The Quinnipiac men’s ice hockey team defeated the Princeton Tigers at home 4-1, moving to 23-5-3 overall and 14-2-1 in ECAC play, and sits in first place in the conference. The Bobcats have now won three straight games.
For Quinnipiac head coach Rand Pecknold, it was special for him to see some familiar faces on the opposing bench as Princeton head coach Ben Syer was previously an associate head coach with the Bobcats from 1999-2011, and two Princeton assistants, Connor Jones and Dan Henningson, were former players under Pecknold.
“It’s fun for me to look across and see Ben doing well and see Henningson and Connor, two of our former players, doing great,” Pecknold said of facing the former Bobcats.
From the opening puck drop, Quinnipiac started on the front foot, skating well as each line created some decent chances on net. Despite this, Princeton was strong defensively and tried to counter with some rushes of their own.
However, after a slashing penalty was assessed to Princeton forward David Jacobs, the Bobcats were able to capitalize on the power play opportunity as sophomore forward Aaron Schwartz ripped one home from a perfect pass to the high slot by first-year forward Ethan Wyttenbach, to take a 1-0 lead.
The early lead would not last long, as Quinnipiac were given a penalty for having too many men on the ice. Princeton were able to equalize on the power play as Jacobs hammered home a rebound in front of Quinnipiac goaltender Matej Marinov.
To open the second period, Quinnipiac defenseman Braden Blace was able to find his defensive pair in sophomore Elliot Groenewold with a precise pass from the point, for a smooth finish past Princeton goaltender Arthur Smith to make it 2-1 to the Bobcats.
“He’s been great, he’s having a great season. Really happy with his defensive play, but his offensive game has improved too.” Pecknold said of Blace’s play this season.
After the second Quinnipiac goal, the Bobcats had three power plays in the period but were unable to capitalize on any of them, leaving the score at 2-1 heading into the third period.
Princeton thought they had tied the game at two with a chaotic scramble in front of the net, but after further review, the original call on the ice of no goal stood after a Princeton challenge. After Wyttenbach was denied on a breakaway, Quinnipiac first-year forward Matthew Lansing jumped on a Tigers turnover in center ice. Lansing slid the puck to Wyttenbach for a calm finish at the net to make it 3-1 to the Bobcats. Wyttenbach finished with 2 points on the night, adding to his magical first season at Quinnipiac.
Quinnipiac added to their tally with a stretch pass from Groenewald to Quinnipiac forward Antonin Verreault, who patiently worked past Smith for Quinnipiac’s fourth goal of the evening. The game would not finish without controversy, as Aaron Schwartz was hit hard in the neutral zone and went back to the locker room with an apparent injury. Princeton were not assessed a major penalty for this hit, and from there, the game ended with an extra physical edge to it.
These two teams will pick up right where they left off tomorrow, as the Bobcats and Tigers will face off once more, this time at Hobey Baker Rink in Princeton, New Jersey. Puck drop is scheduled for 4 p.m.
