WORCESTER, Mass – The Quinnipiac men’s ice hockey team made the trip up to Worcester, Mass on Tuesday night, and made it count with a 4-1 win over the Holy Cross Crusaders.
In front of a packed crowd including multiple NHL scouts, the Bobcats would come out firing on offense to begin the first period. Sophomore forward Tyler Borgula had the best chance in the early going, with a great deke move out in front.
Holy Cross senior goaltender Louden Hogg would stay busy early on as fellow Crusader Owain Johnston’s hooking penalty would mark the first of four penalties in the opening period.
It didn’t take long for Quinnipiac to start pouring on the chances, with first year center Markus Vidicek beginning the scoring 3:30 into the game.
Vidicek positioned himself perfectly as a screen for a shot from first year defenseman Nate Tivey, which bounced off Vidicek and just over the outstretched glove of Hogg. First year forward Antonin Verreault would pick up an assist as well.
“We had a better shooting mentality. We were getting many pucks to the net today, so I think that was good,” said Tivey. “Just getting pucks to the net and not being too cute. The more we got pucks to the net, the scrappier the game got.”
The chippiness of the opening period picked up immensely when sophomore defenseman Elliott Groenewold exchanged words with Crusaders, and sophomore winger Aaron Schwartz got caught for tripping seven minutes in.
However, Quinnipiac junior goaltender Matej Marinov didn’t see nearly as much of a challenge as Hogg did on his first man-down, as the Crusaders failed to put a shot on net through the first nine minutes, and through their first power play of the game.
Quinnipiac added one more goal in the period, as first year center Matthew Lansing capitalized on a great setup by senior winger Anthony Cipollone.
Cipollone cut through the defense streaking down the left side of the ice, and found a cutting Lansing in the middle for a tip-in goal. The first period ended with the Bobcats leading 22-9 in shots in a dominating opening frame.
The Crusaders began the second period far more aggressively than they began the first, putting a flurry of tries on Marinov.
Holy Cross Captain and senior forward Jack Seymour ended the scoring drought for the Crusaders. After another shot whistled wide, Seymour wound up in the right place at the right time, cutting in front of the net and firing the rebound right at Marinov. It seemed the Crusaders had gained offensive momentum.
Quinnipiac was outshot 8-2 to open the second period, with their best look coming from Borgula, but denied by a block in front.
The chippiness from the first period carried over two-fold into the second. Senior forward Timothy Heinke of Holy Cross and senior defenseman Charlie Leddy may as well have started a club with the extracurricular activities they, and some teammates, put on after what seemed to be every stoppage in the midsection of the second period.
“I think we knew they were going to come hard. They’re physical, they’re big, they compete and they work hard,” said first year defenseman Graham Sward. “I think we played really fast, and teams have a hard time with our speed. I think we executed that well tonight.”
The tension reached a boiling point when senior forward Jeremy Wilmer came to the defense of fellow Bobcat, junior winger Andon Cerbone, who had been cross-checked by junior defenseman Mack Oliphant. This resulted in a confrontation up against the boards, which needed to be broken up by referees.
Quinnipiac found the scoreboard in the second after a shot from Borgula rattled the glass behind Hogg. Sward picked up the loose change and fired home a shot which beat Hogg just above his right shoulder. Borgula and team captain, senior center Victor Czerneckianair, recorded assists.
Lansing picked up the only penalty in the period, a two-minute minor for elbowing. However, the Bobcat defense stood strong yet again, not allowing a shot on goal and killing their third man down overall.
The third period was dominated by the Bobcats. Wilmer fired two shots on net, coming in the first minutes of Quinnipiac’s third power play of the night as Heinke was tagged with a tripping penalty just eight seconds into the third period.
The first and only four-on-four of the night came about midway through the third period, with Wilmer getting caught first for kneeling, followed by Holy Cross’ junior center Ty Gagno getting called for interference.
While neither side capitalized during the four-on-four, Quinnipiac added its final goal of the game on its sixth power play. Sward cut in on the right side of the net, dishing a pass out in front of Hogg for Cerbone, who then ushered the puck to Wilmer, beating Hogg’s left shoulder.
Quinnipiac finished the night with a staggering 45 shots on goal. They would also record two power play goals on six attempts, and kill each of the four man-downs they faced.
“I just think we were simple and hard. Sometimes we get in trouble and we try to make a lot of cute plays. You just have to make a play when it’s there,” said Head Coach Rand Pecknold. “If we play our identity, we’re going to win a lot of games.”
