CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Following Friday’s disappointing tie to Dartmouth, Quinnipiac head coach Rand Pecknold went to work, making significant changes across the board. Whether it was mixing the lines or reorganizing the power play, the Bobcats rekindled their fire to take down Harvard 6-0 in dominating fashion Saturday night. 

“It’s always nice to have one of these nights,” junior forward Christophe Fillion said. “We have a young team so I think it’s going to take a couple games before we get to that level I think we can play at.”

With goals coming from all four forward lines and sophomore defender Charles Alexis-Legault — who Pecknold moved into the first defensive pairing — the Bobcats resembled their national champion-self for the first time this season. 

“(Quinnipiac) did what Quinnipiac does,” Harvard head coach Ted Donato said. “They play a mature game, they keep pucks in your zone … they tied up pucks in the neutral zone. If you’re not committed as a group … there’s a reason they score six goals.”

The most notable change Pecknold made came from the first line, with junior forward Jacob Quillan moving down to center the second line, marking the first time he wasn’t paired with sophomore forward Sam Lipkin. 

“We’ve been struggling … with a bunch of injuries and just trying to find the right combinations,” Pecknold said. “We’re just trying to balance the lines a little bit.” 

It was clear once the puck was dropped in Cambridge that the changes made in the last 24 hours seemed to click for the Bobcats. Through the first 10 minutes of the opening frame, Quinnipiac applied relentless pressure in the offensive zone, piling on 12 shots on goal. The best chances came from Fillion who ripped a shot from just outside the crease, and junior forward Christophe Tellier who fired a breakaway shot from the slot. 

Despite the constant pressure, Harvard senior goaltender Derek Mullahy stood strong in net, making a total of 35 saves on the night. However, the Bobcats didn’t take much longer to break through as Fillion went five-hole off a feed from Tellier to start the scoring with less than five minutes to go in the period. 

“We juggled the lines a little bit from yesterday,” Fillion said. “I got to play with my buddy Tellier who I’ve played with the last couple years. It’s good to get the offense going, and everyone was going tonight.” 

The second period saw more back-and-forth play with both teams trading off penalties, and the goaltending keeping the game tight. Senior goaltender Vinny Duplessis was solid in the limited action near his net, and registered his first shutout as a Bobcat. The Quebec native was also playing in his first game back in Boston since transferring from BU. 

“I love being here … I love Boston,” Duplessis said. “Obviously getting a shutout, getting a win is great anywhere.” 

Nearing the end of the second frame Quinnipiac found twine again as sophomore forward Anthony Cipollone took the puck coast-to-coast and buried a wrist shot to the right of Mullahy to stretch the lead to two. 

As the third period began the Bobcats didn’t take their foot off the gas. In the opening minutes, freshman forward Andon Cerbone made a couple slick stick moves to free himself from a defender, feeding it to Legault, who fired it home from the blue-line. 

“I think there were things we weren’t doing at the beginning on the season that we did really well tonight,” Fillion said. “We just got to keep that up no matter who we play against.” 

Quillan inserted himself into the scoring later in the period when freshman forward Mason Marcellus sauced him a pass that he ripped from the right-dot. 

With fans headed for the exits the Bobcats decided to put a pair of exclamation marks on their first ECAC win. Sophomore center Victor Czerneckianair hurled a puck towards the net that was deflected in off the stick of Fillion for his second goal of the day. 

“(Czerneckianair) was great,” Pecknold said. “Definitely his best game of the season, and probably the best game of his career.” 

As a nightcap on Saturday’s drubbing Cerbone fired a shot from the right-dot top-shelf past Mullahy for the Bobcats’ lone power play goal. 

“The captain and the assistants were kind of honest and rallied us together,” Duplessis said. “We found a way to bounce back, and I thought we played amazing tonight.” 

Quinnipiac will now return home for a pair of conference games against Brown and Yale. Puckdrop versus Brown is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Nov. 10.