A night after yielding three goals in the final 64 seconds and settling for a 5-5 tie against Iona, Quinnipiac was on a mission Saturday night at the Northford Ice Pavilion.
The two-time defending MAAC regular-season champs wanted to prove that its season opener was nothing more than a fluke and that Iona’s four-goal third period rally was the exception and not the norm.
So, with a night to think about things, Quinnipiac reverted back to its old form in the back end of the home-and-home series with the Gaels. Thanks to a goal and an assist from senior left wing Chris Cerrella and 18 saves from freshman goaltender Justin Eddy, the Braves were able to record a 3-1 win for their first victory of the season.
“We were still down a bit after last night’s game,” Cerrella said. “We had a lot to prove tonight after losing a 5-1 lead late in the third period last night.”
Said Braves coach Rand Pecknold: “This was a big win for us. Obviously we had a huge letdown last night, but tonight we reloaded. We just played better defensively starting from the back out, and Justin Eddy was fantastic in his first start.”
Quinnipiac (1-0-1, 1-0-1 MAAC) was able to distance itself from Iona with a strong second period in which it scored a pair of goals. After Gaels’ winger Chad Nordhagen tallied 4:26 into the period to knot the game at 1, freshman Ryan Morton netted his first collegiate goal at the 12:08 mark to give the Braves the lead for good. The rookie right winger worked his way into the right faceoff circle from behind the Iona cage and backhanded a shot through the pads of Mike Fraser for a 2-1 advantage.
Junior center Ryan Olson would then provide some insurance just five minutes later with the Braves’ second power-play goal of the night. Cerrella drew two defenders to him along the right wing boards before delivering a cross ice pass right onto the tape of Olson at the left circle, who tucked a shot under the left shoulder of Fraser to make it 3-1.
From there, Eddy made the lead stand up with a host of sparkling saves. Among the best were a pair of stops on breakaways by all-MAAC forward Ryan Carter with the Braves clinging to a one-goal advantage midway through the second period.
“I was really focused out there,” Eddy said. “It’s kind of hard not to be with tonight being the first game and everyone watching. Our D-guys kept telling me to play the simple game and not to worry about the clock or anything else.”
Added Cerrella: “Justin is going to be a great goalie in this league and he’s just what J.C [Wells, the Braves starting goaltender] needs, that’s some pressure from a new guy. They’re going to push each other. It’s good to have two quality starting goalies in this league.”
Cerrella ignited the Braves offense with a power-play goal late in the first period. The North Massepequa, N.Y., native played give-and-go with teammate Matt Erhart in the high slot before rifling a shot past Iona’s Mike Fraser for a 1-0 lead at the 19 minute mark.
Nordhagen would go on to net the equalizer for Iona early in the second frame, but Quinnipiac settled down from there and rode its defense and goaltending to a two-goal win.
“We’re really trying to focus on becoming a better defensive hockey team,” Pecknold said. “That’s one of our objectives for the year. Last night wasn’t indicative of it, however. Offensively, we know that we’re going to score goals — we did it last year and we’re going to do it again this year — but we’re really focusing on our defense.”
