Photo Courtesy: Quinnipiac Athletics
While the final score might have read 0-0, lack of chances was not the story Saturday night between the Quinnipiac Bobcats (11-0-2, 4-0-2 ECAC) and the St. Lawrence Saints (8-3-2, 3-1-1 ECAC).
Rather the story can be found between the pipes with goaltenders Michael Garteig and Kyle Hayton playing statistically perfect games on either side of the net. While both teams had their chances to take the lead , neither goalie would budge in the crease.
The crowd was left shocked from many different saves in this game but Garteig’s most notable save of the game came in the second period.
The senior goaltender saved an initial shot by a St. Lawrence player and kept the rebound from going into the net by flinging his stick in the air and just getting a tip of the puck before it crossed the goal line.
The crowd couldn’t believe its eyes and neither could the ref’s as the play was reviewed and finally marked as no goal.
“I thought Garteig was excellent tonight,” Quinnipiac Head coach Rand Pecknold said. “Maybe the best game he’s ever played at Quinnipiac. He was awesome.”
Garteig had 36 saves to end the night and 61 to finish off the weekend.
While Garteig was able to keep the St. Lawrence in check defensively, Quinnipiac was slow to start the game. The Saints outshot the Bobcats 23- to-13 in the first two periods and had a wealth of chances in front of the Bobcats net.
Pecknold said the issue was his team wasn’t sticking to its identity.
“Guys were just going rogue, just doing whatever they wanted, and it’s not how we win,” he said. “So it was really disappointing.”
One aspect in particular the Bobcats struggled with was their neutral zone effort. Passes weren’t moving from tape-to-tape and the team struggled to get a forecheck going through the first two periods.
Quinnipiac did increase its offensive presence in the third period outshooting St. Lawrence 15-to-11.
The team started to look physically tired towards the end of the game having played five games in the past nine nights.
“I think our battle level needs to stay consistent and we need to be going 100 percent every shift and leaving it all out on the ice,” forward Landon Smith said after the game.
Quinnipiac is still unbeaten to start the season and will play the UMass Amherst Minutemen next weekend in a home-and-home series.
“We got a big chance to move forward, kind of get back on track here. We played a lot of games and a lot of nights here,” Garteig said after the game. “It’s just important we get back on track and focus on next week.”
