The No. 7 Quinnipiac men’s ice hockey was shut out 3-0 by No. 12 Clarkson in Game 1 of the ECAC Quarterfinals on Friday, March 13, as the Golden Knights smothered the ECAC top-seeded Bobcats from start to finish in one of the most lopsided home losses of the season.
Head coach Rand Pecknold did not sugarcoat things after the game. “We haven’t been dominated like that through two periods in 7 or 8 years,” he said. “It’s been a while.”
Friday marked the first time the two programs met in an ECAC Quarterfinal series and only the second postseason meeting between them, dating back to the 2007 ECAC Championship Game, which the Golden Knights won 4-2.
The teams split their regular season meetings, with Quinnipiac winning 4-1 on Nov. 21 and Clarkson earning the shootout victory after a 3-3 draw on Jan. 31. But nothing about the regular season series carried over. Clarkson came out playing like the team with everything to prove, while the Bobcats looked like the team that had forgotten it was playoff hockey.
Clarkson controlled the first period from the opening faceoff, pressuring the Bobcats with a relentless forecheck that forced turnovers and bad reads all over the ice. Quinnipiac managed just five shots on goal to the Golden Knights’ 11.
Junior goaltender Dylan Silverstein was the only thing standing between the Bobcats and an early deficit. Every shot he faced, he was able to miraculously save, including a clean breakaway from junior forward Shawn O’Donnell midway through the frame.
“That’s one of the best games he’s played,” Pecknold said. “Sil was great, kept us in the game.”
Neither team could convert on the power play in the opening frame. Junior forward Talon Sigurdson was called for tripping early, giving the Bobcats the first man advantage of the night, but Quinnipiac generated almost nothing with it.
Sophomore defenseman Elliott Groenewold then went off for interference, and Silverstein bailed his team out on the other end with multiple saves during the Clarkson power play, including stops off of freshman forward Rémi Gélinas and senior forward Ryan Bottrill.
The Golden Knights broke through early in the second period when freshman defenseman Bryce Sookro buried his first collegiate goal at even strength. Freshman forward Jace Letourneau and O’Donnell picked up the assists after a quick transition through their offensive zone caught the Bobcats flat-footed. The goal came just moments after sophomore forward Chris Pelosi had two looks denied by junior goaltender Shane Soderwall at the other end, and the shift in momentum was immediate.
From there, the second period spiraled for Quinnipiac. The Bobcats took three penalties in the frame, handing Clarkson eight minutes of power play time. The Bobcats managed just two shots on goal in the entire second period while the Golden Knights threw 16 at Silverstein.
“We had kids that just, they couldn’t get out of their own way tonight,” Pecknold said. “We just had a lot of guys that were in panic mode from the get-go and pouty on the bench.”
Quinnipiac finally showed some fight in the third period, generating 17 shots on goal after managing just seven through the first 40 minutes.
“We did play better in the 3rd,” Pecknold said. “But it’s hard to try to win games when you play 20 minutes.”
Trailing 1-0 with just over four minutes left, Pecknold pulled Silverstein for the extra attacker. The decision backfired when sophomore defenseman Tate Taylor buried the puck into the vacant net off a feed from freshman defenseman Matthew Mayich to make it 2-0.
Junior forward Andon Cerbone and Gelinas were both sent off for roughing with under a minute remaining after a scrum near the crease. With the net still empty, senior forward Erik Bargholtz broke free and scored off a pass from sophomore defenseman Ty Brassington with 33 seconds left to seal the 3-0 final.
Quinnipiac went 0-for-5 on the power play, failing to generate any sustained pressure with the man advantage despite multiple opportunities. Clarkson’s penalty kill swarmed the Bobcats on every attempt.
“They outcompeted us on their PK all night long,” Pecknold said. “We were frustrated. We made mistakes.”
Silverstein finished the night with 32 saves and kept the Bobcats within striking distance for nearly the entire game.
Soderwall earned the shutout for Clarkson, stopping all 24 shots he faced and keeping the Bobcats’ offense frustrated all night. Clarkson’s defense as a whole limited Quinnipiac to just seven shots on goal through the first two periods.
When asked what the Bobcats need to fix heading into Game 2, Pecknold kept his answer direct. “Everything,” he said. “We stunk. We’ve got to fix everything.”
Quinnipiac now finds itself in a must-win situation for Game 2 when the series continues Saturday, March 14, at M&T Bank Arena. Puck drop is set for 4 p.m.
