Quinnipiac turned out to be the best team in the MAAC by a pretty healthy margin, so the result here isn’t such a surprise. The margin? Maybe, especially in poor weather conditions that you might have otherwise expected to slow down the pace of play.
Tempo Free
From the official box score, a look at the tempo-free stats:
| Quinnipiac 2016 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Quinnipiac | Detroit | ||
| Faceoff Wins | 7 | Faceoff Wins | 15 |
| Clearing | 16-19 | Clearing | 13-16 |
| Possessions | 29 | Possessions | 34 |
| Goals | 14 | Goals | 4 |
| Offensive Efficiency | .483 | Offensive Efficiency | .118 |
Detroit controlled possession in the game, for the most part, but thanks to an offensive efficiency that was less than a quarter of their opponents’… it did not go well.
Notes
QU scored the first four goals, and Detroit never got closer than a brief dalliance at a three-goal deficit for the rest of the game. This was a wire-to-wire domination by the Bobcats. That happened despite relatively even possession – in fact, a slight advantage to the Titans at 7-6. That would be the story throughout the contest.
Speaking of that possession game, I alluded in a previous post to the Titans finding a groove on faceoffs to end the season with Ben Gjokaj taking control of the faceoff position. Gjokaj went 15/22, and managed to grab four ground balls in the process. While 2016 didn’t go the way the Titans wanted at the dot, his late-season success is a sign of positive things to come in 2017.
Something that didn’t show improvement over the rest of the season? Turnovers. The Titans committed 18 of them in 34 possessions, and while a relatively aggressive Quinnipiac team (seven forced) played a role in that… we saw over the year that this team simply needs to improve valuing the ball.
Jason Weber didn’t have his finest game, with 14 goals allowed and 10 saves, but he faced plenty of rubber, in his defense. With 13 shots faced in the first half alone (seven goals allowed), he was tested early and often. By the time the fourth quarter rolled around, his team was down seven goals, so it’s fair to say allowing four goals while making just one save was at the point where focus starts to slip a bit against an insurmountable lead.
Jordan Yono had one of the notably positive defensive performances for the Titans. He caused two turnovers and picked up three ground balls on the day.
A meager offensive output for Detroit was led by Mark Anstead, who had a goal and an assist (UDM’s only of the day, unsurprisingly on the man-up). Alec Gilhooly, Sean Birney, and Adam Susalla all contributed a goal. Volume-shooting, another of the Titans’ bugaboos spanning a couple seasons now, was an issue. It took Birney seven shots (four on goal) to get that score, and Andy Hebden and Kyle Beauregard were both held scoreless despite six shots apiece.
This was a super-sloppy game with nine total EMO opportunities. Quinnipiac probably didn’t need the help (and from Detroit’s perspective, playing a sloppy game when overmatched by the opponent is not the way to spring an upset), but capitalized on three of four chances. Detroit converted just one of five opportunities.
It should come as no surprise that Quinnipiac had some good offensive performances, led by attack Brian Feldman’s five goals and three assists – slight work – and three-point days out of midfielders Ryan Keenan and Foster Cuomo.
Elsewhere
Boxscore. Detroit recap. Quinnipiac recap. ESPN3 replay.
Up Next
Hey! It’s time to recap a win! Detroit took down Monmouth on the road the following weekend.