Bobcats Down Tigers

Box Score 

The Quinnipiac University men's ice hockey team defeated Princeton, 5-2, in a ECAC Hockey match-up at historic Hobey Baker Arena in Princeton, N.J.. With the win, Quinnipiac goes to 4-3-2 overall and 2-1-2 in ECAC Hockey. Princeton goes to 3-4-0 overall and 2-3-0 in league play. The Bobcats led 2-0 after the first period before a pair of unanswered goals knotted the game at 2-2. A late goal at the end of the second gave Quinnipiac a 3-2 lead before they closed out the game with a two-goal third period.

"We played great in the first and third periods," head coach Rand Pecknold said. "I think that we were down in the second period but we did a great job at regrouping."

The Bobcats' first line entered Wednesday night's game with something the prove. The line featured the teams leading goal-scorer in Bryan Leitch (Coquitlam, B.C.) as well as two 100-point scorers in Jamie Bates (Toronto, Ont.) and Ben Nelson (Spokane, Wash.). The trio accounted for four of Quinnipiac's five goals in the Bobcats' 5-2 win over Princeton to improve to 5-3-2 overall and 2-1-2 in ECAC play.

"I think they played great," Pecknold said. "They battled and they played really well. I think that that was the best game that the three played this year."

Bates and Leitch would each finish with one goal and three assists apiece while Nelson had a pair of goals and one assist. Bates' four points match his previous career-high which he set against RPI on Feb. 8, 2006. It marked the third time in Leitch's career that the 6-3 wing scored four points in a game. For the year, Leitch, Nelson and Bates have combined to score 12 of Quinnipiac's 26 goals through 10 games.

Leitch put the Bobcats on the board first with his team-leading fifth goal of the season. On the power play, Dan Henningson (Edmonton, Alb.) handled the puck on the left side of Princeton's goal before he dropped it off to Bates who was position between the left face-off circle and the goal crease. Bates saw Leitch creep into the opposite face-off circle and delivered a perfect pass to the 6-3 wing. Leitch's shot would find the lower right corner of the goal to put Quinnipiac on top, 1-0, at the 10:47 mark.

Bates' assist on the play was his sixth of the season, while Henningson picked up his fourth. Bates would pick up his second assist of the game, and seventh on the season, at the 7:22 mark when the senior captain hooked up with Leitch again. Leitch's pass would find senior Nelson who scored his fourth goal of the season. The assist was Leitch's fourth of the season.

Princeton would cut the Bobcat lead in half with a goal at the 16:11 mark of the second period. On the play, Mike Kramer scored his first career goal on assists from Matt Godlewski and Dan Bartlett. The goal broke Quinnipiac goalie Bud Fisher's four-period scoreless streak against the Tigers. Princeton evened the score at 2-2 at the 11:11 mark when Mike Moore found Cam McIntyre out in front of the Quinnipiac goal for the one-timer. McIntyre's shot was saved by Fisher, but Lee Jubinville received the rebound and scored over the right shoulder of Fisher to tie the game.

Bates picked up his third assist of the night on Nelson's second goal of the game with just over a minute left in the second period. Nelson's slap shot from between the face-off circles in Princeton's zone found it's way to the upper right corner of the Tigers' goal. Leitch would also pick up his second assist on the night as the Bobcats took a 3-2 lead heading into the third period.

Quinnipiac took a two-goal lead at the 16:08 mark of the third period when Andrew Meyer's (St. Louis, Mo.) shot was deflected by a Princeton defenseman. David Marshall (Buffalo, Minn.) was there for the rebound to put away his fifth goal of the season.

Quinnipiac returns to action on Saturday, Nov. 24 when they host Princeton of the final of three straight games between the two teams. The game, televised live on the New England Sports Network (NESN), is set to start at 3:36 p.m. at the TD Banknorth Sports Center in Hamden, Conn.