HAMDEN, Conn. — Quinnipiac came from behind Friday night after Holy Cross jumped out in front in the first period.
In a mirrored Saturday night game, the Crusaders gave up an early lead, only to see the Bobcats complete the weekend sweep with a 4-1 win.
The Crusaders kept the Bobcats silent in the first period and got themselves on the board first.
Quinnipiac goaltender Michael Garteig deflected a shot with his kneepad and with a crowd huddled in front of the net, Mike Barrett managed to get a close-range shot off. Adam Schmidt assisted on the play.
Though Holy Cross dominated the first period, the second belonged to Quinnipiac and Sam Anas, who notched his first of the frame 5:18 into the period when he took a hard shot from the faceoff circle that blew past Holy Cross goalie Matt Ginn.
A Tommy Dwyer cross-checking penalty set the stage for Anas’ second goal. On the power play, the Bobcats pressured Ginn and the defense and Anas managed to knock it in from just wide of the net.
The Bobcats weren’t done there, though.
Junior Bryce Van Brabant added a power-play goal with help from Kellen Jones and Travis St. Denis brought home an empty-netter as time wound down in the final frame.
The two-goal night for Anas gave him his fifth and sixth on the season and QU coach Rand Pecknold noticed his impact in the series.
“He’s been great,” Pecknold said. “He had a great weekend here and he’s kind of rounding out his game, learning how to compete. You know, we know he’s got the skill. He’s a great offensive kid.”
Despite his presence on offense in the form of goals for the Bobcats, Anas had no expectations about his play coming into his freshman year.
“I just want to be in the lineup and be an impact player,” Anas said. “Luckily, it’s been scoring goals, which is fun. If the next six games it’s getting six assists, then so be it.”
Despite giving up four goals, Ginn posted 45 saves Saturday night.
Holy Cross coach Paul Pearl said Ginn has been “solid” in net for the Crusaders, but the weekend series took a toll on his team.
“I just think they wore us down, a cumulative thing over the two nights,” Pearl said. “We’re playing a lot of the same guys a ton of minutes and after a while, they play a good thorough game and they’re physicality and their speed wore us a down a little bit, I think.”
Both Holy Cross and Quinnipiac move forward next weekend into conference play. Holy Cross hosts Sacred Heart and Quinnipiac hits the road to face Colgate and Cornell.
