coach Rand Pecknold said. “It wasn’t our best hockey either night, but we found a way. We’ll go on a break and we’ll reload after Christmas.”
The Bobcats have a 22 day rest ahead of them before returning back to M&T Bank Arena to face off against the AIC Yellow Jackets on December 29th at 4 p.m.
