Bobcats Skate to Tie with Niagara
HAMDEN, Conn. - The Quinnipiac University men's ice hockey team
snapped a seven-game losing streak with a 3-3 tie against Niagara
at the TD Bank Sports Center in Hamden, Conn. Quinnipiac goes to
13-10-2 overall while Niagara moves to 7-13-3. Despite losing a
two-goal lead in the third period, Quinnipiac remained undefeated
in its last 44 games (40-0-4) when leading after the second frame.
Senior Brandon Wong (Victoria, B.C.) scored twice for the Bobcats
while sophomore Scott Zurevinski (Saskatoon, Sask.) had three
assists.
Wong put the Bobcats on the board at the 3:43 mark with his
13th goal of the season coming on the power play. With a
man-advantage, the Bobcats worked the puck around the Niagara zone
before Zurevinski skated into the left face-off circle and dished
the puck to Jean-Marc Beaudoin (St. Paul, Alb.). Beaudoin then sent
the puck across the crease to Wong, who one-timed a shot past
Niagara goalie Chris Noonan to give Quinnipiac a 1-0 lead.
Quinnipiac entered Saturday's game with a 12-2-0 record when
scoring first.
The assist was Zurevinski's 10th of the season.
Zurevinski (11 goals, 12 assists), Wong (14-14) and Eric Lampe
(10-16) give Quinnipiac one of two line-ups in the country, along
with Michigan State, to feature three players in double figures in
goals and assists.
The Bobcats' one-goal lead lasted until the seven-minute mark of
the second period when Tyler Gotto notched his fifth goal of the
season on a pass from Ryan Oldis, who converted on his
10th assist of the year. The Bobcats responded with a
pair of goals inside the last five minutes of the second frame.
Beaudoin scored his seventh goal of the season when he batted the
puck out of mid-air past Noonan to give Quinnipiac a 2-1 lead.
Jeremy Langlois (Tempe, Ariz.) started the play on a breakaway. His
shot attempt was turned away by Noonan before it was picked up by
Zurevinski. Zurevinski had his shot blocked by a Niagara
defenseman, sending the puck straight up in the air. Beaudoin, who
was trailing the play, swung at the puck and knocked it past the
out-stretched leg of Noonan.
Wong scored his second goal of the game, and 14th of the
season, with 1:05 remaining in the period. Zurevinski dug the puck
out of the corner and skated to the slot. He turned away from the
goal and found Wong waiting for the pass. Wong's shot from the goal
line beat Noonan to give Quinnipiac a two-goal lead, 3-1, heading
into the third period.
A turnover in front of the Quinnipiac goal helped Niagara cut the
Bobcats' lead in half. David Ross picked up a broken clear attempt
and wristed a shot past Quinnipiac goalie Dan Clarke (Belleville,
Ont.) to pull within one, 3-2. Wes Consorti then scored the
game-tying goal just 1:50 into the third to tie the game. Consorti
was assisted on the play by Rob Martini and Dan Baco.
Quinnipiac once-again held the shot advantage in the tie with the
Purple Eagles. A night after outshooting Niagara 50-26, the Bobcats
put 58 shots on goal to NU's 33. The 58 shots were the second most
this season for Quinnipiac after a 63-shot performance against
Robert Morris on Oct. 31. In goal, Noonan totaled 55 saves while
Clarke turned away 30 in the game.
Quinnipiac returns to action on Friday, Jan. 29 when it travels to
Hanover, N.H. to take on ECAC Hockey foe Dartmouth College at 7
p.m.












