April 9, 2023
A Season’s Worth of Effort Led to Dramatic 10 Seconds of OT That Won Title for Quinnipiac
by Joshua Seguin/Staff Writer (@JoshSeguin24)
(photo: Rich Gagnon)
TAMPA, Fla. Overtime drama usually builds, especially when it decides a national championship, as it did Saturday for the first time in 12 years.
This time it took just 10 seconds.
And that’s thanks to The Play.
Jacob Quillan won the faceoff back to defenseman Zach Metsa. Metsa threaded a seam pass to Sam Lipkin. Lipkin lifted a beauty of a backhand across ice back to Quillan. Quillan buried it.
Quinnipiac wins, 3-2, over mighty Minnesota.
“I think it was the perfect time,” Metsa said. “If anything, I even handcuffed (Lipkin) because it was a little bit towards his skates. I am happy though, because it won us a national championship.”
“Quillan and I just split there,” said Lipkin. “That is his game, he wins the draw and I split off down the right. He plays an honest game, is one of the best players in the country to me and I am so happy for him. That was a set play that really worked out.”
The pass connected and the rest is history.
“That play ended up about as ideal as it could have,” Metsa said. “It is just a way to attack the middle of the ice. We do that play so we can create confusion. (Collin) Graf did a good job, because he sucked the D over and they got really spread out on the play. I have to credit Quils and Lipper because they both made unbelievable plays to finish it off.“
It’s a play they have tried hundreds of times. It usually doesn’t work this well. Especially in practice, since their players all know it’s coming.
In overtime, Minnesota was baffled. And it won a championship.
Minnesota actually won the first faceoff of overtime, but won it so cleanly, it went straight out of play in one second. So the teams lined up again.
The key, of course, is winning the faceoff.
Quillan, normally good on draws, was not good in Thursday’s semifinal. He admitted it afterward, and he scored two goals, so he could laugh it off. “He was 2-and-9. He stunk,” assistant coach Mike Corbett said.
Corbett and Quillan went to work via video, all of Friday and into Saturday.
Quillan went 12-for-18. A complete turnaround.
“We just talked about it,” Corbett said. “He’s a big, strong kid, and he just has to get over the dot. And he was kinda getting bullied (Thursday). And he needs to…
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