No. 11 Quinnipiac Men's Ice Hockey Wins Triple OT Thriller Against Union, 4-3, To Take First Game Of ECAC Hockey Quarterfinals

Friday, March 13

7 pm

Quinnipiac University

Union

No. 11 Quinnipiac Men's Ice Hockey Wins Triple OT Thriller Against Union, 4-3, To Take First Game Of ECAC Hockey Quarterfinals

3/13/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey

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Photos of QU vs. Union Game I

HAMDEN, Conn. - Alex Barron (Glendora, California) scored with less than seven minutes to play in the third overtime as nationally-ranked No. 11 Quinnipiac stormed back from a two-goal deficit to defeat Union, 4-3, in the first game of a best-of-three ECAC Hockey Tournament Quarterfinals series at High Point Solutions Arena in Hamden, Conn.

Quinnipiac trailed 3-1 late in the third before Sam Anas (Potomac, Maryland) scored twice in less than a minute, with less than two minutes to play, to force overtime. The game ended when Dan Federico (Acton, Massachusetts) sent the puck on net where Barron tipped it from the slot past Union goalie Colin Stevens to complete the come-back. The game, which last 106:32, is now the 12th longest game in NCAA Division I men's ice hockey history. The Bobcats improve to 8-2 all-time in overtime in the ECAC Hockey tournament and 3-0 against Union in overtime in the league tournament.

Devon Toews (Abbotsford, British Columbia) and Justin Agosta (East Meadow, New York) both had two assists while Tim Clifton (Matawan, New Jersey) scored Quinnipiac's first goal. In net, Michael Garteig (Prince George, British Columbia) recorded 31 saves in 105:08 in goal for his 21st win of the year and 45th of his career. Matthew Peca (Petawawa, Ontario) also became the fourth player in Quinnipiac history to reach the 100-assist mark in the Bobcats' win.

Union's Matt Wilkins put the Dutchmen out in front with his 12th goal of the year, on the power play, less than 10 minutes into the game. Wilkins and Nick DeSimone moved the puck back-and-forth to each other along the left wing before Wilkins stepped across the face-off circle, faked a pass back to DeSimone to look the defesneman off, and wristed a shot past Garteig to give Union a 1-0 lead.

Six minutes later Sebastian Gingras handled the puck deep in the Union defensize zone before zipping a pass up-ice to Wilkins at center ice in front of the Quinnipiac bench. Wilkins turned and skated into the Quinnipaic defensive zone and handed the puck off to Mike Vecchione who blasted a shot from the slot past Garteig to give Union a two-goal lead with just under five minutes to play in the first period.

With just under five minutes left in the second period, Union was whistled for its first penalty of the game, giving the Bobcats their first power play. Sam Anas (Pototmac, Maryland) dug the puck out of the corner to Union goalie Colin Stevens' right and sent it up the boards to Derek Smith (Apple Valley, Minnesota). Smith centered a pass just below the blue line to Justin Agosta (East Meadown, New York) who sent the puck on goal. Tim Clifton (Matawan, New Jersey) tipped Agosta's shot in front, re-directing past Stevens to cut Union's lead in half, 2-1.

Moments later, Quinnipiac senior Matthew Peca (Petawawa, Ontario) was called for goalie interference after being pushed into Stevens by Sam Coatta. Devon Toews (Abbotsford, British Columbia) picked off a pass at center ice and took off into the Dutchmen's zone. Toews walked past his defender but was then pulled down, resulting in a penalty shot. Toews ultimately missed one-on-one with Stevens, as he shot went wide.

Early in the third, Quinnipiac, on the power play, came up short on consecutive plays on the same possession deep in the Union zone. Peca rushed Stevens, with St. Denis hammering away at a loose puck that snuck across Stevens' pads and stopped resting on the post. Moments later, Anas took a pass from Landon Smith (Greenwood Village, Colorado) in the slot and wristed the puck off the left post. Shortly after, Quinnipiac iced the puck, giving Union a face-off to the right of Garteig. Vecchione won the draw before Spencer Foo collected the puck and handed it to a wide-open Michael Pontarelli in the slot who buried his fourth goal of the year to give Union a 3-1 lead with 15 minutes to play.

With 2:17 to play, Quinnipiac pulled the goalie in favor of an extra attacker. The Bobcats zipped the puck around the zone with Toews holding the puck at the blue line before sending it to Agosta on the wing. Agosta fed Anas on the back door who pushed the puck by a sprawling Stevens to pull the Bobcats within a goal, 3-2, with 1:17 to play.

Anas tied the game with 37 seconds to play, on the power play, after Peca won a battle in front of the Union goal and tipped the puck to Toews at the point. Toews then spun and sent the puck across the Union zone to Anas on the goal line. Anas, dropping to his knee, one-timed the puck past Stevens to knot the game at 3-3 and ultimately send it to overtime.

After battling through two overtime, it was another screen and a tipped pass that gave Quinnipiac the win. Connor Clifton (Matawan, New Jersey) handled the puck in front of the Quinnipiac bench before sending a pass across the ice to Federico. Federico's shot knuckled through traffic before Barron was able to get a stick on it and send to the opposite post to end the game.

Quinnipiac and Union will meet again on Saturday, Mar. 14 for the second game of their best-of-three series at 7 p.m. at High Point Solutions Arena at the TD Bank Sports Center. Sunday's game, if necessary, will be at 4 p.m.