By Pete Rossi, QBSN Staff Writer
Last weekend, the Quinnipiac Bobcats women’s ice hockey team fought hard in two tough ECAC match-ups. On Friday, the Bobcats dropped a thriller 3-2 to Dartmouth and on Saturday gave up a 3-1 lead heading into the third period to allow the Harvard Crimson to tie them 3-3. It doesn’t get easier for the Bobcats this weekend as they face Cornell Friday and Colgate Saturday. As a result, the first-place Bobcats move to 13-8-2 overall and 9-3-2 in ECAC Hockey competition.
Bobcats Last Game:
Quinnipiac looked to have shaken off all the rust that plagued them against Dartmouth the night before as they jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the fourth minute of the first period off of the stick of sophomore forward Erica Uden Johanssen (Sundsvall, Sweden). Johanssen was set up in front all alone off a beautiful play behind the net by sophomores Kelly Babstock (Mississauga, Ontario) and Megan Hagg (Ajax, Ontario). Quinnipiac ended the period up 1-0 thanks to stellar play in net from junior goalie Victoria Vigilanti (Woodbridge, Ontario).
Forty-seven seconds into the second period, Harvard got on the board on sophomore Kaitlin Spurling's fourth score on the year. The Bobcats regained the lead less than four minutes later on Kate Wheeler’s (Oakville, Ontario) slap shot to put the Bobcats back up 2-1. The goal was assisted by senior Chelsea Illchuck (Lockport, Manitoba) with a gorgeous no look pass from behind the net to find a streaking Wheeler coming down the right side to beat Harvard goalie Laura Bellamy. Babstock extended Quinnipiac's lead to 3-1 in the second stanza on a tremendous individual effort, short-handed tally. The sophomore star intercepted a pass from a Harvard forward on the blue line and raced in towards Bellamy on a break-away, sneaking the puck just under the left pad for her 12th of the season. The period would end QU up 3-1, thanks again to Vigilanti coming up big in net.
Things would get hairy for the Bobcats in the third period as Harvard mounted a strong comeback against the number one team in the ECAC. Early in the third period, Harvard made it 3-2 thanks to a Lindsey Fry deflection which went right past Vigilanti’s right pad. Just over six minutes later, Harvard made it three apiece on Marissa Gedman’s power play goal. Both team continued to trade chances for the rest of the period, as the Bobcats dominated the OT frame, but neither team was able to get that elusive fourth goal. Harvard went 1-for-3 on its power-play opportunities and Quinnipiac went 0-for-3 on its extra skater chances.
Cornell Last Game:
Cornell’s last game came as a 3-0 shutout of ECAC opponent Colgate this past Wednesday, for its second shutout in a row. Rebecca Johnston had two goals and goalie Lauren Slebodnik had her second shutout in a row between the pipes. Johnston’s first goal came off a great individual rush up ice and a quick wrap around to tap it in on the left side with her teammates battling in front. Her second came on a Cornell 5-3 advantage. It developed when Hayleigh Cudmore fired a wrist shot from near the blue line, the puck found its way through Colgate goalie Kimberly Sass but not into the net. Johnston was there for the rebound tap in, and the Big Red held a 2-0 lead.
The second period was scoreless, with the Cornell penalty kill coming up big in turning away a Raiders five-three advantage early on in the frame.
The third saw the same defensive play from Cornell as they killed another five-three advantage to Colgate, getting their third goal from the stick of Lauriane Rougeau off the post.
Last Game Between QU and Cornell:
The Bobcats had to have a short term memory after their first meeting of the season between these two, way back on Nov. 19th of last year. The Bobcats suffered their worst loss of the season, at home no less, 7-1. Cornell's steady attack began with a goal by senior Chelsea Karpenko, whose first period goal gave the Big Red the 1-0 lead. Karpenko then added her second goal of the game minutes later, before senior Rebecca Johnston added the team's third score with less than a minute left in the frame.
The Big Red continued its pressure in the second stanza, receiving goals from sophomore Brianne Jenner, freshman Emily Fulton, and sophomore Jessica Campbell, extending the lead to 6-0 by the second intermission.
The Big Red continued its pressure in the second stanza, receiving goals from sophomore Brianne Jenner, freshman Emily Fulton, and sophomore Jessica Campbell, extending the lead to 6-0 by the second intermission.
Following Jenner's score, Quinnipiac's sophomore goaltender Vigilanti was replaced by freshman netminder Chelsea Laden (Lakeville, Minn.), who protected the net for the remainder of the game. Vigilanti turned away 11 shots during her time between the pipes, while Laden made 15 saves. Sophomore Lauren Slebodnick made 30 saves for Cornell, earning her fourth win of the season.
The teams traded goals in the third period, as Cornell added its final goal on senior Catherine White's sixth goal of the season. Hagg followed with Quinnipiac's goal off a Babstock rebound shot to bring the game to its final score of 7-1.
The teams traded goals in the third period, as Cornell added its final goal on senior Catherine White's sixth goal of the season. Hagg followed with Quinnipiac's goal off a Babstock rebound shot to bring the game to its final score of 7-1.
Keys for QU:
1. Defense needs to start putting up points. This is the time of the year when teams who have hopes of going deep in the ECAC playoffs need to have scoring from defense. With point players such as Captain Jordan Elkins (Wasilla, Ala.) and Regan Boulton (Brandon, Manitoba), the Bobcats should look to the defensive corps for big points.
2. Power play needs to succeed. This past weekend the Bobcats power play looked weaker than usual, and with the amount of talent this team has, they should have no problems on the man advantage.
3. Hold leads. The Bobcats, at points this season, have allowed teams to come back in big games and therefore, either tie or eventually lose, giving away one or two points here or there. With Cornell hot on QU’s lead in the ECAC, Quinnipiac needs to finish strong in this one.
4. The return of freshman standout Nicole Kosta (Mississauga, Ontario). This past weekend, Kosta was in Germany with Canada’s U-22 team winning the Bronze medal and getting seven points (five goals, two assists) in four games. This opened up a roster spot for freshman Morgan Fritz –Ward (Mason City, Iowa), and although not scoring any points, she looked good in her first two games as a Bobcat. But the return of Kosta, the team’s second leading scorer behind Babstock, should right the Bobcat’s offensive woes.
Keys for Cornell:
1. Score early and often. We have seen what Cornell can do to tough teams as well as Vigilanti. If the Big Red shakes up Vigilanti early on, then it could open the floodgates as it did last time.
2. Take Quinnipiac defense out of the play. This past weekend, Harvard and Dartmouth did a tremendous job of taking offensive defensemen of QU out of the plays, which hurt them in the long run.
3. Whoever is in net, either Slebodnik or Amanda Mazzota, needs to come up big and stop the Bobcats from getting on the board early and get into the head of the Bobcats offensive threats.
4. Get home crowd on their side. Cornell boasts one of the best men’s ice hockey fan bases, and where the women’s team does not get the same attention, as the case with Quinnipiac, there will be some there to support the Big Red, so getting the home crowd pumping will be a must.
No comments:
Post a Comment