Photo courtesy Quinnipiac Athletics
By: Kyle Levasseur
With three of the four teams already advancing to the next round of the ECAC tournament, it came down to game three of the quarterfinals series between Quinnipiac (27-3-7, 16-1-5 ECAC) and Cornell (16-11-7, 8-8-6 ECAC) to see who would be the last team to clinch. Quinnipiac’s 6-3 win over Cornell will have it join Harvard, St. Lawrence, and Dartmouth in Lake Placid, NY.
As evidence of the Bobcat’s 15 goals in the series, it was the offense that dominated. While some of the best players in the country comprise the first line, it was the team’s depth that led to it’s success.
“We think the strength of our team is our depth, and our ability to roll four lines,” associate head coach Bill Riga said. “I think in a series like this, rolling four lines is huge for us, it keeps us fresh, especially in a three game series.”
It didn’t take long for Quinnipiac to get on the board as Scott Davidson buried his sixth goal of the season just one minute and 10 seconds into the first period. The freshman wrapped around the net, with no pressure on him, and wristed it glove side past Cornell goalie Mitch Gillam.
Just 31 seconds later, Bo Pieper added to the Bobcats lead, scoring off a rebound from Connor Clifton. The sophomore would finish the game with two goals, doubling his season total.
Early in the second period, Cornell cut the deficit in half when a swarm of forwards rushed the net on a power play. Florida Panthers prospect, Matt Buckles, used his physicality to power the puck in for a goal.
The contest was starting to look remarkably similar to Game 2. In both games, the Bobcats jumped out to an early 2-0 lead on their first three shots and the Big Red started to come back.
In spite of the similarities, Quinnipiac made the necessary adjustments from the previous night.
“Well, we watched the video and saw some breakdowns,” Riga said. “They really did a good job bringing their high forward out and getting open, and we didn’t cover that very well, and tonight we made it a point to get out there and cover that.”
Quinnipiac added to its lead with three unanswered goals by Bo Pieper, Andrew Taverner and Sam Anas. The power play was rolling on all cylinders during one of the chippiest games of the season, as Taverner’s and Anas’ goals came on the man advantage.
“We knew coming into the series, it was going to be kind of a football game,” senior captain Soren Jonzzon said. “I think for us, it was just a matter of battling through, keeping our feet moving, using our speed, things like that. Today we were able to capitalize on the power play and it really helped us.”
The third period consisted of trading goals, as Cornell’s Eric Freschi scoring just under six minutes into the frame. With Quinnipiac’s lead cut to three, Cornell made a desperate effort to try and fight back. Head coach Mike Schafer pulled Gillam for an extra skater with about eight minutes left in the period. The plan backfired when Travis St. Denis scored an empty net goal. Despite a last minute goal by Jake Weidner, Cornell’s ECAC playoff run came to an end.
Quinnipiac now focuses on Dartmouth, the No. 7 seed fresh off a sweep of No. 2 Yale, Friday afternoon in the league’s first semifinal matchup.
Jonzzon, who has experience with the Lake Placid atmosphere, said a skate at that rink early in season will help the freshman.
“We skate there when we go up to Clarkson and St. Lawrence for our road trip up there, so they (the freshman) are kind of familiar with it which is nice because it would be kind of easy to get overwhelmed by the whole ‘Miracle 1980’ thing. But, I think having skated there will take away the shock value and let us focus on the game.”
Sam Anas, injured during last year’s trip is ready to play.
“I’m definitely excited I’ll be taking my equipment this trip, but we’re just looking forward to the experience. We’re going up there with one purpose, and that’s to win it all.”
Extras
Michael Garteig
While he did allow three goals, Garteig was key for Quinnipiac. He made the adjustments from Game 2 and wasn’t bothered by big Cornell bodies in front of the net. “Our goaltender was the best player on the ice. He was really the difference in the game,” Riga said.
Penalties
Both teams combined for 15 penalties, nine of which came from Cornell. Quinnipiac took advantage of the extra attacker by scoring two power play goals. The Bobcats were also much more disciplined Sunday with the lead in the third period.
