After Quinnipiac’s 4-1 victory over the Clarkson Golden Knights, the Bobcats were looking to complete their ECAC homestand with a win over the St. Lawrence Saints.
The No. 9 Bobcats are coming off sophomore center Chris Pelosi’s hat trick, who saw their record improve to 8-3-2. The last time out between these two ECAC teams saw the Bobcats shut out the Saints, who came into this game on a four-game losing streak, having lost to Union, Dartmouth, Harvard and Princeton.
The Bobcats needed time to solve Saints goaltender Colin Winn despite 15 shots on goal in the opening frame. Quinnipiac spent long stretches cycling in the offensive zone, while St. Lawrence clogged shooting lanes with active sticks.
“I mean, it was not perfect,” Quinnipiac head coach Rand Pecknold said. “But we will take the win every month.”
Choppy ice led to slips, fanned passes and broken rushes, but Quinnipiac finally broke through midway through the second. Off a clean zone entry, Tivey sprung Ethan Wyttenbach wide. Wyttenbach drove below the goal line and slipped a pass into the slot for Markus Vidicek, who buried a one-timer inside the right post for a 1-0 lead.
Just 27 seconds later, the Bobcats struck again. Elliot Gronenwold started a breakout with a stretch pass to Marcellus on the right wing, and Marcellus hit Chris Pelosi cutting through the middle. Pelosi snapped a shot from the slot that Winn stopped, but the rebound dropped in the crease, and Marcellus crashed to tap it in for a 2-0 advantage.
Nineteen seconds after a holding call on Saints defenseman Andrew Brown, Graham Sward walked the blue line and fed Jeremy Wilmer in the right circle. Wilmer returned the puck, and Sward hammered a low shot that kicked off the right pad of Winn to sophomore wing Aaron Schwartz at the back post, where he rifled the rebound for a 3-0 lead.
“You mature fast,” Sward said in response to adapting to college hockey. “I think that kind of helps, too, when you’re coming down here for school, too.”
The Bobcats struck again 45 seconds into the third. Sward moved the puck from the right circle down to Andon Cerbone at the left side of the crease, and Cerbone slid a quick pass through the blue paint to Marcellus, who finished at the back door for his second of the night and sixth goal of the season.
Pecknold praised Sward by saying, “He’s been great. He’s one of our better players. He just keeps getting more comfortable.”
St. Lawrence answered with goals from freshman forwards Cooper Pierson and Filip Juricek, including a late power play tally after a post-whistle scrum in the crease. Still, Quinnipiac ended the game with its record improving to 9-3-2, while also being 3-1 in ECAC play.
The Bobcats’ next matchup will be at home against the Holy Cross Crusaders on Nov. 26. Puck drop is set for 5 p.m.
