Bobcats Outlast St. Cloud State, Advance to NCAA Regional Final

Friday, March 25

Allentown, Pa. / PPL Center

8:02 PM

Quinnipiac University

St. Cloud State

Photo by: Rob Rasmussen / P8Photos.com

Bobcats Outlast St. Cloud State, Advance to NCAA Regional Final

3/25/2022 11:48:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey

Box Score

Quinnipiac Now One Win From Third Frozen Four Berth

By: QU Athletic Communications

ALLENTOWN, Pa. – Quinnipiac defenseman Jayden Lee fired home a wrister with 11:23 to play in the third period to give the Bobcats a 5-3 lead and eventually a 5-4 victory over St. Cloud State in the NCAA Regional Semifinals on Friday night. With the team's 32nd win of the year, the Bobcats tie a program record for wins in a season and advance to Sunday night's Regional Final against #1 Michigan.

The Bobcats started strong and held a two-goal lead after the game's opening period. St. Cloud, however, battled back by scoring twice in the first 7:21 of the second period to knot the game at two.

After Michael Lombardi's goal at 10:12 of the second put the Bobcats up 3-2, the Huskies responded 2:27 later to even the score at 3-3.

Out of the intermission, Ethan de Jong scored just 27 seconds into the third and Lee's goal followed eight minutes later to restore Quinnipiac's two-goal edge. SCSU's Nolan Walker scored with the extra attacker to pull his team within a goal with 1:16 to play, but the Bobcats withstood the final rally to emerge victorious.
SCORE #2 Quinnipiac 5, #3 St. Cloud State 4 RECORDS Quinnipiac (32-6-3) | St. Cloud State (16-15-4) LOCATION PPL Center | Allentown, Pa.

SCORING SUMMARY Period 1 - 4:37 - QU 1, SCSU 0 - Brendan Less, assisted by Zach Metsa and Skyler Brind'Amour
Period 1 - 17:26 - QU 2, SCSU 0 - TJ Friedmann, assisted by Iivari Rasanen
Period 2 - 1:08 - QU 2, SCSU 1 - Nolan Walker, assisted by Sam Hentges
Period 2 - 7:21 - QU 2, SCSU 2 - Sam Hentges, assisted by Nolan Walker
Period 2 - 10:12 - QU 3, SCSU 2 - Michael Lombardi, assisted by Ethan de Jong and Zach Metsa
Period 2 - 12:39 - QU 3, SCSU 3 - Kyler Kupka, assisted by Brendan Bushy and Kevin Fitzgerald
Period 3 - 0:27 - QU 4, SCSU 3 - Ethan de Jong, assisted by Griffin Mendel and Marcus Chorney
Period 3 - 8:37 - QU 5, SCSU 3 - Jayden Lee, assisted by Griffin Mendel and Ethan de Jong
Period 3 - 18:44 - QU 5, SCSU 4 - Nolan Walker, unassisted (extra attacker)

NOTES

The Bobcats have tied a program record with 32 wins on the year.
Goaltender Yaniv Perets made 30 saves in the win, setting a new career high.
Quinnipiac handled the faceoff battle, winning 40 of 68 draws.
Metsa added two more points to continue his career year. The senior has a career-high 36 points this season and still leads the nation in +/- at +38.
de Jong tallied three points in the win, becoming Quinnipiac's fourth player to eclipse 30 points this season.
Less' first period goal gave him 20 points on the year, making him the eighth Bobcat to reach the milestone in 2021-22.
Mendel has tallied eight points in five postseason games. The graduate student had never recorded more than nine points in a season until this year.

NEXT UP
Quinnipiac will take on top-seeded Michigan on Sunday night at 6:30 PM at the PPL Center. Tickets and transportation information to follow.