Video by: M.J. Baird
Written by: Kyle Levasseur
Follow @kyle_levasseur
With 7:24 left in the third period, Quinnipiac goaltender Andrew Shortridge turned around in shock to find the game winning goal in the back of the net.
Cornell’s Morgan Barron took a shot that deflected off a Big Red player in front, causing the puck to redirect into the air and float flawlessly into the net with Shortridge unaware of where the puck landed.
Despite a late game surge, No. 11 Quinnipiac fell to No. 18 Cornell 2-1 in its Eastern College Athletic Conference opener.
Quinnipiac captain, Chase Priskie, did not use Cornell’s odd goal as an excuse for the loss.
“(The goal) was a fluke, but when you play hard hockey, pucks go your way and that’s what happened for (Cornell),” Priskie said.
While the Bobcats sported a 3-1-1 record against Hockey East teams in nonconference play, head coach Rand Pecknold was clear that ECAC play did not start the way he wanted.
“I don’t want to talk about that right now,” Pecknold said when asked about what Quinnipiac needs to improve on moving forward. “I think we could be here an hour if we’re going to talk about what we need to get better. We got to play better. We had some kids who just didn’t play well tonight, that struggled in certain areas.”
Cornell has been one of the most successful programs in the ECAC, making it to the ECAC Hockey Championship weekend seven times in the last 10 years, more than any other team. The Big Red are now 3-0-0 on the year after sweeping Alabama Huntsville to open the season.
“They’re just a big team,” Priskie said. “They commit to playing their style of game and they don’t deviate from that, and that’s what makes them successful. I think when we do the same thing, we become a very successful team and that’s not what we did tonight. We need to communicate better, we need to make better passes. I think just overall we need to step our game up if we want to win games in the ECAC.”
One bright spot for Quinnipiac was freshman Matt Forchuk, who scored the first goal of his career. Forchuk’s goal came just under two minutes after Cornell’s game winner, and sparked a late game push for Quinnipiac.
“It’s been a few games so to get the first one out of the way, obviously it feels good,” Forchuk said. “I just think I need to play with pace and obviously get pucks deep and work them down low. It’s part of our game, and obviously play well defensively and contribute when I can.”
Quinnipiac will look to win its first conference game Saturday night vs Colgate at 7 p.m.
AROUND THE ECAC:
No. 3 Harvard upset in rivalry game vs Yale 5-2
Bulldogs goalie Sam Tucker stood tall making 33 of 35 saves against one of the most potent offenses in the country. Five different Yale players scored against Harvard’s Merrick Madsen, who was the preseason All-ECAC goalie. Yale improves to 2-1 in the ECAC, while Harvard falls to 1-1. Expect the Crimson to relinquish their ranking of third best in the country.
Clarkson boosted by hat trick in 5-0 win vs RPI
The Golden Knight’s sophomore, Sheldon Rempal, scored his fifth, sixth and seventh goals of the season against RPI. Rempal now leads the conference in points (13) and goals (7). That’s also good for third in the NCAA in points and second in goals. On the other hand, the Engineers are still looking for their first ECAC win, as they drop to 0-3.
Colgate and Princeton each get a point in scoreless tie
It was a battle of two goaltenders as neither the Raiders nor Tigers could break the impenetrable walls that were Colton Point and Ryan Ferland. Princeton’s Ferland finished the day with 36 saves, while Colgate’s Point topped that with a career high 43 saves. Point is now 3-0-4 in seven games with a 1.09 GAA and .964 SV%.
Union improves to 3-0-0 in ECAC, defeating St. Lawrence 3-1
Despite losing Mike Vecchione and Spencer Foo, the Dutchmen haven’t lost a step through three games in conference play. Their past linemate, Sebastian Vidmar, scored on the power play for the game winning goal.
Dartmouth edges out Brown 4-3
Despite the Big Green owning a 3-0 lead, Brown fought back to lose by one. Kevan Kilistoff scored twice to give Dartmouth it’s first ECAC win of the season. Brown now falls to 1-2 in ECAC play after splitting against Yale.
