HAMDEN —  Quinnipiac men’s hockey surged past a physical Union squad off the back of a three-goal second period to take down the Garnett Chargers 3-1 Saturday afternoon. The Bobcats wrapped up the first half of the regular season with a weekend sweep to get over .500.

“I love Union’s team,” head coach Rand Pecknold said. “I think they’re really well coached. Josh (Hauge) does a great job. They’re a lot to handle. For us, we’ll take the win. I think there’s easier ways to win games that are less stressful.” 

It didn’t take long for the Bobcats to find themselves in the midst of another physical ECAC matchup. The Garnett Chargers came out of the tunnel hot, delivering big blows early on, one that sent junior forward Jeremy Wilmer face first into the boards. Pecknold challenged for a major penalty, but referees ruled no penalty after a lengthy review. 

“They play hard,” Pecknold said. “They’ve got some mean players, some tough kids, and that’s how they play every game. We knew that was going to happen, but I thought we struggled a bit in the first with them.”

While the Quinnipiac offense was still finding its footing against a tough Union defense, freshman goaltender Dylan Siverstein was keeping its offense at bay. After registering 17 saves Friday against RPI, the Calabasas, California native kept the momentum going during the matinee matchup. Silverstein made multiple sliding pad saves on breakaway chances to keep the game knotted at zero. 

“I thought he was the best player on the ice tonight,” Pecknold said. “He’s the reason we won a game. That’s what you need sometimes.” 

On the other end of the ice, the Bobcats were struggling to get going offensively — which wasn’t a good sign considering they had two chances on the man advantage. After going 2/5 Friday, Quinnipiac came up empty handed both times in the first frame, only registering three shots. 

“I thought we really matured and handled it well in the second and third,” Pecknold said. 

After a scoreless first frame, Union wasted no time getting on the board in the second — thanks to a little puck luck. 

Just 15 seconds into the period junior forward Nate Hanley went to retrieve the puck off the boards and flicked itback towards the front of the goal. Seemingly the hockey gods were on Hanley’s side as the puck bounced off graduate student defenseman Aaron Bohinger’s skate and snuck in between Silverstein’s skate and the left post to put Union on the board.

The Bobcats answered back four minutes later when freshman defenseman Braden Blace blasted home a shot through junior goaltender Kyle Chauvette to tie the game at one. The score marked Blace’s first collegiate goal. 

“Feels good, finally getting that one off my back,” Blace said. “Usually not the goal scoring type, but it’s always nice to get that first one.” 

The Garnett Chargers continued their trend of penalties as senior forward Josh Nixon got sent to the box for the second time Saturday, this time for holding, bringing down a Bobcat by the neck to the ice. 

After Nixon’s holding penalty the Bobcats finally were able to cash in on the man advantage. Graduate student forward Travis Treloar collected the puck at the redline off a feed from sophomore forward Mason Marcellus, putting the moves on Chauvette before tucking the puck underneath his left pad to give Quinnipiac a one-goal lead. 

The goal was Treloar’s second power play goal of the weekend. 

“There’s a lot of talent and skill on (the power play),” Treloar said. “I think we just started to simplify it a little bit, trying to shoot more.” 

Quinnipiac seemingly unlocked its offense in the second period as Victor Czerneckniar gave the Bobcats a two-goal cushion. The junior forward corralled a pass from freshman forward Ryan Smith off his skate before quickly snapping a shot towards the net that found twine. 

After the play, Smith was ejected for a butt-ending major penalty after the whistle, putting Quinnipiac on the penalty kill for the remainder of the second and the early stages of the third period. 

The Bobcats were able to survive the major without conceding a goal, but it wouldn’t be the last time they would find themselves down a goal in the third. 

“The kill was excellent,” Pecknold said. “A five minute major was tough. We just can’t do that stuff, but we killed it off. We just keep working and getting better, and we’re making progress.” 

Quinnipiac conceded three penalties in the third frame, putting it on its heels in its defensive zone for much of the third period. Union outshot the Bobcats 12-4, but thanks to Silverstein and some timely defensive plays, they held on until the final horn. 

Quinnipiac is back in action Dec. 29 at home when it takes on AIC. Puck drop set for 4 p.m.