HAMDEN, Conn. - Nationally-ranked No. 3/4 Quinnipiac men's ice hockey rolled to a 5-2 win against University of Connecticut in an in-state non-conference match-up at High Point Solutions Arena at the TD Bank Sports Center. Quinnipiac improves to 3-1-1 on the season while handing the Huskies their first loss as UConn drops to 2-1-2.
Prior to the start of the game, High Point Solutions Arena observed a moment of silence in remembrance of former UConn men's ice hockey head coach Bruce Marshall who passed suddenly on Oct. 15, 2016. Marshall was UConn's head coach for 25 years and was one of several teams along with Quinnipiac to found the MAAC Hockey League, which is currently Atlantic Hockey. Following the game, both teams joined at center ice for a final stick-tap in honor of Coach Marshall. Credit: Rob RasmussenAndrew Taverner (Edmonton, Alberta), Connor Clifton (Matawan, New Jersey) and Brogan Rafferty (Dundee, Illinois) led the Bobcats' offensive attack with a goal and an assist each. Craig Martin (Trail, British Columbia) and Thomas Aldworth (Keller, Texas) also scored for the Bobcats. In goal, Chris Truehl (Madison, Wisconsin) had 29 saves to improve to 2-1-1 on the year.
Taverner's team-leading third goal of the season came just under eight minutes into the game when he took a feed from Connor Clifton and wristed a shot through traffic, with a beautiful screen by Luke Shiplo, that beat UConn's Adam Hushka to put the Bobcats on the board first. The goal also extended Quinnipiac's undefeated streak when scoring first at High Point Solutions Arena to 31 games in which they improved to 26-0-5.
With less than a minute to play in the period, Martin scored in his second-straight game thanks to a phenomenal second effort in front of UConn's goal. Tim Clifton (Matawan, New Jersey) won a battle behind the Huskies' goal and sent the puck to Martin in the slot. His first shot was denied but he managed to work off a double team in the crease to pop the puck over Hushka to give the Bobcats a 2-0 lead heading into the first intermission.
UConn twice trimmed Quinnipiac's lead to a goal in the second period - first on Spencer Naas' third goal of the season on the power play just under two minutes into the frame. Aldworth put the Bobcats' lead back to two goals when he picked up a rebound on a one-timer by Landon Smith (Greenwood Village, Colorado) and beat Hushka on the wrap-around to give Quinnipiac a 3-1 lead.
After UConn's Johnny Austin won a draw in front of Hushka, Evan Richardson carried the puck the length of the ice before firing a shot on Truehl. The rebound found Karl El-Mir's stick for his second goal of the year.
The Bobcats responded with a pair of unanswered goals by Rafferty and Connor Clifton just one-minute-and-four-seconds apart. Rafferty's came on a breakaway that finished with him guiding a backhand shot between the legs of Hushka for his first career goal. Clifton's power play goal came off a one-timer on a pass from Tanner MacMaster (Calgary, Alberta) for his first goal of the season to give the Bobcats a 5-2 lead heading into the third period.
Saturday, Oct. 22 places the Bobcats in a Top-10 battle when the No. 3/4 Bobcats head to Agganis Arena to take on No. 8/8 Boston University in a non-conference match-up set for 7 p.m. ?
