Troubled by penalties and an inconsistent offense, the Quinnipiac Bobcats lost their first ECAC game of the season to the Colgate Raiders on Friday by a score of 1-0.
The Raiders (4-1-0) were coming off a 6-3 exhibition win against the University of Ottawa and are now 3-1 all-time at the TD BankNorth Sports Center. The Bobcats fall to 2-3-0 with the loss and 3-6-2 against Colgate all-time.
The teams registered a total of 32 penalties on the night, with five of them coming during a fight after the final buzzer. Quinnipiac had more time in the penalty box, racking up 18 penalties to the Raiders’ 14. Head Coach Rand Pecknold said the penalties were a huge factor in breaking up the flow of the game.
“We have to do a better job adjusting to what the officials are going to call,” Pecknold said. “We need to stay out of the [penalty] box.”
Throughout the game, both teams were unable to capitalize on power plays. Quinnipiac had a strong chance to score with 9:00 left in the first period. Colgate drew two penalties and saw themselves on the wrong end of a five-on-three power play. The Bobcats could not do anything with the advantage and the game remained scoreless.
“I thought we stood around a lot when we had that five-on-three,” Pecknold said. “Colgate worked and we really struggled.”
With 11:17 remaining in the third quarter, the Raiders finally broke through with a five-on-three power play goal. After several shots were deflected by Bobcats goalie Nick Pisellini, Raiders’ sophomore Francois Brisebois shot the puck over a prostrate Pisellini for the winning goal.
Pisellini was the star of the game for the Bobcats, registering 25 saves and dazzling with his glove work. The freshman is taking everything in stride, crediting his teammates for his success.
“The defense was unbelievable,” Pisellini said. “I have the whole team behind me.”
Pecknold is unsure whether Pisellini will remain his starter, but admitted senior Bud Fisher is still struggling. Pisellini has shined in the three games he has started, putting up a 1.07 goals-against average in 224 minutes. He is currently ranked third in the nation with a .955 save percentage.
“He’s a great kid,” said Pecknold. “He’s a true freshman, which is unusual.at the college level.”
