The men’s hockey team moved on to the ECAC finals for the first time since 1993 after conquering No.1 Quinnipiac University 4-0 Friday afternoon.
Bruno will face No. 18 Union College tomorrow in the ECAC championship game following the Dutchmen's win over No. 11 Yale in Friday's other semifinal match.
"That was as complete a game as we have played all year," Head Coach Brendan Whittet ’94 told Brown Bears, the Brown athletics website. "We were excellent in taking care of the puck. We capitalized when we could and I couldn't ask for a better effort from all the guys.”
Goalie Anthony Borelli ’13 stopped 29 shots on the way to his fourth shutout of the season. Leading scorer Matt Lorito ’15 tallied two bookend goals for Bruno, his 21st and 22nd scores of the year.
The loss for Quinnipiac (26-8-5, ECAC 17-3-3) is only its third in ECAC play. This victory has made the Bears (17-13-6, 8-9-6) the only ECAC team that has not lost to the Bobcats, previously tying them twice in overtime.
Lorito opened the scoring for Bruno midway through the first period on a one-timer from Mark Naclerio ’16 with an assist from Nick Lappin ’16 that slipped past Bobcat goalie Eric Hartzell on the far side.
Garnet Hathaway ’14 brought the score to 2-0 late in the first, rebounding Jeff Ryan’s ’13 attempt.
Bruno kept up the pace during the second period, scoring two goals within three minutes of each other midway through the frame.
Francis Drolet ’13 scored his first goal of the season with seven minutes, four seconds left in the second, putting him on the scoreboard for the first time since 2010. He was assisted by Joe Prescott ’16 and Marc Senecal ’13.
Lorito followed up Drolet’s goal minutes later with a power-play goal on a pass from Naclerio. Lorito lifted the shot over Hartzell’s stick to bring the score to 4-0.
Borelli put the cap on a stellar performance in the third period, stopping a Bobcat breakaway attempt with 12 minutes left in the game.
This week, Lorito was named to the second team All-ECAC, and Borelli was named to the third team.
With a win against Union (20-12-5, 10-8-4) in the championship, Bruno would earn an automatic berth to the NCAA tournament and a first round matchup at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Providence March 30.
