The holiday break is time for family, home-cooked meals, and relaxation, but it can also have negative effects.
The Quinnipiac Bobcats were handed a 3-2 loss on their home ice at the hands of the RIT Tigers. This was the Bobcats’ first game back on the ice since the break.
“We were rusty, but we had enough time to practice when we got back from the break,” said Quinnipiac head coach Rand Pecknold.
The rust showed as RIT (10-6-2) scored in the opening minute. Steve Martic received a backdoor pass from Brennan Sarazin for the 1-0 lead 36 seconds in.
“Tonight we were not mentally ready to play,” said Pecknold.
The Bobcats (8-5-4) regrouped after the goal and got a tally of their own. Bobcat captain Reid Cashman picked up a pass from Chris Myers and wristed home the puck for his first of the season, 11 minutes in.
The Tigers took the lead back with just under three minutes remaining in the first period, when Dan Ringwald banged home a bouncing puck on the power play. Steve Pinizzotto took the shot from the point, saved by Bud Fisher, and Ringwald lit the lamp.
Quinnipiac’s Bryan Leitch evened the score when Ben Nelson found him alone in front of the net, and Leitch poked the puck home through Jocelyn Guimond’s five hole.
RIT sealed the win with Matt Smith’s 11th goal of the season. The Tigers moved the puck around the zone until Ringwald took a shot from a tough angle. The puck was deflected by Smith and trickled off Fisher’s shoulder and into the net.
Guimond made 33 saves in the win, while Fisher made 22 in the losing effort.
