Quinnipiac senior Kevin Bui scored with less than six minutes remaining in the second-overtime of the Bobcats' Quarterfinal match-up at High Point Solutions Arena to lift the No. 1 Bobcats to a 3-2 win against Cornell Sunday night.
The win clinches the best-of-three series and send Quinnipiac to the ECAC Hockey Tournament Semifinals for the second time since the Bobcats joined the league in 2005-06. The Bobcats will face tournament No.7-seed Brown on Friday Mar. 22 at 4 p.m. at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J.
Bui's goal came off of a cross-ice pass from Loren Barron after Ben Arnt took control of the puck in the Bobcats' defensive zone and moved it up-ice. Clay Harvey scored the game-tying goal to force overtime while Zach Tolkinen scored the Bobcats' first goal to put Quinnipiac on the board. Eric Hartzell picked up his NCAA-leading 26th victory with a 29-save performance.
Cornell got on the board first when Braden Birch scored his second goal of the season just :48-seconds into the game. A Cornell odd-man rush created the opportunity as Joakim Ryan fed Dustin Mowry, who then put the puck on Birch's tape in the slot. Birch's back hand rattled around the cage to give the Big Red a 1-0 lead.
Quinnipiac tied the game midway through the second period on a goal by Zach Tolkinen on a blast from the point. Tolkinen's second goal in as many nights came on a turnover in the Big Red's defensive zone after the Cornell defense knocked down a shot by Quinnipiac's Mike Dalhuisen. A Cornell skater attempted to the clear the puck but instead put it right on Tolkinen's stick just below the blue line.
Cornell retook the lead a little more than a minute later when Brian Ferlin picked of a Quinnipiac pass in front of the Big Red's bench. Ferlin split two defenders and skated in on Hartzell, snapping a shot over the Bobcats goalie's shoulder to give the Big Red a one-goal lead, 2-1, which stood through the remainder of the period.
With 1:01 remaining in regulation and Cornell clinging to a one-goal lead, Clay Harvey scored his fifth goal of the year on a mad scramble in front of Cornell's goal. Jordan Samules-Thomas tipped the puck out to Jeremy Langlois, who carried the puck out in front of Cornell's goal. Langlois had the puck knocked off his stick to Harvey who was denied on his first attempt by Cornell goalie Andy Iles, but was able to poke the puck home on the rebound.
