Junior Jay Binkowski’s third goal of the game proved to be the game-winner, breaking an 11-11 tie with just 40 seconds remaining, giving the Bobcats a 12-11 victory over the Binghamton Bearcats Saturday at Quinnipiac Field Hockey & Lacrosse Turf Complex.
The win gave the Bobcats their first victory of the season after losing six consecutive games. Deep in the offensive zone, Binkowski juked around a Bearcat defender before burying the hat trick goal.
“We knew we had limited time, but we wanted to make sure we had a good shot and we didn’t want to settle for just anything,” Binkowski said.
The Bobcats will look to take the momentum into league play as they open up their Northeast Conference season at Mount St. Mary’s in Emmitsburg, Md. on Saturday afternoon.
“It was probably the most complete four quarter effort that we’ve had all year,” Quinnipiac head coach Eric Fekete said.
Freshman Michael Sagl led the Bobcats with a game-high four goals on six shots. Matt Diehl and Brendan Wilbur added four points each while Diehl posted a goal and three assists and Wilbur added two goals and two assists.
The Bobcats had three goals in the final five minutes as Brandon Kuring and Pat Corcoran scored to go up by one goal. But the Bearcats would not go down without a fight, as J.T. Hauck scored with almost a minute left. Binkowski’s late goal proved to be the difference as the Bearcats could not get possession of the ball to muster one last offensive rush.
Quinnipiac once led by five goals, but found itself trailing in the fourth quarter before coming back.
“To get up that early, and fall behind and be able to jump back and get the win you know 10-10, 11-11 and 11-12 and comeback. I’m really proud of them,” Fekete said.
After a slow start last week at Hartford, Quinnipiac came out on fire as Sagl scored two goals in the opening three minutes. Binkowski then made the score 3-0 after capitalizing when Binghamton goaltender, Jordan Marra was out of the net. Binkowski corralled a bouncing ball near the defensive zone, before racing up the right side just short of the midway line and firing a line drive into the open net.
“They did a 10-man ride in and when they do that the goalie is coming out,” Binkowski said. “Everyone was saying shoot and I saw the open net and we practice that sometimes and I buried it.”
The Bobcats would not let up on the offensive end as they scored four of the game’s next six goals for a 7-2 lead with 11:19 left in the first half. Wilbur, Sagl, and Diehl found the back of the cage during the scoring run.
Binghamton wouldn’t go away, as they netted five of the next seven goals, including scoring their seventh goal of the half with just 11 seconds left. Second leading scorer, Tyler Perrelle scored cutting the deficit to 9-7 at halftime. Binkowski scored his second goal of the game, while Sagl added his fourth goal for the Bobcats.
The Bearcats carried the momentum into the second half, scoring the next three goals to tie take the lead at 10-9, as J.T. Hauck and leading scorer Michael Antinozzi scored for the Bearcats. Hauck had a hat trick on the day for Binghamton. Quinnipiac scored three of the next four, including Binkowski’s eventual game-winner.
Bearcats sophomore Michael Antinozzi scored two goals in the game, giving him 25 for the season, which is second in the country.
The Bobcats were playing without the services of third-leading scorer, Basil Kostaras, who currently has 12 points on the season.
“Not having Basil is a big downfall for us,” Binkowski said. “He’s not only a great shooter but a great player, and on the field he’s a leader and everyone knows what is going on when he is out there.”
Freshman Dylan Torey stopped nine shots between the pipes earning his first career win. Binghamton’s Marra turned away seven shots.
