Four second period goals were enough to spring the Quinnipiac University Bobcats to an 8-3 decision over the Brown University Bears in ECAC Hockey action Friday evening.
It was the highest scoring output for the Bobcats this season. They had previously reached five goals nine other times, going 8-1 in those games.
“I thought my team played hard tonight and played with confidence,†said Quinnipiac head coach Rand Pecknold. “It’s something we’ve been lacking a little bit lately, but we played hard and the confidence was definitely there to make plays and that was a big difference for us.â€
Jean-Marc Beaudoin opened up the scoring for the Bobcats, just 2:38 into the opening stanza, when he poked home a loose puck in the crease past Brown’s Mike Clemente. Scott Zurevinski sent a pass from the neutral zone to Eric Lampe as he crossed the blue line. Lampe lost the puck as he went his backhand, but pushed it out front, where Beaudoin found it in the crease and put it in for the lead.
Brown (8-15-4 overall, 6-10-4 in the ECAC) evened the score with just over 11 minutes to go in the first when David Brownschilde redirected a puck past the left pad of Quinnipiac’s Dan Clarke. Jarred Smith stood at the bottom of the right circle and fired a shot through traffic that directed off the blade of Brownschilde and in to tie the score.
Quinnipiac (15-15-2, 9-11-0) retook the lead when Mike Atkinson broke free for a breakaway opportunity, with the initial shot saved by Clemente. Jeremy Langlois crashed the net to find the rebound and went through the five-hole to light the lamp at 15:21.
“I thought we got beat by a much better team tonight,†said Brown head coach Brendan Whittet. “We were prepared and ready to go, but they played a great game. Credit to them, they have great skill and beat us in most battles and we just looked like a weaker, softer hockey team.â€
Quinnipiac scored four straight goals to open the second before Brown answered with one of their own.
The Bobcats first goal came just 38 seconds into the second with Brandon Wong’s power play tally. Beaudoin ripped a shot in front of the net, saved by Clemente, but Wong poked the rebound home for Quinnipiac.
Spencer Heichman continued the goal streak for the Bobcats as he deked out Clemente at 4:56. D’Arcy Oakes came in on a 2-on-1 with Heichman and fed him for the opportunity. Heichman picked up the puck on his backhand went to his forehand and squeaked the puck past Clemente.
Just 21 seconds later, Ben Arnt added a goal that deflected off of his skate and through the five-hole of Clemente. Langlois sent a pass to the front of the net that deflected off the skate and in.
Dan Rosen replaced Clemente in net after the goal at the 5:17 mark of the second.
Zurevinski added a power-play goal midway through the second that beat Rosen through the five-hole. Loren Barron fed Greg Holt for the one-timer shot that Zurevinski deflected for the fourth goal of the period.
Francis Drolet ended the streak with a power-play goal, when he backhanded the puck past Clarke’s glove, with assists to Bobby Farnum and Sean McMonagle.
Langlois added his second goal of the game, when he beat Rosen under the bar with 11:01 left in the third. Then, Beaudoin added his second of the night with 9:43 remaining. Finally, Harry Zolnierczyk added a goal when he beat Clarke on the short side.
Quinnipiac clinched home-ice for the first round of the ECAC Hockey playoffs with the win and will either be the sixth or seventh seed.
Clarke made 26 saves in the victory, while Clemente made nine in the loss and Rosen, 14, in the non-decision.
