No. 5 Quinnipiac University men's ice hockey headed into the second intermission Saturday trailing 2-0 before three third period goals gave the Bobcats a 3-2 come-from-behind-win against No. 16 Union.
The Bobcats improve to 11-0-1 in ECAC Hockey play and 17-3-3 overall while Union drops to 10-7-4 overall and 4-3-3 in league play. Quinnipiac also improves to 8-0-0 against ranked opponents this season while also extending its NCAA-leading unbeaten streak to 16 games at 14-0-2.
Mike Dalhuisen had a goal and an assist in the win, scoring the Bobcats first goal of the game just over six minutes into the third. Dalhuisen picked up an assist on Jordan Samuels-Thomas' game-tying goal at 11:12 of the third before Kellen Jones scored the game-winner with seven minutes to play in regulation. Eric Hartzell improved to 17-2-3 on the year with a 15-save performance.
Wayne Simpson put Union out in front with a power-play goal off a Quinnipiac turnover in the Bobcats' defensive zone just 5:22 into the game. Simpson picked off a pass just under the blue line, walked between the face-off circles and blasted the puck over Hartzell's shoulder to give the Dutchmen a 1-0 lead. At 11:33, it was Greg Coburn on the power play when Simpson possessed the puck deep and dished it to Daniel Ciampini. Ciampini fed Coburn in the slot who punched the puck past Hartzell to give Union a 2-0 lead.
Both teams played to a scoreless tie through the second period. Quinnipiac was whistled for a pair of major penalties, inside the final minute of the period, giving Union a 5-on-3 power play to start the third for 1:22, then a 5-on-4 power play for the next three minutes. The Bobcats' penalty kill, which entered the game ranked third nationally, managed to ice the Dutchmen's power play as they returned to even strength with just under 16 minutes to play in regulation.
Dalhuisen's seventh goal of the season came off a blast from just below the blue line on a pass from Matthew Peca and sent High Point Solutions Arena into a frenzy. Less than six minutes later, Quinnipiac found itself on the power play. Russell Goodman moved the puck to Dalhuisen at the point who unleashed a shot on goal. After getting knocked down in traffic, it was Samuels-Thomas cleaning up the mess in front of Union goalie Troy Grosenick for his seventh goal of the season to tie the game, 2-2.
With less than seven minutes to play, Kellen Jones intercepted a pass in the neutral zone, skated between the face-off cirlce and drew two defenders. He then dropped the puck back to Hibbeler and skated hard on goal. Hibbeler's shot moved through traffic and hit Kellen's foot, tipping it through Grosenick's pads where Jones picked up the loose puck and fired it home to give Quinnipiac a 3-2 lead.
Quinnipiac returns to action on Tuesday, Jan. 22 when it hosts Connecticut at 7 p.m. at High Point Solutions Arena at the TD Bank Sports Center. The game can be viewed live on WCCT-TV, where available.
