HAMDEN, Conn. — For the fourth time in six games this season, Quinnipiac men’s hockey needed overtime to decide a winner. And for the third time in those four, the Bobcats came up empty in the extra period, dominated by Maine for almost four minutes before the Black Bears sank the winner to win 2-1 Friday night.
Sophomore defenseman Brandon Chabrier netted the game-winning tally for Maine, a play set up by dominating puck possession by senior forward Lynden Breen.
“Lynden Breen, in three-on-three, he just tends to have the puck the whole time,” Black Bears head coach Ben Barr said. “He kind of drove that, and then once you get (the puck) and get them tired, then you just kind of grind and hopefully, eventually, you find the back of the net.”
“They were outstanding,” Quinnipiac head coach Rand Pecknold said. “Especially (Breen), he was outstanding, that whole line in overtime.”
The game started on a somber note, with a moment of silence for the victims of Wednesday’s mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine, roughly 117 miles from Maine’s campus.
“That’s a big win for our team,” Barr said. “Especially given the circumstances.”
Quinnipiac pressured well to start the game, but it was the Black Bears who struck first. A scramble in front of the net put the puck through the legs of Bobcats freshman goaltender Matej Marinov for Maine senior forward Donavan Villeneuve-Houle to slam home on the doorstep.
It was Marinov’s second-straight start for Quinnipiac, despite being pulled after giving up three goals within the first five minutes of his last appearance, an Oct. 21 loss to New Hampshire. He made 27 saves in the loss.
“Matej played well,” Pecknold said. “He probably wants that last one back.”
Maine carried its lead into the locker room and through half of the second period despite several grade-A chances for the Bobcats.
Freshman forwards Mason Marcellus and Andon Cerbone each had time alone with Black Bears senior netminder Victor Ostman, but neither found the back of the net. Marcellus mishandled the puck after drawing Ostman out of position, and Cerbone couldn’t convert after an elite move to cut net-front.
Just past the midway mark of the middle frame, that changed. A well-centered pass from graduate student forward Zach Tupker found junior forward Christophe Fillion in the slot, who beat Ostman blocker-side high to tie the game at one.
But any momentum the Bobcats’ generated was slowed by undisciplined play. Quinnipiac took four penalties in the final two periods combined, nearly falling behind again after a Maine power play shot hit the right post and bounced out.
Although both sides had several quality looks in the third period, neither team scored until the overtime, where the Bobcats ran out of gas and misplayed pucks, allowing Maine to walk all over them.
“We’ve got to find a way to be better, it’s certainly a frustrating loss at home,” Pecknold said. “The overtime, I would call it a disaster.”
The two teams are back in action for game two of the series in Hamden Saturday. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m.
