Quinnipiac Edges Dartmouth

The seventh ranked Quinnipiac University Bobcats defeated the No. 10 Dartmouth Big Green, 3-2 score, in the opening game of the ECAC postseason.

Jean-Marc Beaudoin registered a point on each of the Bobcats goals.

The first period was evenly matched as both teams exchanged blows, with Quinnipiac hitting the bar twice and Dartmouth getting quality scoring chances in the slot. Quinnipiac held a nine to eight advantage in shots.

Dartmouth (9-18-3) came out strong in the second scoring just 1:23 into the period. The Big Green cycled the puck behind the net, between line mates Dustin Walsh, Nick Walsh and Doug Jones. Dustin Walsh broke free from behind the net and found a seam between the post and glove side of Dan Clarke to the lead.

“In a short series, it’s not everything [to win game 1], but it’s a lot,” said Quinnipiac head coach Rand Pecknold. “We’re excited to have one under our belt, but we have to play better tomorrow night. I thought we were bad and flat. Our compete level was atrocious for most of the game. We have to play better than that.”

The Bobcats (18-15-2) had an opportunity after the goal to tie the score when they went on a five on three power play. Brandon Wong evened the game at one a piece when he roofed a puck past James Mello just as the first penalty was about to expire. Beaudoin sent a pass through the slot over to Wong, where he stood and popped the puck under the bar at 5:12.

Quinnipiac took their first lead of the game when Eric Lampe lit the lamp just five minutes into the third. Beaudoin again set up the goal when he stood inside the right circle and fed Lampe on the backdoor. Lampe corralled the puck with his skate and maneuvered it to his stick and beat Mello on the ice to go up 2-1.

Beaudoin added his third point of the night with a power play goal. Lampe sent the puck in where Wong picked it up in the corner and fed the pass to Beaudoin for the goal, past a sprawling Mello at 9:33.

“It was a good game,” said Dartmouth head coach Bob Gaudet. “Both teams battled hard and it was a good college hockey game. The five on three hurt us. It’s like an automatic goal. They made a nice backdoor pass.”

On the goal, both Beaudoin and Lampe reached 100 career points in a Quinnipiac uniform. They are the 17th and 18th players in Quinnipiac Division-I history, to reach that feat.

Beaudoin now has nine points in his last three games.

With just over one minute remaining, Dartmouth cut the deficit to one with a power play, extra attacker goal. With the goalie pulled, the Big Green played tic-tac-toe with the puck connecting on three straight passes to set up the goal. Scott Fleming was the recipient of the third pass when he banged home the puck one the open side of the net. Matt Reber found Evan Stephens at the point who fed Fleming for the goal at 18:41 of the third.

“We had the power play and tried to get a shot through and outnumber them in front to chip one in,” said Gaudet. “We had some chances and made a great play to score the power play goal.

The teams split their regular season series, each winning on home ice.

Since joining the league in 2006-2007, Quinnipiac is now 9-1 all-time in the opening round of the ECAC Hockey tournament.