“Pathetic, embarrassing,” the fourth-year head coach said after the game. “That’s one of the worst matches I’ve ever been in.”
The Bobcats boat raced the No. 13 Terriers (5-6-1, 3-3 Hockey East) from the opening draw, peppering sophomore goaltender Mikhail Yegorov with 25 shots in the first period. Quinnipiac entered the locker room with a 3-0 lead after twenty minutes.
Junior forward Mason Marcellus got the No. 10 Bobcats (7-3-1, 1-1 ECAC) on the board just 3:06 into the game, capitalizing on a neutral zone turnover by senior forward Owen McLaughlin. Senior captain Victor Czerneckianai doubled the lead at 10:51, and freshman defenseman Nate Tivey made it 3-0 at 14:07.
The opening frame was the worst 20 minutes BU has played this season. The Terriers couldn’t break out of their zone, and if they did, they couldn’t control the puck.
“Give them credit, they’re a very good team, very well coached,” Pandolfo said. “We are a very poorly coached team based on what I just saw.”
When asked to explain why BU is poorly coached, Pandolfo responded, “Look at the way we play hockey.”
“That’s on me for not holding our guys accountable, not playing to a certain standard. Don’t block a shot, don’t cover anyone in front of our net, just let the team skate around us. Some of it has to be attributed to the way I coach these guys,” he added.
The second period ended 5-2. Junior forward Jack Harvey scored in shorthand to put the Terriers on the board at 10:37, and sophomore forward Nick Roukounakis – who made his season debut on Saturday – scored the second goal, his first as a Terrier, at 12:54.
Pandolfo said Roukounakis was “really good” for someone playing his first game of the year. He also praised BU’s fourth line of freshmen Jonathan Morello and Ben Merrill in addition to Roukounakis.
“They’re the only sentence that had any effect on the game,” he said.
The Bobcats added two power-play goals in the second, courtesy of freshman forwards Antonin Verreault and Ethan Wyttenbach. The penalty has been a bright spot for the Terriers this season, but they struggled against Quinnipiac.
Sophomore forward Cole Eiserman returned to the lineup after a four-game absence. BU’s power play continued its struggles in its return, finishing 0 of 6.
Freshman forward Markus Vidicek scored the lone goal at the 11:01 mark of the third period. Yegorov finished with 43 saves in the loss, and junior Matej Marinov stopped 31 shots for the Bobcats in the win.
“That was sad. There’s really nothing else to say about it,” Pandolfo said.
He added that Quinnipiac “keeps it simple” and sticks to its structure in every situation. “They come on your side and below the goal line. They throw it right into the slot, which we talked about, but we let them do it anyway.”
The Terriers are now 1-6 against ranked opponents this season, with their lone win coming against UConn on October 25 on the road. If BU continues to play the way it did against the Bobcats, it will continue to struggle.
“That was disgusting,” Pandolfo said.
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