No. 17 Men's Ice Hockey Wins Inaugural Connecticut Ice Game Over UConn, 3-2

Saturday, January 25

Bridgeport, Conn. / Webster Bank Arena

4:00 PM

Quinnipiac University

14-8-1, 7-4-1ECAC

UConn

9-11-4, 6-7-2HEA

UConn

Quinnipiac

Photo by: Rob Rasmussen / P8Photos.com

No. 17 Men's Ice Hockey Wins Inaugural Connecticut Ice Game Over UConn, 3-2

1/25/2020 7:49:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey

Box Score

Jermain Scores Game-Winner, Petruzzelli Stops 26 in Victory Saturday Night

By: QU Athletic Communications

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – Norwalk-native Nick Jermain scored the game-winning goal Saturday afternoon as the No. 17 Quinnipiac men's ice hockey team won its inaugural Connecticut Ice matchup with the UConn Huskies, 3-2, at Webster Bank Arena.

With the win, Quinnipiac has now won back-to-back games and eight of its last nine as the Bobcats improve to 14-8-1 this season.

The pair of teams combined for two goals through the first period as Karlis Cukste (Riga, Latvia) got the Bobcats on the board just 18 seconds after UConn scored the game's first goal. Wyatt Bongiovanni (Birmingham, Michigan) took the lead later in the period before UConn answered back.

Cukste's goal was his third of the season while Bongiovanni moved back into a tie for the ECAC Hockey lead with his 12^th goal.

Jermain scored the go-ahead goal near the midway point of the second period as he banked his eighth goal of the season off the back of UConn goaltender Tomas Vomacka.

Keith Petruzzelli (Wilbraham, Massachusetts) had an impressive night between the pipes as he kept the Huskies at bay for most of the night, finishing with 26 saves. Petruzzelli stood up to the task in the first period, making saves on 14 of the 16 shots he faced.

SCORE
Quinnipiac 3, UConn 2

RECORDS
Quinnipiac (14-8-1, 7-4-1 ECAC Hockey) | UConn (9-11-4, 6-7-2 Hockey East)

LOCATION
Webster Bank Arena | Bridgeport, Conn.

SCORING SUMMARY

(4:59, 1^st period) – Quinnipiac 0, UConn 1: Ruslan Iskhakov put the Huskies up 1-0 early in the game as he put home a rebound off a Wyatt Newpower shot that clanged off the post for the first-ever Connecticut Ice goal.
(5:17, 1^st period) – Quinnipiac 1, UConn 1: The Bobcats answered back 18 seconds later as William Fällström (Stockholm, Sweden) won a faceoff in the offensive zone back to Cukste where he blasted a one-timer past UConn goalie Tomas Vomacka to tie the game.
(10:52, 1^st period) – Quinnipiac 2, UConn 1: Bongiovanni gave the Bobcats the lead with 9:08 left in the period as Odeen Tufto (Chaska, Minnesota) forced a turnover in the offensive zone and skated to the center of the zone where he dropped a pass back for Bongiovanni to rocket home the Bobcats' second goal.
(17:45, 1^st period) – Quinnipiac 2, UConn 2: UConn tied the game with just 2:15 left in the period as Carter Turnbull picked off a pass next to the Quinnipiac goal and tapped home the tying goal in the first period.
(7:57, 2^nd period) – Quinnipiac 3, UConn 2: Jermain re-took the lead for good with 12:03 left in the second period as Jayden Lee (North Vancouver, British Columbia) fired a puck on goal that Fällström redirected the puck off the boards behind the goal. Jermain collected the puck and banked his shot off Vomacka's back.

NOTES

Bongiovanni's goal in the first period was his 12^th of the season to move back into a tie for the most goals in ECAC Hockey
Just 23 games into the season, Bongiovanni is two goals away from tying his total of 14 from last season as he picked up a point for a second straight game.
Jermain continues his dominant senior campaign as his goal was his eighth of the season, tied with Alex Whelan for the second-most on the team.
With his goal, Jermain extended his point streak to a season-long three games.
Cukste scored Quinnipiac's first goal in the Connecticut Ice with his blast just after the opening five minutes.
He now has three goals on the season along with 13 points as he recorded a point for a second straight game.
Fällström has been on a scoring tear as of late as he recorded two assists in a game for the second time the season.
He now has points in five of his last seven games while his 12 helpers are the second-most on the team behind Tufto.
Tufto recorded another assist for his 23^rd of the season to maintain his ECAC Hockey leading total while his 26 points are second in the league.
He now has points in back-to-back games and seven of his last eight.
Lee made a nice pass on Jermain's game-winning goal to pick up his second assist of the season and third point for the Bobcats
Petruzzelli shined for the Bobcats once again as he made 26 saves to anchor the Bobcats on the defensive end and earn his 14^th win.
He has made 25 or more saves in 10 games this season, sporting a 6-3-1 when doing so.
Quinnipiac's win at Webster Bank Arena was its first in the building since a 5-3 win over Fairfield on Nov. 15, 2002.

NEXT GAME

The Bobcats advance to the Connecticut Ice Championship game Sunday night at 7 p.m. where they will take on the winner of Yale and Sacred Heart at Webster Bank Arena.