The Union Dutchmen did something no team has been able to do to the Quinnipiac Bobcats since 2007. They beat them after the Bobcats held a lead after two periods, something no one has done in 59 tries.
Justin Pallos scored the game-winning goal unassisted at 2:44 of overtime off of a turnover by Quinnipiac Bobcats defenseman Mike Dalhuisen to give the Union Dutchmen (20-7-3, 12-3-1 ECAC) a come-from-behind 3-2 overtime win over the Bobcats (13-11-5, 6-7-4 ECAC).
Dalhuisen turned the puck over in his own zone and lost control of the puck when he tried to make a pass out of the zone. Pallos scooped up the loose puck, deked left and then right and roofed the puck over sprawled out Bobcats goalie Eric Hartzell to seal the win.
The Bobcats had previously held the longest active unbeaten streak when leading after the second period in NCAA Division I men’s hockey, as they were 54-0-5 dating back to March 17, 2007 until giving up the goal in the third period and eventually losing to Union tonight.
Keith Kinkaid made 23 saves for Union in the win, his 19th win of the season. Eric Hartzell stopped 35 shots in the losing effort for the Bobcats.
The Bobcats let the game slip away as they lost a 2-1 lead going into the third period. Union defenseman Brock Matheson tied the game at 2-2, 1:39 into the third period on a goal assisted by Ryan Forgaard and Jeremy Welsh. Matheson, who was left all alone on the right doorstep, received a cross-ice pass from Welsh and quickly buried the puck into the back of the net to tie the score.
The Bobcats led twice in this game, 1-0 and then 2-1 before finally surrendering the game to the Dutchmen. Quinnipiac got on the board at 7:09 of the first period when Kellen Jones roofed a loose puck over Kinkaid. Jones’s back hander, assisted by his twin brother Connor Jones and captain Scott Zurevinski, was his sixth of the season.
Union came back in the second to tie the game when Wayne Simpson scored his 10th goal of the season from his brother John Simpson at 9:33 of the second period. The Bobcats quickly answered, though, when John Dunbar scored his fourth of the season at 12:26. Dunbar deflected a shot from the point from defenseman Mike Dalhuisen after Dalhuisen raced onto the ice after a Bobcats defender broke his stick.
The Bobcats’ defense blocked 28 shots for the game, jumping in front of Union shots time and time again and helping Hartzell stay on top of his game.
Quinnipiac drops to 0-2-5 in overtime games this season as Union improves 2-1-3.
