ALLENTOWN, P.A. — In an NCAA Regional matchup between in-state rivals Quinnipiac and UConn, one would expect both teams to show up fierce and ready to play 60 minutes of intense hockey.
However, Friday night’s case was a little different, with Quinnipiac falling to UConn 4-1 in the Allentown Regional Semifinal.
Both teams’ bench presence and atmosphere alone foreshadowed what was to come in the next 60 minutes of action, with every Huskie standing and tapping their sticks against the boards as the starting lineups met at center ice — while Quinnipiac appeared rather unbothered.
From the opening puck drop, one thing was clear: Quinnipiac did not match the energy and grit of UConn. The Huskies showed up to play, and they were not here to mess around in their first NCAA Tournament appearance in program history.
“I told the team before the game, in order to be successful in this tournament you can’t rely on luck,” UConn head coach Mike Cavanaugh said. “You have to bring your all.”.
And the Huskies did just that; they brought their all.
UConn pounced on Quinnipiac, putting nine shots on sophomore goaltender Dylan Silverstein before Quinnipiac could get a shot on UConn freshman goaltender Callum Tung.
As a matter of fact, UConn was able to take a 1-0 lead before Quinnipiac could even get one shot on net.
UConn continued to capitalize on Quinnipiac’s uncoordinated puck control, poor positioning and mistakes to break up the puck and force a breakaway opportunity.
“I saw my other two line mates forechecking, and kind of read the defenseman, saw where his eyes were going so just picked off the puck,” UConn freshman forward Ethan Gardula said.
With UConn headed to the locker room with a two goal cushion under it, Quinnipiac had the opportunity to reassess and reevaluate its first-period efforts.
But did it?
Out the gate, one could argue, the team came out stronger and faster. It took more shots than in the first period and started putting pressure on Tung. Quinnipiac netted the first goal of the period with a 2-1 feed from sophomore forward Mason Marcellus to junior forward Jeremy Wilmer.
Yet UConn was still outshooting the Bobcats 19-16. And the method behind its madness was simply: it played stronger.
Quinnipiac struggled to create strong breakouts, tape-to-tape passes and win important battles in the neutral zone. This combination prevented the Bobcats from generating the strong offense they possessed throughout the season.
With only 20 minutes left to save its season, Quinnipiac tried to leave it all out on the ice, but there was just not enough time left to make a statement.
“We just didn’t have enough there,” Quinnipiac head coach Rand Pecknold said. “We took too long to get us going. So it’s disappointing.”
The Bobcats came close to putting themselves within one goal of the Huskies with a shot from freshman defensemen Elliot Groenewold that pierced the crossbar before rocketing down into the goal crease. Quinnipiac was convinced the puck had crossed the goal line before the linesmen immediately waved it off.
And so Quinnipiac faces its earliest exit since 2021, along with the departure of a strong group of upperclassmen leaders.
“I’ve learned kind of something different from every single one of them,” Marcellus said. “They all kind of have their different ways of leading, whether they had a letter or not.”
With the transfer portal opening Sunday, Quinnipiac will await the future of its program. Last season, Quinnipiac lost four of its underclassmen to the transfer portal while gaining five transfers. Having its largest freshmen squad since the 2019-20 season, its future in Hamden is unknown.
“The first thing that happens when your season ends is the portal,” Pecknold said. “So you got to deal with that. Figure out who’s coming, who’s going.”
