Deja vu struck again as Quinnipiac dominated yet another game — pumping over 40 shots on goal — while still finding a way to lose 1-0 to Cornell.

Despite the regulation loss, Yale defeated Clarkson in overtime, which means that Quinnipiac at minimum will be co-champions of ECAC Hockey. The Bobcats currently hold a three-point lead in the conference, and reaching overtime against Colgate will solidify back-to-back Cleary Cups.

Quinnipiac (27-5-3, 16-4-1 ECAC Hockey) played exactly how it intended to, by controlling the puck and pace of play as well as taking over the shot share. However, a first-period power-play goal by junior forward Jack Malone gave Cornell (16-8-4, 11-6-4 ECAC Hockey) the only goal it needed to secure the win.

“I thought our guys played really well,” head coach Rand Pecknold said. “Yaniv (Perets) was great again. We played great. That was really one of our better games of the year. We just couldn’t score.”

In a game where a regulation win for Quinnipiac would clinch the Cleary Cup and first seed in the ECAC Hockey playoffs, Cornell’s freshman goaltender Ian Shane stood on his head, stopping all 42 shots he faced. In the two games against Quinnipiac, Shane saved 75 of the 76 shots against.

Not only did Shane stop everything in sight, but the defense in front of him blocked an additional 25 shots.

Defensively, Quinnipiac locked down Cornell, limiting it to just 17 total shots, only allowing two shots in the final frame. Freshman goaltender Yaniv Perets put on another display in net, stopping 16 of 17 shots, but bailed out Quinnipiac multiple times in the first and second periods.

At the other end, once again, the Bobcats failed to convert on the power play, even receiving one late in the third period with less than five minutes to go.

Outside of the late power-play goal against Yale in an already decided game, Quinnipiac is 2-for-26 (7.7%) on the man-advantage over its last 10 games. It’s tough to win one-goal games with a power play that is essentially powerless.

The game itself contained an ample amount of physicality with massive body checks delivered all over the rink. Scrums and post-whistle altercations occurred throughout the game, which was expected for this matchup between conference foes battling for playoff seeding.

Once the final buzzer sounded, mayhem broke out. Each skater for Cornell and Quinnipiac contributed to a full-line brawl. Helmets and punches were thrown, while others were tackled to the ice or put in headlocks. As the officials attempted to separate the players, an abundance of choice words floated up to the press box.

Here's the brawl that took place to end the game.

You could see it coming with all the scrums that occurred throughout the game. @QUHockeyBlog spot on with this being QU's biggest rivals.#ECACHockey@QUChronSports | @QUChronicle pic.twitter.com/gmzjccv9DM

— peter piekarski (@PiekarskiPeter) February 26, 2022

Controlling emotions is difficult following a loss like this, but Quinnipiac will need to gather itself within the next 20 hours as Colgate comes to town. The Cleary Cup is ripe for the Bobcats’ taking.