No. 6 Quinnipiac men’s ice hockey couldn’t finish the job on the road, taking a 4-1 loss to Merrimack Friday afternoon. 

The Warriors dominated play for a majority of the matchup, maintaining solid puck control, movement and chasing hard to the puck. 

Quinnipiac was unable to get the lead on Merrimack at any point during the matchup, with the Warriors striking first. Graduate student forward Mark Hillier would get the time and space to skate in the middle of the Bobcats’ zone, feeding the puck to junior forward Michael Emerson, who was left on the back door alone. 

Despite the early lead from the Warriors, the Bobcats would claw their way back to tie the game late in the third, with a great faceoff win and a setup from Quinnipiac’s power play unit. 

Quinnipiac was able to capitalize on its faceoff setup, as freshman forward Markus Vidicek won the puck back to freshman forward Ethan Wyttenbach. 

Wyttenbach, who had a point in all six games played before the matchup, was able to find space within the Merrimack defense, walking the puck to the middle. The Roslyn, N.Y. native took a hard shot on net, where sophomore forward Chris Pelosi deflected the puck past junior netminder Max Lundgren. 

Ending the first period of action, the Warriors were outshooting the Bobcats on net 11 to eight, while further winning nine faceoffs to Quinnipiac’s five. These stats only foreshadowed what was to come for the Bobcats, despite being tied.

Going into the second frame, Merrimack maintained its strong pressure and dominance over Quinnipiac. Merrimack would get the lone goal of the period, coming from sophomore forward Trevor Hoskin. 

While the Bobcats attempted to find a crack in the Merrimack defense, the Warriors had the momentum on their side for the majority of the period. 

The defense held together for the Bobcats in the backend of the second period, making crucial plays to keep the game in reach. After Merrimack killed off a Quinnipiac man advantage, sophomore defenseman Elliot Groenewold was forced to make a diving effort to break up the breakaway opportunity by a Warrior coming hard off the bench. 

Despite being given a penalty for his efforts — smart penalties exist, and that was definitely one of them — he kept the Bobcats only down a goal going into the third period. 

Hope was still there. 

Quinnipiac would open the final 20 minutes of play on the penalty kill, successfully killing it off. However, its momentum would die away after this, as Merrimack would get the two-goal lead on Quinnipiac shortly after, as a result of a turnover. 

Freshman forward Daniel Astapovich would get the initial shot with sophomore forward Nick Pierre getting the tip-in past junior goaltender Matej Marinov. 

Merrimack now had the energy all on its side. 

And this goal only lit a fire underneath the Warriors and specifically Pierre. This momentum would continue to keep Merrimack the stronger, hungrier team of the matchup.

The Bobcats would take a tripping penalty, allowing the Warriors to capitalize once again. Pierre would strike again, taking the puck down the side, getting a low shot past Marinov, earning the Warriors a three-goal lead.

While freshman forward Matthew Lansing got a shot past Hillier, the puck slowly trickled behind the netminder, giving the Warriors time to clear the puck before it could cross the red line. 

From this point on, the Bobcats were unable to overcome the wave of momentum the Warriors had created. Frustration and retaliation would dominate Quinnipiac, getting silly penalties and cracking under the pressure. 

At the end of the night, while the Bobcats outshot the Warriors, 28 to 27, they could not find the back of the net. Quinnipiac even won five more faceoffs than the Warriors, winning 28 to their 23. 

Marinov ends the night with an .818 save percentage, going down .107 lower than his average before the game, which was .925. 

After the matchup, Quinnipiac’s record moves to 4-2-1, with two more matchups before ECAC play starts.

Quinnipiac will travel to Durham, N.H., to take on the University of New Hampshire Saturday, Oct. 25. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m.