By: Kyle Levasseur
Disappointment. That was the feeling lingering in the air at High Point Solutions Arena, as Quinnipiac fans flooded out of the rink in the final minutes of Boston University’s 4-1 win over Quinnipiac. The No. 12 ranked Terriers (9-6-3) handed the No. 2 ranked Bobcats (15-1-2) their first loss of the season.
“As far as us, it’s disappointing. I obviously don’t want to lose to anybody, but I thought our effort tonight was poor, I think we lacked composure at times, I thought we panicked a lot, and just really overall lacked the commitment to doing what we need to do to play to our identity,” Quinnipiac Head Coach, Rand Pecknold, said after the game.
Assistant captain, Sam Anas, put Quinnipiac up early with a backhand goal off a Landon Smith takeaway, good for his team leading 10th goal of the year. However, the Bobcats couldn’t get anything else going offensively, especially during the power play, going 0-5.
“When we talk about our power play success, we don’t always talk about just scoring goals, it’s about gaining momentum, and creating pressure, and taking that momentum on for the rest of the game. We definitely had our chances, and some nights they go in and tonight they didn’t,” Quinnipiac forward Sam Anas said.
“I think we took too long to move pucks, it was just slow and sluggish. I mean we still had fifteen shots on net on the power play, so if we do a better job screening the goalie maybe one sneaks in.” Pecknold said.
Boston University Head Coach, David Quinn, earned his 47th career win, and possibly one of the biggest in his three years at Boston University.
“I’m just really proud of our guys. Is our record what we want it to be? No it’s not, but our makeup is and that’s more important than anything,” Quinn said.
Boston University came into Saturday night’s game after losing to Yale on Friday night, 3-2.
After allowing an early first period goal Terrier’s assistant captain, Matt Lane, scored a goal with five minutes left in the first period. Not only did this goal tie the game, but it snapped Michael Garteig’s scoreless streak at 209:21.
Boston University would go on to score three unanswered goals, one being an empty-netter in the last minute of play.
The backbone to Quinnipiac’s offense, Sam Anas, kept his head up saying, “In the end a team like them, that we’re going to see in the tournament. The pace of the game tonight was definitely very high tonight, and they have a lot of talent, so I think we got to remember what it’s like, and remember how to play against a team like this down the stretch.”
Quinnipiac’s next game is December 29 at Princeton, while Boston University’s next game is January 7 at Harvard.
What to take away from this game:
Pros for Quinnipiac:
- Sam Anas continues to play at a high level. After tallying the 100th point of his career last week, he continues to be one of the best in NCAA hockey. His goal tonight was a beauty, showing patience and finesse.
- The Bobcats head into their mid-season break and have time to rest. They looked tired tonight, and the next two weeks off should do them some good.
Cons for Quinnipiac:
- The power play looked awful tonight. No goals on five opportunities isn’t going to cut it against the No. 12 team in the country. When Anas, Travis St. Denis, Tim Clifton, Devon Toews, and Landon Smith are out on the ice, they need to execute.
- The second, third, and fourth lines looked lost on the ice. Thomas Aldworth couldn’t hold on the puck and Tim Clifton was nowhere to be seen, only recording two shots. This was very uncharacteristic of Quinnipiac, as it is one of the deeper teams in the league.