Mar 07, 2024
Nothing’s perfect, but it’s hard to imagine playing a better game.
Led by a dominating performance from its special teams, St. Bonaventure (19-4-1) scored the last three goals to upend Quinnipiac, 5-1, in game two of pool play in the 16-team AAU College Hockey National Tournament Thursday afternoon in West Chester, Pennsylvania.
The third-seeded Bonnies scored three power-play goals and killed off six of seven Bobcat power plays. Five different players scored and goaltender Rory Fitzpatrick stopped all but one of 29 shots.
“That was a pretty complete game. The only thing we’d like to do better is cut down on our penalties,” said Jordan Farnham, the Bonnies coach. “That was the best our forecheck has looked in a long time.”
SBU faces No. 6 Buffalo at 6:15 p.m. Friday to complete play in Pool C.
The Bonnies (2-0) are the only unbeaten team in the pool and will advance to Saturday’s semifinals with a win or tie. They could also qualify via tiebreakers with a loss in a three-way tie at 2-1 with UB (1-1) and Quinnipiac (1-1); the Bobcats play Auburn (0-2) Friday.
Owen Hughes’ blistering wrist shot on the power play less than 90 seconds into the game gave SBU a lead it wouldn’t relinquish. Early in the second period, Jack Kernitz slammed home a rebound from Mitchell Marsh, who made a great move at the blue line to gain the zone, to give Bonaventure a 2-0 lead.
The only blemish on the scoresheet was a perfect shot by Alex Umbro three seconds into a power play 5 minutes into the third period to cut the lead to 2-1.
But Carson Schlager put home a rebound 5 minutes later on a 5-on-3 power play, Michael Robertson scored just 3 seconds after a power play ended, and Aiden Jones scored on another 5-on-3 with 6:14 to play to put the game away.
“Our second power-play unit was dynamite,” Farnham said. “They scored both 5-on-3s and gave us a big boost tonight.”
All tournament games can be livestreamed for free at Black Dog Hockey.
The team in each of the four pools with the most points — teams earn two points for a win and one for a tie — will advance to the semifinals Saturday night. The title game is scheduled for 2 p.m. Sunday.
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About the University: The nation’s first Franciscan university, St. Bonaventure University is a community committed to transforming the lives of our students inside and outside the classroom, inspiring in them a lifelong commitment to service and citizenship. Out of 167 regional universities in the North, St. Bonaventure was ranked #6 for value and #14 for innovation by U.S. News and World Report (2024).