Quinnipiac extends season-best win streak to nine with 4-1 win over Union

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Peyton McKenzie

The Bobcats extended their season-best win streak to nine games by beating Union 4-1.

Zack Hochberg, Staff Writer
February 25, 2023

The No. 2 Quinnipiac men’s hockey team extended its season-best win streak to nine Friday night, defeating Union 4-1.

The Bobcat’s defense came ready to play, holding Union to zero shots on goal in the first period.

The visitors took advantage of their defensive efforts, as freshman defenseman Charles-Alexis Legault notched his second goal of the season, beating Union senior goaltender Connor Murphy from the right dot.

The two teams traded empty power-play opportunities midway through the period before Quinnipiac ultimately upped its lead to two with four minutes to play in the first.

Freshman forward Victor Czerneckianair won the face-off draw in the zone, as the puck made its way to the stick of senior forward Joey Cipollone, who powered it into the back of the net.

The tides changed in the second period, as the Bobcat’s defense finally let the Dutchmen have a few looks at the net.

It was Quinnipiac who added to its lead however, as junior defenseman Iivari Räsänen looked up to find graduate student forward Michael Lombardi for a wide-open shot on the backdoor, which he didn’t miss to make it 3-0 in favor of the visitors.

The Dutchmen thought they had gotten one back, but after the officials got together to look at the replay, they waved it off for goalie interference, much to the dismay of the home crowd.

Even though the Bobcats didn’t have much to play for after clinching the Cleary Cup last weekend, that didn’t take away from the intensity of the game. The two teams battled hard on the boards, and the two head coaches even exchanged words at one point.

The Dutchmen lit the lamp for the first and only time of the night midway through the third, when junior forward Tyler Watkins got himself wide open in the Bobcats’ zone before blasting a shot past sophomore goaltender Yaniv Perets into the top right corner.

With the Dutchmen trailing by two with three minutes remaining, they elected to pull their goaltender, something the Bobcats took full advantage of.

Following a face-off win in their zone, the Bobcats pushed the puck to mid-ice, creating a three-on-one which was finished by graduate student forward Ethan de Jong to cap off the Bobcat victory.

The No. 2 Bobcats will wrap up their historical regular season on Saturday at RPI at 7 p.m.