SATURDAY ROUNDUP: No. 4 Quinnipiac wins Belpot championship in dramatic shootout over No. 17 UMass; No. 14 UMass Lowell rallies from three down for third place in Belfast; Michigan hands Harvard first loss; Brown upsets PC for Mayor’s Cup

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Quinnipac captain Zach Metsa rings the coveted Belpot trophy after defeating Massachusetts in a shootout during Saturday’s Friendship Four in Belfast, N.I. It was the first time the Belpot has been awarded since 2019. (Photo: William Cherry/Presseye)

In a dramatic ending to the 2022 Friendship Four in Belfast, N.I., Quinnipiac’s Christophe Tellier netted the only goal in a three-round shootout and goaltender Yaniv Perets stopped all three shots he faced as the Bobcats captured the Belpot trophy after a 2-2 championship game tie with runner-up Massachusetts.

The victory righted Quinnipiac’s loss in the 2016 Friendship Four title game when a heavily-favored Bobcats squad fell to Vermont.

The shootout came after a dramatic 65 minutes of hockey between the two nationally-ranked opponents. Quinnipiac never trailed, jumping to a 1-0 lead on Ethan de Jong’s power play tally at 14:25 of the first.

The game remained that way until Taylor Makar scored on a breakaway with 14:46 remaining.

Another power play goal by Skyler Brind’Amour with 4:14 left in regulation was answered just 31 seconds later when Michael Cameron buried the rebound of Scott Morrow’s shot.

Overtime provided plenty of entertainment yet not a single whistle during the five-minute frame. It was Morrow who had the best chance in the final minute, firing a puck from the low slot off the left post.

Collin Graf, who set up both Quinnipiac goals in regulation on Saturday, was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.

Quinnipiac is the third ECAC team, joining Clarkson and Union, to capture the Belpot Trophy. UMass Lowell, Vermont and Northeastern have taken home the title for Hockey East.

In Saturday’s consolation game, UMass Lowell rallied from a 3-0 first period deficit, tied the game with an extra-attacker goal late and defeated Dartmouth in overtime, 4-3, on Stefan Owens first goal of the season.

SCOREBOARD  |  USCHO.com POLL

No. 5 Michigan 4, No. 9 Harvard 1

Michigan handed Harvard its first loss of the season, scoring twice in the first period and cruising to a 4-1 victory.

Four different Wolverines scored goals, including the 12th tally of the year by Mackie Samoskevich, which ended up being the game winner.

Erik Portillo returned to the Wolverines net and stopped 39 Crimson shots to earn the victory.

Brown 3, No. 8 Providence 2 (Mayor’s Cup, Providence, R.I.)

Brown snapped a six-game losing streak against crosstown rival Providence in the annual Mayor’s Cup series, holding on for a 3-2 victory.

The Bears scored three times in a span of 4:16 in the second period to oust Providence starter Austin Roden (11 saves) and build a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

Austen May scored late in the third to pull Providence within a goal, but Brown netminder Mathieu Caron (35 saves) was solid down the stretch to secure the victory.

Other notable games on Saturday:

Cornell 6, No. 6 Connecticut  0 (The Frozen Apple, New York, N.Y.)
No. 1 Denver 6, Omaha 3

And here’s something you need to see from Saturday…

Arizona State’s Robert Mastrosimone scores the overtime winner with 1.0 second left to upset No. 2 Minnesota

 

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