NORTHFORD, CT – A pair of late third-period goals lifted Quinnipiac over Union, 4-2, in ECAC Hockey League men's action at the Northford Ice Pavilion Saturday evening. Union drops to 5-7-2 and 1-5-0 in league play, while Quinnipiac takes sole possession of first place in the league with a 5-2-3 league record. The Bobcats are 8-4-4 overall.
Union's
Matt Cook (Belle Mead, NJ) knotted the game at 2-all with a power-play tally at 17:04 of the third period, redirecting a shot from point-man
Jason Walters (Renfrew, ONT), but Quinnipiac's Bryan Leitch answered right back with his fifth goal of the season to retake the lead at 3-2. Ben Nelson sent a pass across the front of the net that found Leitch rushing in on the right side. Brandon Wong added an empty-netter to seal the game with 1.6 seconds remaining.
David Marshall fought through a mess of defenders to lift the puck over Union netminder
Justin Mrazek (Regina, SASK) to give the Bobcats a 2-1 lead at 13:46 of the third period.
Mike Schreiber (Sherwood Park, ALB) put the Dutchmen on the board at 14:27 of the first period with his second goal of the season on a delayed penalty call. Schreiber received a
Jake Schwan (Clifton Park, NY) pass from behind the net and lifted the puck over the right shoulder of Quinnipiac goaltender Bud Fisher. The goal, also assisted by
Mario Valery-Trabucco (Montreal, QUE), marked the first for Schreiber since the season opener, and the defenseman's seventh point in the last five games.
Olivier Bouchard (Quebec City, QUE) had the chance to light the lamp midway through the period as he stripped a defender of the puck deep in the Union zone after returning from the penalty box. Bouchard carried the puck up the left on a rush with
Chris Potts (Phillipsburg, NJ) and after dodging a defender, slid the puck across the slot to Potts, whose shot hit Fisher's chest.
Mrazek made 25 saves in the loss, while Fisher stopped 20 Dutchmen shots in his eighth win of the season.
Union is back in action on Friday, December 15, when the Dutchmen host UMass Lowell in a 7 p.m. game at Messa Rink. The Dutchmen then travel to UConn on Sunday, December 16 for a 3 p.m. non-conference game.
