Nationally-ranked No. 9 Quinnipiac men's ice hockey defeated No. 12/13 Nebraska-Omaha 3-1 Sunday to extend its unbeaten streak to 12 games – a new program record and the longest this season in NCAA Division I hockey.
The Bobcats improve to 14-3-2 overall while Nebraska-Omaha drops to 11-8-1 on the year. The Bobcats also improve to 6-0-0 against ranked opponents this season.
Three different Bobcats scored as Clay Harvey, Connor Jones and Ben Arnt all found the back of the net. Kellen Jones had two assists in the win while Eric Hartzell improved to 14-2-2 on the season after stopping 28 of UNO's 29 shots on goal.
Nebraska-Omaha's Ryan Walters, who entered the weekend as the leading scorer in NCAA Division I hockey, scored his team-leading 12th goal of the year and second of the series. Clay Harvey responded with his third goal of the season less than three minutes later. Jeremy Langlois dug the puck out from behind the Maverick's goal and pushed it over to Zach Luczyk, who skated out along the goal line. The first-year Bobcat made a brilliant pass through traffic in front of UNO's goal where it found Harvey's tape. Harvey held the puck before UNO goalie John Faulkner butter-flyed, leaving the top shelf open for Harvey to tie the game, 1-1. The goal give Harvey a team-best six-game point streak.
With less than four minutes to play in the first period, Connor Jones snapped a six-game goal-less streak with a power play goal for his fourth of the year. His twin brother, Kellen, gained controlled of the puck in front of UNO's bench and passed it across the neutral zone to Loren Barron. Barron and Connor played a little give-and-go, leaving Connor with the puck just to the right of Faulkner. Jones wristed a shot to the opposite post to give Quinnipiac a one-goal lead, 2-1, heading into the first intermission.
Coming out of the break, Ben Arnt tallied his third point of the series with his fourth goal of the season, this one also coming on the power play. Then it was Kellen Jones once again starting the play as he sent the puck to Matthew Peca on the left flank. Peca skated on goal and fired a shot off the right pad of Faulkner that ended up in the crease in front of Arnt. Arnt banged home the goal to give the Bobcats a 3-1 that held to the end of the period.
The Bobcats jump back into ECAC Hockey play when they host Dartmouth on Friday, Jan. 4 and Harvard on Saturday, Jan. 5 with both games slated for a 7 p.m. start. Both games can be seen live on the New England Sports Network (NESN).
