HAMDEN, Conn. -- Nationally-ranked No. 9 Quinnipiac defeated Bentley 4-3 in a non-conference match-up at High Point Solutions Arena at the TD Bank Sports Center in Hamden, Conn. Quinnipiac wins its fourth consecutive game to improve to 4-1-0 overall while Bentley drops to 1-4-0 on the year.
Freshman Sam Anas scored twice for the Bobcats, while freshmen Derek Smith and Peter Quenneville both had two assists. Jordan Samuels-Thomas scored in his third consecutive game while Zach Tolkinen scored his first goal of the year. Tolkinen BS Anas' second goal both came on the power play, giving the Bobcats' seven goals with a man-advantage in its last four games.
Michael Garteig, who was honored as the ECAC Hockey Goaltender of the Week earlier in the day, picked up his fourth consecutive win after stopping 10 of Bentley's 13 shots on goal. For the night, Quinnipiac out-shot the Falcons, 50-13.
Samuels-Thomas scored 1:34 into the game when he took a pass from Smith just above the left face-off circle, skated in on Bentley's Brandon Komm, and beat the senior goalie five-hole to put the Bobcats on the board. Samuels-Thomas has now scored in three consecutive games for the Bobcats.
Less than halfway through the first, Anas scored his first goal of the game when he collected a rebound off a shot by Matthew Peca and sniped the puck over the left shoulder of Komm to give Quinnipiac a two-goal lead. Bentley's Alex Griece took advantage of a defensive-zone turnover by the Bobcats and fired the puck past Garteig to cut Quinnipiac's lead in half 2-1 heading into the first intermission.
In the second period, Anas scored his second goal of the game, this one on the power play, to give Quinnipiac a 3-1 lead. Kellen Jones took a pass from Quenneville in the high slot and put the puck on Anas' tape. Anas, sliding below the goal line, tucked the puck just inside the left post.
Tolkinen scored Quinnipiac's fourth goal, and second on the power play, when he took a pass from Dan Federico, wound up and blasted the puck from the point, past Komm as Quinnipiac held a 4-1 lead halfway through the second period. Quenneville picked up his second assist of the night on the play.
With less than four minutes to play in the period, Max French knocked the puck off the stick of a Bobcats skater behind Quinnipiac's goal. Charlie Donners collected it and sent it out to Justin Breton at the point. Breton unleashed a one-timer through traffic that beat Garteig to the opposite post to cut Quinnipiac's lead to 4-2.
With eight minutes left in regulation, Brett Switzer scored to cut Quinnipiac's two-goal lead in half 4-3. Bentley, on the power play after a Bobcat penalty, moved the puck around the Bobcats' zone. Steve Weinstein gave the puck to Charlie Donners who found Switzer just below the blue line. Switzer one-timed Donners' pass, beating Garteig and pulling the Falcons within a goal late in the game.
