It’s been quite a start for Quinnipiac, as Saturday’s 6-2 win over Dartmouth pushed the Bobcat’s record to 10-0-0 this season. The streak ties a program record set in the 1997-98 season, when Quinnipiac was a Division II team. It also means that the Bobcats are the lone team in the country without a tie or loss.
The win against the Big Green came after an impressive 4-1 win over then-unbeaten on Harvard Friday. The Crimson did have several chances in the opening period when the game was still scoreless, but Quinnipiac was able to keep Harvard’s potent offense in check for most of the night, as likely Hobey Baker candidate Jimmy Vesey finished the game with two shots on goal and no points.
The Bobcats held the Crimson to 12 shots through the first two periods and turned a pair of Harvard turnovers into goals.
“They slowed us down by having a good gap in the neutral zone and coming back real hard,” Harvard coach Ted Donato said.”They do not make a lot mistakes. They handled the puck in their zone in a way that didn’t allow a lot of turnovers.”
Controversial no-goal call results in tie between Brown and Rensselaer
The press-box replay system at RPI’s Houston Field House failed on Saturday night, meaning this potential game-winning overtime goal by Brown couldn’t be reviewed, and the no-goal call made on the ice by the officials stood.
It’s unfortunate that a technological malfunction could impact an important call in a game. Sure, human errors by officials are a part of the game – albeit one that fans and coaches alike often take issue with. But the idea of having a replay system is to make sure the right call is made, and that safety net failed in this case.
I’m not sure of what else could be done to fix this in the future. Major League Baseball had problems with the replay system in Game 1 of the World Series, so this is an issue that crops up even on the biggest of stages.
Most coaches tell their teams to focus only on what they can control. That might not be much consolation for the Bears, but at this point, it’s all they can do.
Still, it was a much needed three-point weekend for Brown, while RPI extended its unbeaten streak to six games, as the Engineers have started conference play with a 4-0-2 record.
Three of those games have come minus senior goalie Jason Kasdorf, who was injured last Friday against Clarkson. Credit to freshman Cam Hackett, who has a .929 save percentage since Kasdorf was hurt. RPI coach Seth Appert said Kasdorf was “50-50” for the weekend, so it doesn’t look like he’ll be shelved for an extended period of time.
Big Red keep rolling
Entering the season, Cornell coach Mike Schafer said the Big Red had a lot of unknowns on their roster. One of the big questions was how the Big Red would generate offense this year after ranking 54th in the country last season with 1.84 goals per game.
It’s been a different go of it thus far for the Big Red. Cornell is averaging just under four goals per game and is 5-1 after sweeping Colgate in a home-and-home series over the weekend. It’s the best start for Cornell since the 2009-10 season, when the Big Red had the same record through the first six games.
Freshman forward and Pittsburgh draft pick Anthony Angello scored in overtime Saturday against the Raiders, giving him seven points in six games. But the Big Red’s leading scorer is junior Jeff Kubiak, who has three goals and six assists after only having two goals and 17 points during his first two seasons.
Saturday’s overtime win against the Raiders was the 250th regular-season ECAC Hockey victory for Schafer. The only loss of the season was a 5-4 setback to Quinnipiac, when the Big Red blew two three-goal leads.
