It took eighteen games, but Quinnipiac finally has a loss. The Bobcats fell 4-1 to Boston University in the first-ever meeting between the teams on Saturday, snapping a seventeen-game unbeaten streak to start the season. The loss also broke a three-game shutout streak for Quinnipiac and goalie Michael Garteig.
It’s a tough way to head into the break, but it shouldn’t take away from a tremendous first half for the Bobcats. Quinnipiac opens the second half with a manageable stretch of games before facing Harvard at Madison Square Garden on Jan. 9. Despite a narrow one-point lead over Cornell for first place in the ECAC standings, I see the Bobcats as the favorites for the Cleary Cup at the season’s midway point.
Yale back on track
Friday’s win over Boston University was nice for Yale in the sense that it stopped a three-game losing streak and sent the Bulldogs into the break on a winning note. But the result might have been secondary to Alex Lyon’s return in net. The junior goalie was injured during warm-ups last Saturday and missed that night’s game against Princeton. 4
For a team that has struggled to finish its scoring opportunities, losing Lyon for any stretch of time would have been devastating. Instead, Lyon returned and stopped 27 saves against the Terriers, the team that beat Yale in overtime in the first round of last year’s NCAA tournament.
Rensselaer wraps up impressive first half
What a difference a year makes. After heading into last year’s winter break on a five-game losing streak, RPI hits this season’s break on a three-game unbeaten streak after sweeping Arizona State over the weekend. The Engineers are 10-6-3 so far after winning 12 games all of last season. RPI hit that mark despite losing senior goalie Jason Kasdorf for a month due to injury. However, freshman Cam Hackett didn’t miss a beat filling in for Kasdorf, and gives RPI one of the strongest goalie combinations in the league heading into the second half
