Photo Courtesy: Quinnipiac Athletics
By: MJ Baird
From the moment the rubber hit the ice signaling the beginning of the first period, the Quinnipiac men’s ice hockey team dominated Brown in most facets of the first round ECAC playoff game.
The Bears spent only five days away from the TD Bank Sports Center between last weekend’s regular season finale and this weekends first round of the postseason.
Yet, the story was one in the same: Brown wasn’t prepared for Quinnipiac’s intensity, losing 6-1 in the first game of the best of three series.
Quinnipiac came out firing on all cylinders in the first few minutes of each period, but perhaps most importantly the first minute of the game.
“We talked a lot about playing 60 minutes tonight which we did,” Pecknold said. “I thought we did a really good job of being in attack mode and hunting and pressuring the puck.”
Freshman Alex Whelan didn’t take his starting shift for granted, knocking in a rebound just 32 seconds into the game to give the Bobcats a 1-0 lead. Whelan sparked a lead that the Bobcats would never relinquish, rattling off six unanswered goals.
“I thought we had good jump and good energy,” Pecknold said. “I thought in general we needed to establish ourselves and that got us going tonight.”
Often times it is upperclassmen that lead the charge come playoff time. It’s experience that conquers all.
For Quinnipiac, this was the case.
The Bobcats had a freshman goaltender in net for a playoff game for the first time since 2006. Yet they made sure that Andrew Shortridge felt as comfortable as possible in his first playoff start between the pipes, allowing only one goal and making 19 saves.
“Goal support is huge,” Shortridge said. “As soon as the boys get going and get scoring it makes me feel a lot more confident. There is that little cushion.”
Picking up his tenth win of the season, Shortridge also became the first freshman goaltender to win a playoff game for Quinnipiac in the ECAC. The brighter the lights, the more the freshman shines.
“Playoff hockey is a different atmosphere,” he said. “It’s a lot more intense, and honestly it’s a lot more fun.”
Junior Landon Smith stretched Quinnipiac’s lead to two goals halfway through the first frame, becoming only the fourth Bobcat to reach double digits in the goal category with 10 on the season.
After the first 20 minutes, things only got worse for Brown. Quinnipiac racked up four more goals over the course of the final 40 minutes, including three off the sticks of seniors.
“We’ve been around for three years. We’ve been through a lot,” senior assistant captain Tim Clifton said. “We’ve been to a lot of playoffs. I think it is important that we kind of get the energy up for the younger guys.”
Friday seemed like a night where nothing could go wrong for the Bobcats. The penalty kill was a perfect 5-for-5 and the defensive zone breakouts were nearly flawless all night. The power play converted once on three chances, and the Bobcats showcased six different goal scorers on the night.
Quinnipiac picked up its seventeenth 20-win season in program history, and its sixth in a row, dating back to the 2011-2012 season.
Quinnipiac and Brown take the ice again on Saturday for the second game of the first-round series: the same time, and the same place.
“I thought we were physical and hard but in the end I think it’s more about us being relentless on the puck and finishing our checks,” Pecknold said. “Definitely our guys were focused tonight and tomorrow it’s going to be tougher.”
The Quinnipiac senior class will attempt to pick up its 100th win wearing blue and gold.
