In the final seconds of regulation, in a 2-2 deadlock with Colgate, Quinnipiac’s Jeremy Langlois had a chance to end the game. In perfect position off a rebound from goalkeeper Eric Mihalik, Langlois slapped the puck towards the open net but hit the crossbar, sending the game into overtime at the TD Bank Highpoint Solutions Arena.
Rather than hanging their heads, however, the Quinnipiac men’s ice hockey team (4-3-1, 1-0-0) bounced back in overtime on Friday night and defeated the Raiders behind Russell Goodman’s second goal of the night.
Only 1:22 into the extra period Goodman blasted the puck past Mihalik and gave the Bobcats a win in their first conference action of the 2012-13 season. Clay Harvey was credited with the assist.
“Harvey, my winger, kind of had a step on the D,” Goodman recalled afterwards. “He put the puck on net, and I saw it just sitting there. I just took a whack at it and it went in.”
“I thought we played great tonight,” Quinnipiac head coach Rand Pecknold said after the game. “We played really hard, and were definitely deserving of this win. Colgate is an excellent hockey team, and to out shoot a team like that is pretty impressive. We want to play like this every game, I think we could have beaten anyone in the country tonight.”
The game’s first three goals came quickly in a 2-minute span midway through the first period. With 11:52 remaining, Goodman netted his first goal of the season off a shot rebound to put the home team up 1-0. The goal was also Quinnipiac’s first power-play goal thus far this season.
The lead would not last long, though, as Colgate’s Spiro Goulakos, with an assist from Ryan Johnston, tied the game 1-1 just 17 seconds later with a goal of his own. The Raiders rode that momentum and scored again with 10:21 left in the period when Thomas Larkin found the back of the net off a rocket from the point.
After many great attempts throughout the second period Quinnipiac finally got the goal they needed with 2:50 left. Off a cross from Zack Currie forward Loren Barron blew a slapshot past Mihalik to tie the game at 2-2.
Quinnipiac goalkeeper Eric Hartzell made eight saves on the night, while his counterpart, Mihalik, made 34. Quinnipiac out shot Colgate 37-10.
“We were doing all the little things right tonight,” Goodman added. “We were working hard, putting pucks on net, and we were really solid defensively. We played well as a team. It was our hockey game to win and we did.”
The Bobcats met Colgate (4-5-1, 0-2-1) in Cape Cod earlier this season prior to tonight’s matchup on October 27, when they lost 5-1.
With the win Quinnipiac moves to 12-12-2 all-time against the Raiders. They are back in action tomorrow night at home where they will host Cornell at 7 p.m.
