No. 2/3 QU Men's Ice Hockey Tops Princeton, 4-3

Wednesday, December 30

Hamden, Conn.

7:00 PM

Quinnipiac University

17-1-2 (8-0-2ECAC)

Princeton University

4-11-0 (3-7-0ECAC)

Princeton

Quinnipiac

12/30/2015 9:05:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey

Box Score

By: QU Sports Information

Box Score

HAMDEN, Connecticut – The national-ranked No. 2/3 Quinnipiac men's ice hockey team overcame a two-goal deficit and stormed back to a 4-3 ECAC Hockey win against Princeton at High Point Solutions Arena at the TD Bank Sports Center. The Bobcats improve to 17-1-2 overall including an undefeated mark in league action at 8-0-2 while Princeton drops to 4-11 overall and 3-7 in ECAC Hockey action.

"It was an interesting game. We're ecstatic to get out of here with two points tonight," Quinnipiac head coach Rand Pecknold said. "I thought Princeton was really good in the first, I was impressed. I thought [Princeton Head] Coach [Ron] Fogarty did a nice job of getting his team ready.I thought we were good in the second - we were dominant - and in the third we were fine. It was almost like three different games, but we'll escape with two points. We'll take it."

Tim Clifton (Matawan, New Jersey), Sam Anas (Potomac, Maryland), Landon Smith (Greenwood Village, Colorado) and Derek Smith (Apple Valley, Minnesota) all scored for Quinnipiac while Travis St. Denis (Trail, British Columbia) had two assists. Chase Priskie (Pembroke Pines, Florida) dished out his team-leading 14^th assist of the year while Scott Davidson (Trail, British Columbia), Devon Toews (Abbotsford, British Columbia) and Soren Jonzzon (Mountain View, California) all had assists.

Clifton's goal just fifty-seconds after the opening puck drop came after Scott Davidson (Trail, British Columbia) sent the puck along the boards. Clifton won a battle behind Princeton's net, skated out to Colton Phinney's left, dove the across the crease and bounced it in the goal off the opposite post.

"Timmy was great," Pecknold said. "He was excellent last night, and I thought he was one of our better players, and I thought he was one of our better players tonight. He's playing some great hockey."

Clifton's goal was his team-leading 12^th of the year, and his fifth point in the last two nights. Clifton had a goal and three assists in the Bobcats' 6-0 win at Princeton on Tuesday, Dec. 29. The Bobcats' fan favorite sits at 12 goals and eight assists for 20 points for the year.

Princeton responded with three straight goals to jump out to a 3-1 lead, as Ryan Siiro, Max Veronneau and Josh Teves converted for the Tigers. Siiro's goal came off a rush on Garteig that featured a barrage of shots and scrum in the crease before sneaking between the Bobcats' goalie's pads. Veronneau converted on a breakaway after going to his backhand and clanging one home, top-shelf, before Teves broke up a clear in the Bobcats' defensive zone and rifled one past Garteig from the point.

"I think we're a pretty good team from a mental toughness standpoint," Pecknold said. "There's two ways to look at tonight - it's a negative that we weren't ready to go at the beginning and it's a real positive how we came out to play in the second. We played with a lot of poise and confidence. I think the shots were 22-2 - that's a pretty good period. We were dominant."

Coming out of the break, Quinnipiac tilted the ice back in its favor, outshooting the Tigers, 22-2, for the period as they rattled off three unanswered goals of its own. The Bobcats' top line did the most damage, with St. Denis setting up Anas and Landon Smith to tie the game before Derek Smith scored on the power play to give Quinnipiac a one-goal lead. Quinnipiac finished the game with a 43-19 advantage in shots-on-goal.

The Bobcats are back in action this weekend when it travels to Boston, Massachusetts to take on Northeastern on Saturday, Jan. 2 at Matthews Arena at 7 p.m.