Quinnipiac sophomore wing scored the tying goal midway through the third period and then netted the game winner with 2:42 gone in overtime to lift the 14th-ranked Bobcats to a 3-2 ECAC Hockey win over St. Lawrence at Appleton Arena Saturday night.

Quinnipiac improves to 8-3-1 overall and 5-1-0 after winning the battle of two first-place teams in ECAC action. The Saints are 8-5-1 overall and now 4-2-0 in the league with an off week before concluding pre-holiday league play with arch-rival Clarkson on Dec. 6.

It was the third straight win for Quinnipiac on Saint home ice, although much closer than the previous two and while it was a good hockey game, it was a disappointing loss for the Saints.

"That was a real tough way to lose," said Saint coach Greg Carvel. "We had two defensive breakdowns that led to the tying and go-ahead goals and you just can't have breakdowns against a good team like that. They are very talented and well-coached and they took advantage."

Quinnipiac controlled play early and took the lead 11:06 into the first period when freshman wing Tanner MacMaster scored his first collegiate goal, collecting his own rebound after a shot off the post and tucking it back past Saint freshman goalie Kyle Hayton.

"They outplayed us in the first, but I thought we caught our stride in the second and played well. We took a lead into the third and then they came back. It was an unfortunate outcome for us in a battle for first place."

The Saints dominated the second period, outshooting Quinnipiac 10-3, and took a 2-1 lead. Senior center Patrick Doherty tied it with his fifth of the year on a wrist shot inside the far post at 1:58 from defenseman Eric Sweetman and rookie defender Matt Purmal scored his second of the weekend when he took a pass from Tommy Thompson and banked one off the post and in at 16:01.

Anas tied it when he put back his own rebound at 10:01 of the third period and scored the game winner when he circled in front and snapped a shot in off the crossbar just after a Quinnipiac power play had expired.

Both goalies finished with 26 saves as Quinnipiac had a slight 29-28 edge in shots on goal and neither team scored on the power play despite 11 opportunities between them.