HAMDEN — Quinnipiac’s winning streak against rival Yale now stands at 17 games after its 4-1 win Friday night.
The word “rivalry” should be used lightly when it comes to the Battle of Whitney Ave. Perhaps the word “battle” is a little extreme as well, because when these rivals play, the Bobcats have been dominant as of late.
Yale’s last win over Quinnipiac was in 2018, and its last win on the road on Quinnipiac’s ice was in 2011. Flash-forward to 2025, the Bobcats sit atop the ECAC conference with 20 wins, having already clinched a home game in the first round of the playoffs. Yale remains last, with only six wins this season.
This decisive win over the last-place opponent adds to the momentum of a team already gaining steam, following 7-2 and 6-2 victories over Union and RPI respectively. Here are four takeaways from the performance.
Control down low creates chances
The fans in the student section didn’t need to look much farther than Yale’s goal line to see Quinnipiac’s dominance. Right on the other side of the glass along the boards, the Bobcats quickly established their presence.
Graduate defenseman Cooper Moore’s puck control in the corner early in the first period, a play in which he was knocked off his feet and was able to regain them while keeping the puck on his stick, should have been a warning sign to Yale’s bench.
Quinnipiac’s cycle — including drop, behind the back and wrap-around passes — had the Bulldogs chasing the puck in their own zone and eventually led to the Bobcats’ second goal, when freshman forward Tyler Borgula dropped the puck behind Yale’s net, leaving it for graduate student forward Jack Ricketts to tap past Yale’s sophomore goaltender Jack Stark.
Neutral zone passing builds offense
At times in this game, it seemed as if Quinnipiac had magnets on its sticks in the neutral zone. The passing was pinpoint and continuously provided it with not only zone entry opportunities, but odd man rushes as well.
After good puck movement through the middle of the ice, Quinnipiac’s top forward line of junior Jeremy Wilmer, graduate student Travis Treloar and freshman Aaron Schwartz entered Yale’s zone on a three-on-two rush. Treloar’s wrist shot beat Stark high, putting Quinnipiac up 2-0 in the first period.
The same line continued to attack in the second period, when a stretch pass out of Quinnipiac’s zone was tipped by sophomore forward Andon Cerbone to a streaking Wilmer at Yale’s blue line. Wilmer put on a clinic for skating with the puck, entering the offensive zone and spinning before a backhand shot put Quinnipiac up 3-0.
“I had speed coming through the neutral zone,” Wilmer said. “Bones (Cerbone) made a nice play.”
Rebounds in front could be costly
With two sophomores playing the bulk of the minutes, Quinnipiac’s age has shown in net this season. Sophomore goaltender Matej Marinov allowed rebounds on multiple Yale shots that bounced off his chest and back into the slot, providing the Bulldogs with second-chance opportunities.
These inconsistencies corralling rebounds didn’t cost Quinnipiac against Yale but could be a problem come the ECAC playoffs. With three games remaining on the schedule against conference opponents Brown, Clarkson and St. Lawrence, Quinnipiac has time to work on quelling the second chances opponents are getting, starting with Marinov and freshman goaltender Dylan Silverstein holding onto the puck.
Maybe it is a rivalry?
This installment of Quinnipiac and Yale had all the elements of a rivalry game. It was chippy, there were plenty of hits from both sides and scrums ensued after multiple whistles. Two misconducts were handed out, a telltale sign of a tense hockey game.
The first was given to junior forward Victor Czerneckianair for spearing a Yale player in front of its net. The second was an unsportsmanlike misconduct on Yale freshman forward Julian Frias after he exchanged words with the referees at center ice.
“We were resilient, that’s what we do all year,” head coach Rand Pecknold said. “It’s like a roller coaster every game.”
The animosity doesn’t come from each team battling it out and exchanging victories, it instead stems from the proximity of the two schools and the one-sidedness of the rivalry.
Quinnipiac looks to extend its win streak to four games as it hosts Brown Saturday night at 7:00 pm.
