Despite earning seven power plays Sunday evening, the Quinnipiac men’s ice hockey team dropped their exhibition match-up to Acadia, 2-0. Forward Connor Jones and freshman Alex Barron each took three shots on the day. Acadia’s Michael Ward scored two goals.
“Coming off a big win against Maine, our guys took the game lightly today,” Quinnipiac head coach Rand Pecknold said. “I give Acadia a lot of credit. They wanted to win the hockey game, we just kind of put our skates on and went out there.”
The Bobcats were unable to score on any one of their power plays Sunday, including 1:46 of a 5-on-3. Meanwhile, Acadia went 1-for-4 on its end, the teams conversion coming on Mike Dalhuisen’s boarding major.
“We wanted to get some of our freshmen some games,” Pecknold said. “All three goalies got some time over the weekend. We needed to play better in front of Jake. We didn’t play very well in front of him.”
Acadia’s forecheck and defense came out strong in the first period, limiting Quinnipiac to only five shots on goal through the first 17 minutes. The Axemen totaled 10 shots on goal throughout the first period.
Acadia hit the twine for the first time at 11:03 in the second period on Ward’s first goal. Ward skated around the back of the net and fired the puck at a poor angle. Yet, Jacob Meyers wasn’t covering the post, and the puck hit the top shelf for the 1-0 Axemen lead.
Later in the second period, Dalhuisen laid a controversial body check on Axemen Liam Heelis. A fight ensued, and Dalhuisen received a game misconduct. Heelis was also slapped with a 10-minute misconduct.
Acadia took advantage of Dalhuisen’s major 1:43 in the third period. Ward stationed himself in front of the net, and was fed the puck from behind the goal. Ward slapped the pass by Meyers for a one-timer goal, and a 2-0 Axemen lead.
The Bobcats had their best scoring chance late in the third in the 13th minute. Jones received a pass while skating to the side of the net. Jones missed an open left side, shooting the puck above the crossbar and off the boards.
Starting goaltender Michael Garteig registered 13 saves, while Jacob Meyers notched five. Quinnipiac and Acadia each took 20 shots-on-goal.
“I think Michael Garteig was probably the one highlight,” Pecknold said. “I think he played great in the 30 minutes he played. He was outstanding.”
Quinnipiac squares off against non-conference Robert Morris next weekend in a two game set. Faceoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. Oct. 13 and 12 p.m. Oct. 14.
