HAMDEN, Conn. – The No. 14 Quinnipiac men’s ice hockey team sat at the top of the ECAC heading into the third installment of the Battle of Whitney Ave. against Yale. Winners in five of their last six, the Bobcats looked to keep the good times rolling versus their crosstown rivals.
In the previous two matchups, Quinnipiac was victorious and outscored Yale 10-3. Furthermore, the Bobcats headed into the game with 16 straight wins over the Bulldogs dating back to 2018.
It was a chippy start to the game between the foes, however, Quinnipiac set the tone in the first period as veteran presence made sure they set off on the right foot.
Graduate captain Travis Treloar got the party started at M&T Bank Arena four and a half minutes in with a snapshot from the top of the right circle. He immediately acknowledged the Bobcat faithful following the score.
“[The fans] are a big part of it,” said Treloar following the win, “The bank was electric tonight, it was a lot of fun.”
Two minutes later, Bobcats leading goal scorer, senior forward Jack Ricketts, netted his 18th of the season to increase the lead to 2-0.
Five minutes into the second period, junior winger Jeremy Wilmer sent the crowd to their feet after scoring on a highlight reel spinning backhand shot to increase the lead by three. It was Wilmer’s team leading 33rd point of the season.
“I had speed coming through the neutral zone and the [defense] had this gap between the back, so I feel like I had some room to make a play,” Wilmer said postgame.
Physicality continued to ramp up as the period progressed, which eventually led to Quinnipiac earning a power play . However, it was Yale who capitalized on the special teams opportunity as sophomore Will Richter intercepted a pass and scored on a breakaway for his fifth goal of the season.
After 40 minutes, the Bobcats held onto a 3-1 lead. Offensive possession headlined the game thus far as Quinnipiac doubled Yale in shot attempts 56-28 heading into the final frame.
A five minute major penalty against junior winger Alex Power gave the Bulldogs plenty of looks on offense. Even yet, the nation’s fourth best penalty kill unit stood tall. A Yale game misconduct eliminated their man advantage.
“We were resilient, and that’s what we do here,” said Quinnipiac head coach Rand Pecknold following the win.
As the game was just wrapping up, an Aaron Schwartz power play goal gave the Bobcats a 4-1 advantage, which was the final score of the game.
This was the third victory in three games this season for the Bobcats versus the Bulldogs. With the win, Quinnipiac increased their winning streak over Yale to 17 straight games, extending a program record.
“Certainly it’s a great event when Quinnipiac plays Yale at home,” said Pecknold, “We’ll take the win and move on.”
Quinnipiac’s final home regular season contest is tomorrow as they host Brown at 7 p.m. Yale travels to New Jersey to face Princeton at the same time.
