Two David Marshall goals helped lead the Quinnipiac University Bobcats (2-2-0, 0-0-0 ECAC) to a 4-1 victory over the University of Connecticut Huskies (2-4-0, 2-0-0 AHA) in an intra-state matchup Saturday night at the TD Banknorth Sports Center.
Both teams were coming off of loses in their previous contests. Thursday evening, the Bobcats were defeated by Mass.-Lowell, 4-1, and were looking to get their record back to .500 with a win. The Huskies played ECAC Hockey member Union Friday night, losing 3-2 to the Dutchmen.
Connecticut took a lead midway through the first period with Stevie Bergin’s first goal of the season. Off a pass deep in the corner from Justin Hernandez, Bergin ripped a shot through traffic to beat Quinnipiac goaltender Nick Pisellini.
“We came out and had some pretty good energy in the beginning,” said Connecticut Coach Bruce Marshall. “In the second period, I thought we were really flat and played well in the third.”
The Bobcats tied it up just under six minutes into the second period on Scott Zurevinski’s first collegiate goal. Spencer Heichman fed Zurevinski for the one-timer at the 5:43 mark.
Quinnipiac took their first lead of the game two minutes later. On a delayed penalty call, David Marshall picked up a loose puck at the bottom of the right circle, deked a defenseman to break free and poked the puck through the pads of Beau Erickson.
“I was happy with our effort tonight,” said Quinnipiac Coach Rand Pecknold. “We competed hard for 60 minutes. UConn and Erickson played excellent. We played a good 60 minute hockey game.”
Brandon Wong gave the Bobcats a two-goal lead with a power-play tally. Standing in the slot, Wong corralled a pass from Leitch and went five-hole on Erickson.
Marshall tallied his second of the game when he banged home a rebound shot. The puck sat in the crease after a Zach Hansen shot from the blue line was deflected by Heichman, fell between the pads and sat in the crease. Erickson was unable to control the rebound and Marshall poked it home from the side of the net at 11:32 of the third.
“We gave up those power-play goals, which was frustrating,” said Marshall. “Their special teams were better then ours tonight.”
Connecticut Assistant Coach Joe Dumais is a former Quinnipiac hockey alumnus, having played for the Bobcats from 2002-2006. He served as an assistant captain his senior year.
“It’s good to be back and it’s exciting for me and for the team,” said Dumais. “I’ve definitely looked forward to the game and the season coming up.”
It was the first time the Bobcats have played the Huskies since Jan. 15, 2005, when Quinnipiac was a member of Atlantic Hockey.
The Bobcats are now 13-10-2 all-time versus the Huskies.
Quinnipiac will host Colgate and Cornell next weekend to open up conference play, while UConn will travel to Waltham, Mass., to play Bentley.
