Photo credits: Caiti Kaminski
After defeating Union in five overtimes Friday night, Quinnipiac was looking to punch its ticket to the ECAC Hockey Semifinals with a win Saturday night. Instead, the Bobcats fell to the Dutchmen, 3-1, and will play in another decisive Game 3 on Sunday.
“We were exhausted,” Quinnipiac head coach Rand Pecknold said. “Both teams were. An event like a five-overtime game will do that, but you have to be ready to battle. I think that Union did a better job of that tonight.”
It took Quinnipiac three games to dispose of Dartmouth last weekend, so the Bobcats’ endurance will be tested once again.
Adam Presizniuk led the way for the Dutchmen with two goals. Presizniuk’s first goal came on a power play just less than six minutes into the first to give Union a 1-0 lead, ending Bobcat goalie Dan Clarke’s shutout streak at 145 minutes 41 seconds. The streak is the third longest in Quinnipiac’s Division 1 history.
The Bobcats tied the game with just less than three minutes left in the first on Brandon Wong’s tip in. Greg Holt fired a shot from the point that Wong redirected past Dutchmen goalie Corey Milan. But it was the only one Milan let through. The Bobcats continued to have chances to score but Milan let nothing through.
With two and a half minutes left in the first, the Dutchmen took the lead for good on a goal by Luke Cain. Presizniuk scored his second of the game 1:17 into the third. His breakaway goal sealed the win, with Milan stopping everything the Bobcats shot at him.
The Bobcats and Dutchmen conclude their best-of-3 series with the deciding game Sunday at 7 p.m. in Schenectady, N.Y.
