HAMDEN — Friday night, Quinnipiac University was given a light flurry that dusted the campus’ exterior with snow. On Saturday, it was the interior of M&T Bank Arena that was coated white. The nipping winds were not enough to deter the student body, eager to celebrate the white-out. The line was out the door over two hours before puck drop, as the Battle of Whitney Avenue grew closer.
The arch-rival Yale Bulldogs traveled 20 minutes up the road to face the No. 5 Bobcats, who came into the night sporting a 12-2-1 record in the ECAC. They thrashed Brown the night prior, putting up six goals in the first period alone.
Yale entered Saturday’s contest on a five game skid, its 5-6 conference record good for only ninth place.
The first period started out with some stellar defense from both sides, as neither goalkeeper faltered, combining for 10 saves through 12 minutes. It was Yale’s sophomore goaltender Noah Pak that blinked first, as freshman forward Ethan Wyttenbach notched his first goal of the night. Yale unsuccessfully challenged offsides, but the cherry-picking from the first year paid off.
“(He) gives me the runway to make those plays and trust my instincts,” Wyttenbach said about Quinnipiac head coach Rand Pecknold “Obviously, I think it’s worked out a bit the last couple games, finding open ice and especially getting some breakaways.”
Shortly thereafter, the Bobcats found themselves in a scary situation. Two Quinnipiac penalties less than a minute apart gave the Bulldogs a prime opportunity to tie the game.
The Bobcats tightened up, with junior forward Mason Marcellus winning two face offs and junior goalkeeper Dylan Silverstein racking up a pair of saves, burning enough time to even the playing field.
The second period again started slow, but the crowd started to ramp up as the players grew chippier on the ice.
The Bobcats fed off their crowd, and the offense jolted awake.
Following a boarding call on Yale, they took full advantage of the power play, as Marcellus again made a play happen, assisting a goal to freshman defenseman Nate Tivey.
Three minutes later, it was Wyttenbach again making a play. His second goal of the night broke a tie with linemate freshman forward Markus Vidicek with his 18th goal of the season. His goals tonight would give the Calgary Flames draft pick sole possession of the leading goal scorer for the Bobcats.
“The crowd was just electric tonight, and the boys were just buzzing,” Pecknold said.
The buzzing didn’t stop there. Senior forward Anthony Cipollone and freshman forward Matthew Lansing added on another goal each before the period ended, putting the Bobcats up 5-0.
This was the 12th game this season Quinnipiac had put up five goals, improving to a pristine 12-0 when crossing that threshold.
Pecknold was nothing but smiles and laughs afterwards.
“I thought the crowd was really important tonight,” Pecknold said.
To kick off the third, Yale made a swap in net, as junior goaltender Jack Stark relieved Pak.
Silverstein, for his part, would finish with 23 saves en route to his second shutout of the season and third of his career.
Meanwhile, on the offensive end, sophomore defenseman Elliott Groenewold and freshman defenseman Graham Sward potted another two Bobcat goals, making the lead 7-0.
In the game’s waning minutes, senior defenseman Will Gilson floated a puck over the head of every Bulldog and Bobcat, save for Wyttenbach. The Hobey Baker nominee hopeful knocked right down to his stick, on an island with Stark.
The crowd roared in anticipation, and only got louder as the black blur flashed past Stark and into the net. Wyttenbach’s first career hat trick gave Quinnipiac its final score, 8-0.
In attendance tonight was former Bobcat forward Collin Graf ‘24, the last Bobcat to finish in the top 10 for the Hobey Baker Award. He had two hat tricks during his time in Hamden, and is currently in his professional career with the San Jose Sharks.
He also holds a share of the single-season Bobcat record with 59 points in 2022-23, a mark Wyttenbach has been tracking down. He now stands at 47 points with six games left in the regular season.
“I’ve met [Graf] a couple times throughout the summer,” Wyttenbach said. “To see what he’s doing in the NHL is super cool. Obviously we’ve got some time to go until I catch him, but it’s not really something I’m focused on.”
With the win, the Bobcats move into first place in the ECAC, two points ahead of Dartmouth, who did not play, and Cornell, who fell to Colgate.
The Bobcats return to action a week from today on Valentine’s Day. They have a date planned with the visiting Princeton Tigers at 7 p.m.
