No. 3/4 Bobcats Roll Past Sacred Heart, Into CT Ice Final

Friday, January 27

Hamden, Conn.

7:00 PM

Quinnipiac University

19-3-3

Sacred Heart

12-10-2

Sacred Heart

Quinnipiac

Photo by: Rob Rasmussen / P8Photos.com

No. 3/4 Bobcats Roll Past Sacred Heart, Into CT Ice Final

1/27/2023 10:19:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey

Box Score

Quinnipiac, No. 12 UConn set for 2021 Title Rematch

HAMDEN, Conn. — For the second consecutive year, it will be the No. 3/4 Quinnipiac Bobcats and No. 12 UConn Huskies for Nutmeg State Supremacy in the final of the 2023 CT Ice Tournament.

The Bobcats knocked off Atlantic Hockey challenger Sacred Heart 5-0 in front of a sold out crowd at M&T Bank Arena, while the Huskies defeated Yale 6-1 in the opening contest. The victory in the nightcap gave head coach Rand Pecknold his 600th career victory behind the Bobcats bench.

Congrats, Coach on your 600th victory!

He joins Jack Parker and Red Berenson as the only Division I head coaches to reach the plateau working at one school.#BobcatNation x #NCAAHockey pic.twitter.com/Li8X1QO4S7
— Quinnipiac Men's Ice Hockey (@QU_MIH) January 28, 2023

Collin Graf tallied a pair of goals and Christophe Fillion added two assists to lead the offense in the points department, while Yaniv Perets made 17 saves for his fifth shutout of the season.

On to the final 🎶#BobcatNation x #CTIce pic.twitter.com/XTs3Jnze9H
— Quinnipiac Men's Ice Hockey (@QU_MIH) January 28, 2023

Graf scored the first and fourth goals of the night, while Ethan de Jong and Joey Cipollone added second-period tallies by beating Sacred Heart goaltender Luke Lush to his glove side.

de Jong pots the carom to double the lead!#BobcatNation x #CTIce pic.twitter.com/62PwBoXJQT
— Quinnipiac Men's Ice Hockey (@QU_MIH) January 28, 2023

TJ Friedmann capped the scoring with a beautiful move in the offensive zone to score his ninth of the season and Quinnipiac's fifth and final of the night.

Frieds with the move.
Frieds with the goal.
Frieds with the celly!#BobcatNation x #CTIce pic.twitter.com/if5fHaV2Wl
— Quinnipiac Men's Ice Hockey (@QU_MIH) January 28, 2023

STATS AND NOTES

On the Hobey Baker ballot and currently one of the nation's top scorers, Graf tallied his second multi-goal game of the campaign and 11th multi-point contest of the year. He matches Zach Metsa for the most multi-point games in a single season by a current Bobcat. He stands at 36 points in 25 games this season.
The Bobcats are 27-2-2 at home since the start of last season and are unbeaten on home ice this season at 10-0-1. Their 10-game home winning streak is the longest active stretch in the country.
Fillion's multi-assist contest is his second of the campaign and of his career. He had two helpers against Clarkson on Dec. 3 and also has points in back to back contests.
Perets' shutout is his fifth of the season and 16th of his career. He's tied four other Bobcats for the fourth-most in a single season, a record he set last season. He's also three goalless outings away from matching Michael Garteig's career program record of 19.
Anthony Cipollone added an assist on Friedmann's goal, his first collegiate point.
Sam Lipkin now has points in eight of his last nine contests, dating back to Dec. 2.

UP NEXT
The Bobcats and Huskies will do battle in the Connecticut Ice final for the second consecutive season, with puck drop slated for 7 p.m., at M&T Bank Arena. The game can be seen live in the Tri-State area on SNY or elsewhere domestically on GoBobcats.com.

For an inside look at the Quinnipiac men's ice hockey program, be sure to follow it on social media @QU_MIH or go to gobobcats.com/mih.