The Bobcats continued their three-game losing streak, as the men’s ice hockey team fell to the Union Dutchmen in a 7-3 loss at Messa Rink in Schenectady, N.Y.
Quinnipiac fell behind early in the first period. Within the first five minutes of play, the Dutchmen’s defenseman Brock Matheson scored.
Union widened the gap between the scores when it scored its second goal of the evening. After a turnover in the neutral zone at 15:39 of the first period, Union’s Jason Walters received a pass from Mike Schreiber and made the score 2-0.
After Quinnipiac head coach Rand Pecknold replaced sophomore goaltender Dan Clarke with freshman Mathieu Cadieux, it seemed that the Bobcats were on their way to a comeback. Less than a minute after the change, the Bobcats scored their first goal when Mike Atkinson received the rebounded puck off a shot by Russell Goodman. Atkinson’s goal put Quinnipiac on the board, down by one.
The second period opened with the Bobcats still taking control. At 5:50 of the period, senior forward Greg Holt tied the game with assists by Scott Zurevinski and Clay Harvey.
The Dutchmen came back before the period ended with two goals of their own. The first came at the 8:52 mark with a goal by Christiansen, the second eight minutes later by Shaffer. Both goals were the firsts of the season for Christiansen and Shaffer. Jon Lareau was credited with the assists on both goals.
The two-goal lead increased when the third period started. Within one minute of the start of the period, forward Jeremy Welsh scored on the power play, putting the Dutchmen up three. This goal was answered by the Bobcats with one of their own, with a goal by Brandon Wong off a pass by Holt, who gained his second point of the game.
Union did not allow the Bobcats to close the gap as two more shots by the Dutchmen slipped by Cadieux. In the 17th minute of the period, goals by Mario Valery-Trabucco and Andrew Buote clinched the win for the Dutchmen as the score became 7-3 with Union in the lead.
The Bobcats (15-15-2, 9-11-0 ECAC Hockey) take on Brown on Friday, Feb. 26 at 7 p.m. at the TD Bank Sports Center.
