Hamden, Conn. – Quinnipiac earned its sixth-straight win Saturday afternoon at the TD Bank Sports Center, defeating Holy Cross 4-1 while also sweeping the home-and-home series. Sam Anas recorded two goals, while Bryce Van Brabant and Travis St. Denis tallied a score each. Mike Barrett recorded the lone goal for Holy Cross. Quinnipiac outshot Holy Cross 49-18 on the day, also converting on two of its six power plays.

What I saw:

– Quinnipiac had some trouble finishing its chances in the first period. The Bobcats played with plenty of speed, blowing past Holy Cross defenders in the offensive zone, but shots and passes kept getting broken up.

– Anas notched two more goals, bringing his season total to six with four coming in the past three games. Though one was a combination of a poor angle and an unlucky bounce, Anas had additional chances throughout the night, including a breakaway and a shot off the pipe. With Peter Quenneville out of the Bobcats lineup, Anas played on the first line with Connor and Kellen Jones to great success.

What I thought:

– Holy Cross held the tempo at times in the first period, especially when it scored its only goal, but never regrouped after Quinnipiac tied it.

– The Bobcats began to overpower the Crusaders in the second period, and it continued for the rest of the game. Quinnipiac held Holy Cross to just four shots on goal, also notching eight grade-a chances compared to the Crusaders’ zero in the stanza.

– Kellen Jones was tripped up on a breakaway and wasn’t given a penalty shot for some bizarre reason. Strange non-call, yet Quinnipiac ended up scoring on that power play anyway. Fortunately it wasn’t a huge difference maker.

What they said:

“They wore us down,” Holy Cross head coach Paul Pearl said. “We’re playing a lot of the same guys a ton of minutes. They play a good, thorough game. Their physicality and their speed wore us down.”

“Very happy with our effort tonight,” Quinnipiac head coach Rand Pecknold said. “Now our ECAC season starts. I like how we’re playing. We need to be healthy, hopefully we’ll get Quenneville back next weekend.”

“We’ve had a good mindset coming into these games, and it’s not gonna change,” Anas said. “We play our game, compete hard. We’re playing well.”

What else you need to know:

– Holy Cross opens up conference play on Nov. 1 when it hosts Sacred Heart.

– Quinnipiac starts league play on Nov. 1 when it travels to Colgate.

Saturday, October 26th, 2013 - 6:55 pm | ECAC