Quinnipiac wins home opener

Qunnipiac opened its home schedule tonight with a 5-3 win over Holy Cross. A couple of quick notes:

• Yuri Bouharevich missed his third straight game with an injury, but Rand Pecknold hopes he'll be back by this weekend. Mike Dalhuisen was a healthy scratch.


• Quinnipiac started slow, and that may have been due to the midweek game coming just a few days after flying home from a two-game set at Ohio State. Pecknold said he doesn't want to set up the schedule like that, but sometimes there's no other choice. The Bobcats should get used to is. Canisius is here Saturday and Sunday, and Bentley comes in Tuesday for three games in four days. At least there's no air travel involved.


• A year ago, with a lineup dominated by freshmen and sophomores, Pecknold said his team might have panicked after blowing a two-goal lead. That didn't happen tonight, as Quinnipiac quickly tied it before putting it away in the third period. "It's only three games, it's a little early to jump the gun and say we are more mature. But I have seen some signs that they are more emotionally mature this year," Pecknold said. "There was no panic on the bench."


• Dan Clarke's first outing was OK. He came up with some huge saves, including on the breakaway with the game still tied at 3-3. "It was a tough game for a goaltender, I think we hung him out to dry a couple of situations," Pecknold said. "We gave up some chances that shouldn't happen, the power play goal we misread the play, didn't have our guys collapse. We have to be there to pick up the stick. Again, he found a way to win and handled the puck pretty well, which was nice."


• Matthew Peca has a bright future. Pecknold said he may have been a little mentally and physically tired after the Ohio State weekend, where he played well. But the talent is evident. "It's a lot for an 18-year old to handle what he's gone through," Pecknold said. "He's going to be a great player for us."