Elkins continues career in hockey
By Brian Farrell, QBSN Staff Writer
The temperature in Wasilla, Alaska today is hovering around 37 degrees. The temperature tomorrow in Dallas is about 82 degrees and in Hamden, Connecticut it is 61. The distance between the three locations is just a hair over six thousand miles.
After growing up in Alaska, and going to school in Connecticut, Jordan Elkins is ready to move to Texas to continue her life’s journey.
“I grew up in the North, and I’ve lived in the East, so now it’s time to give the South a try,” Elkins said jokingly with a bright smile. “It’s only fair to give that part of the states their due time with me.”
Most of the time a six thousand mile trip is closely related to a mid-life crisis to find out who one is, but for Elkins there is no mid-life crisis or search for inner-self. She knows who she is, and she is hockey.
After a stellar four year career with Quinnipiac, the senior captain is ready to move on to the next step in her life and like many collegiate athletes she is blessed with the opportunity to continue her life in the sport she loves.
Elkins was recently named the head coach of the Dallas Stars Elite Hockey Club’s U-14 team and U-12 Tournament team, and the assistant coach for the U-19 team.
“I just can’t let hockey go,” Elkins said warmly. “All the people it has led me to meet, all the things I’ve learned and all the places it has led me to across the darn United States, I just couldn’t let it go. So when this opportunity arose. . . I knew I could make a difference.”
The Dallas Stars Elite Hockey Club gives young players, both male and female, a chance to play at a competitive level with plenty of exposure from college scouts. As a recent NCAA athlete, Elkins knows that on-ice play isn’t the only thing that scouts look at.
“School is a big part of it,” Elkins said. “I know a number of NCAA coaches from helping with camps and clinics and they know if a girl has a good attitude or is good in school and all these factors play in to whether the coaches will select a player.”
In addition to a balance of stressing academics and hockey, Elkins wants to simply fill the gaps she had when she was playing youth hockey.
“Looking back now I wish I had a little bit more fun with it, because hockey gets hard on its own when you get to high school and college,” she said. “I never had a girl my age or a little bit older than me that had just gone through it and was there telling me exactly what was ahead.”
Elkins never had much of a female hockey figure in her life. From the age of five all the way through high school Elkins played hockey in a boy’s league. The closest girls’ league was located an hour away, but it wasn’t the distance that shied Elkins away from switching leagues. After all we know she isn’t afraid of traveling.
“If I could still play with the boys, why would I play in a girls’ league,” Elkins questioned with another smile.
Elkins’s hockey career started when she was five years old and continued for a couple of years.
“I actually quit playing hockey for a year to figure skate because all the boys were making fun of me.”
Such criticism is exactly what positions Elkins so well for a career in coaching.
“I would never tell someone that they can’t do something … I would love to have just one girl look at me and listen to me and look at how I coach and how I try to help them and say, ‘I can do this’ because you can.”
Luckily for Quinnipiac, and now for Dallas, Elkins eventually decided to lace the black skates up again and hit the ice with a stick, instead of a dress.
It’s clear that the magic of hockey has rubbed off on Elkins.
“If I can just make one girl want to keep playing and like hockey a little bit more, it’ll all be worth it.”
Women’s hockey breathes strong
By Brian Farrell, QBSN Staff Writer
The snow began falling early Thursday evening about 80 miles southeast of Potsdam, N.Y. Nearly five hours were already in the books for the Quinnipiac women’s ice hockey team as it traveled from Hamden to Clarkson University for the ECAC quarterfinals.
It was the same Clarkson team that swept the Bobcats during the regular season. It was the same Clarkson team that had not lost at Cheel Arena since Oct. 29 against Harvard in overtime. A rink that had not seen the Golden Knights lose in regulation since February of 2011.
But as the old adage goes, “that’s why we play the game.”
As the DATTCO bus drudged through the long winding New York roads, signs began to emerge.
“Welcome to Lake Placid: Home of the 1932 and 1980 Olympics.” With Disney’s Miracle shining brightly through the bus’s TV screen, players and media personal alike began to wonder.
As the team entered the picturesque upstate New York town, head coach Rick Seeley stood up at the front of the bus and informed the team that the bus was a little ahead of schedule. Next stop: Herb Brooks Arena, the home of the most famous “that’s why we play the game” in American history.
So 32 years and one day removed, the Quinnipiac women’s ice hockey team stood in awe and excitement watching a pee-wee hockey practice in the very building where “The Miracle on Ice” happened. About 24 hours later, the Bobcats would be on the ice at Cheel Arena.
As the team walked the concourse, one couldn’t help but be inspired. In a winter of nearly no snow, the sight of a moderate flurry blanketing the 400 meter speed skating track outside the arena could do nothing more than send chills down one’s spine.
This is the environment that the game of hockey was meant to be in. The long bus rides, the seemingly endless snow, the hum of the zamboni engine, the smooth cold concrete of the concourse, the ear piercing train whistle, the vocal fans, and that inexplicable smell that every rink possesses.
Was Quinnipiac on the verge of its own miracle on ice? No. The last time the U.S. played the Soviets before the Olympic Games the score was 10-3. The last time the Bobcats played Clarkson the score was 3-2 and a goal was disallowed with three seconds left in regulation.
The stop at Herb Brooks Arena was less of a reminder of an incredible moment in American history, but a simple example of why anyone involved with the game is lucky to be there. The quick layover became a momentary mental escape to a time when every hockey player was one of those pee-wee players dreaming of playing in the playoffs.
After scoring three goals in a span of two-minutes and 38-seconds within the first seven minutes of game one, the magic of a classic hockey road trip continued.
A 2-1 loss on Saturday was nothing more than a delay of the inevitable. As more Bobcats fans made the trip for game three, there was an air of confidence. Players and fans alike echoed the words of Confucius, “Take off the Knight's amour and the Knight's stand no chance.”
For many that made the trip on Sunday, there was no surprise that Quinnipiac arrived to the rink and put on a full 60 minute effort in the first elimination game of the season.
Quinnipiac players and fans will get to enjoy another weekend in a town where hockey breathes strong just like in Lake Placid and Potsdam. The puck drops at Lynah Rink in Ithaca, N.Y. at 3:30 p.m. on Friday.
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Bobcats celebrate senior day with win
By: Taylor Massey QBSN Staff Writer
The Quinnipiac women’s ice hockey team (17-14-2, 12-8-2 ECAC) celebrated senior day with a 5-1 win over RPI (9-21-4, 6-14-2) in its final regular season game. Three different players scored in the ECAC match-up, including a hat trick by Kelly Babstock (Mississauga, Ontario).
RPI and Quinnipiac appeared to match up evenly in an uneventful first period, but halfway through the second frame the Bobcats lit up. Breann Frykas (East St. Paul, Manitoba) was first on the board with a power-play goal six minutes into the period. Frykas caught the rebound off a shot by Regan Boulton (Brandon, Manitoba) and flicked it into the net past RPI goalie Brianna Piper.
Next Babstock came through with her first of three goals for the night on another power-play goal. Babstock was planted in front of the net at the right time to send in a rebound from a shot by Frykas. Minutes later she broke away for an unassisted goal. Babstock crossed in front of the goal and sent a quick shot over Piper’s shoulder to make it 3-0 at the end of the second.
RPI grabbed its first and only goal of the night with just over five minutes left in the game. Toni Sanders managed to get the puck past Victoria Vigilanti (Woodbridge, Ontario) with an assist by Eleeza Cox.
Soon after, Babstock achieved her third goal on an empty net to complete her hat trick. Head coach Rick Seeley was happy to see Babstock back in her groove.
“That’s her bread and butter around the net,” said Seeley. “Her hands are so quick and to pick-up pucks and then create that space and make the goals look easy, that’s what she’s great at.”
The Bobcats’ final goal came off the stick of senior Bethany Dymarczyk (Hamden, Conn.). Dymarczyk scored a short-handed goal on an empty net, but it held a certain sentimental value that only she knew.
“That was my first goal here at home ice and then for my last goal to be that exact same just kind of means a lot more to me than most people would think,” said Dymarczyk.
While Dymarczyk cherished personal moments in the victory, Seeley was looking forward with confidence.
“I think we accomplished what we needed to accomplish. We needed to come out of this weekend feeling good about how we were playing.”
When all is said and done, the Bobcats will be losing six seniors to graduation.
Quinnipiac ends the season with the sixth seed in the ECAC and will hit the road to take on Clarkson in the first round of playoffs starting Feb. 24.
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Third period dramatics not enough for Bobcats
By Angelique Fiske, QBSN Web-Editor
All eyes in the High Point Solutions Arena at the TD Bank Sports Center remained on the tunnel as the clock was stopped with three seconds left in the final period of Saturday’s women’s hockey game against ECAC opponent Clarkson. The Clarkson bench began to cheer as a referee emerged signaling no goal and killing the Bobcats’ hopes of a comeback, leaving the score at 3-2.
The play that led to the third period dramatics involved a pressing offensive force against the sprawled out Knight goalie, Erica Howe who came up with the game salvaging save. The loss makes for Quinnipiac’s fifth consecutive (15-15-2, 10-9-2 ECAC), while Clarkson (21-7-5, 15-4-2 ECAC) extends its win-streak to six games.
Clarkson never sacrificed its lead, silencing Quinnipiac as it scored three consecutive goals. The Knights wasted no time putting offensive pressure on the Bobcats, resulting in two goals in the first frame. Juana Baribeau hit a shot from pointblank-range past Bobcat keeper Chelsea Laden (Lakeville, Minn.) into the bottom right corner of the net halfway through the opening period. Brittany Styner, who assisted the first Knight goal, landed her second point of the period when she put one by Laden six minutes later with help from Hailey Wood.
Momentum carried in to the beginning of the second period for Clarkson when Jamie Lee Rattray took the puck down the ice and shot it right between Laden’s legs for the third Knight goal of the day.
“To beat a team like that any time, you can’t make those kind of mistakes,” head coach Rick Seeley said of Clarkson.
The Bobcats remained shut down until seven minutes into the second period when they utilized their fourth power play of the game. Sophomore Erica Uden Johansson (Sundsvall, Sweden) continued her post-break hot streak with her seventh goal of the year. Uden Johansson, Nicole Kosta (Mississauga, Ontario) and Regan Boulton (Brandon, Manitoba) positioned themselves outside of a clustered group of defenders, passing the puck like a game of monkey-in-the-middle when Uden Johansson shot from the faceoff circle to the near post.
In eerily similar fashion, Kate Wheeler (Oakville, Ontario) earned her seventh goal of the season with the helper from Kelly Babstock (Mississauga, Ontario) as the clock winded downwards from three minutes. While the goal itself was not during a power play, the offensive pressure of the previous man advantage set Wheeler up for the score.
“The kill was great against a very good power play,” said Seeley. “Our power play has been looking better and better every week.”
In addition to the power play goal and the set up from the player-advantage, the Bobcats managed to kill a five-on-three situation in the final frame.
“To kill of five-on-three against anyone is pretty impressive, and I think we did it with a lot of confidence,” Seeley said.
Aside from the special teams, Seeley did acknowledge the defensive challenges the Knights presented.
“I thought they did a great job of getting back and pressuring the puck, so I give them a lot of credit,” Seeley said.
As the regular season winds down and only two games remain, both ECAC opponents in Union and Rensselaer on Feb. 17 and 18 respectively, the Bobcats must prepare for the possibility of seeing this strong Clarkson defense again.
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Bobcats can’t finish the comeback
By Thomas Albanese, QBSN Staff Writer
After two lead changes in the third period, St. Lawrence came back to defeat the Quinnipiac Bobcats by a final score of 4-3 on Friday night at High Point Solutions Arena in the TD Bank Sports Center. After being down 2-0, Quinnipiac (15-13-2, 10-7-2 ECAC) scored three straight goals within the first ten minutes of the final period, off the sticks of centers Breann Frykas (East St. Paul, Manitoba) and Regan Boulton (Brandon, Manitoba). With less than two minutes to go, St. Lawrence (18-8-4, 15-5-2 ECAC) would take back the lead after two back-to-back goals were scored by right wing, Rylee Smith and center, Kelly Sabatine that were only separated by 22-seconds.
Going into the third period, Quinnipiac trailed the Saints of St. Lawrence University by a score of 2-0. Quinnipiac came out of the tunnel fired up in the last twenty minutes of the match. After the first two minutes, Frykas got a good look from the left side of the net after a nice pass from right wing, Amanda Colin (Burnsville, Minnesota), and Frykas scored the first goal of the night for the Bobcats.
They continued to put more pressure on St. Lawrence’s defense as four minutes later, Brittany Lyons (Canton, Massachusetts) took a hard slap shot that deflected off St. Lawrence’s goalie, Carmen MacDonald. Lyons factored into giving the assist as Frykas was right in front of the net and she scored her second goal of the night. Frykas goals numbers nine and ten on the season respectively.
After tying up the score, Quinnipiac continued to gain the momentum as St. Lawrence’s Brook Fernandez was penalized for checking. Despite the Bobcats at this time being 0-for-4 on power plays, they managed to get the puck to the back of the net. Boulton was able to push the puck across the goal line along with the assist from Erica Uden Johansson (Sundsvall, Sweden). After being reviewed, the goal was confirmed. The Bobcats finally solved their power play issues and were now leading the match by a score of 3-2.
Playing strong defense helped keep St. Lawrence off the board until everything changed in the final two minutes of play. St. Lawrence pulled Carmen MacDonald from the net in an attempt to have more offensive power against the Bobcats. It would pay off as right wing Rylee Smith would score her 18th goal of the season for St. Lawrence with the assist from sophomore Mel Desrochers as another group effort came in front of Quinnipiac’s goalie, Victoria Vigilanti (Woodbridge, Ontario). Only 22-seconds later, junior Kelly Sebatine scored an unassisted goal as she shot a hard slap shot that bounced off one of Quinnipiac’s defenders and into the net to give St. Lawrence the lead with just over one minute remaining in the match. The Bobcats were unable to spark another comeback.
“I thought the team played really inspiring hockey for the first nine minutes of the third period to get the lead, then we eased up a little bit, and after the two goals in the end, it all just fell apart” head coach Rick Seeley said.
Due to this rough loss, the Bobcats have now lost four consecutive games. With a win, Quinnipiac could have tied St. Lawrence for fifth place in the ECAC.
“This shows that you need to play hard all 60-minutes of a hockey match, otherwise it is very tough to win against any opponent” Seeley said.
The Quinnipiac Bobcats hope to get back on their winning ways again once they return today at 4 p.m. to High Point Solutions Arena against ECAC opponent, Clarkson to get back in the race for a good seed in the division with only three more conference games remaining.
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Bobcats can’t sweep series, fall 3-2
By Angelique Fiske, QBSN Web-Editor
In spite of outshooting Syracuse (9-16-3, 0-3-3 CHA) 55-23, the Quinnipiac women’s ice hockey team (15-10-2, 10-4-2 ECAC) lost the second game of the two-game series by a final score of 3-2. While the score was tied 2-2 going into the final stretch of the game, Syracuse pulled away with the victory on the stick of Nicole Ferrara.
After the Bobcats shut down the Orange offense completely Friday night, Syracuse put immediate pressure on the Quinnipiac defense scoring two goals in the first period causing head coach Rick Seeley to pull his veteran goaltender, junior Victoria Vigilanti (Woodbridge, Ontario) before the opening frame concluded. Vigilanti was replaced by freshman Chelsea Laden (Lakeville, Minn.) after she posted her first career shut-out in Friday’s 3-0 victory.
Syracuse netted both goals within the last seven minutes of the period. Margot Scharfe put the first goal in on a solo effort. After taking an initial shot that was deflected by Vigilanti, Scharfe followed through and pushed the puck to the right corner. The second Syracuse goal came three and a half minutes later off of the stick of Caitlin Roach. Assists were credited to Lisa Mullan and Taylor Metcalfe.
Sandwiched a minute after Syracuse’s first goal and just over two minutes before its second, Breann Frykas (East St. Paul, Manitoba) notched a power play goal with the assist from Regan Boulton (Brandon, Manitoba) to, at the time, tie the game 1-1.
Despite the quick start by Syracuse, the second period saw Quinnipiac regain its composure, tying the game 2-2. Senior Melissa Perry (Chelsea, Michigan) took a shot that was deflected by Syracuse goaltender Kallie Billdeau. Unfortunately for the Syracuse defense, junior Brittany Lyons (Canton, Mass.) was skating off the bench into perfect positioning for the rebound and knocked it in for her seventh of the year. Captain Jordan Elkins (Wasilla, Ala.) was also credited a helper on the play.
About halfway through the third period, Ferrara and Holly Carrie-Mattimoe put the pressure on Laden when the two went two-against-one, drawing Laden out of the net. Carrie-Mattimoe sent a pass to Ferrara who took no mercy, sending a laser behind Laden. Scharfe skated away with her second point of the day, as she was also credited with the assist.
Despite their efforts, the Bobcats failed in their search for an equalizer. However, it was not the offensive efforts that proved to be the issue.
“Scoring doesn’t matter if you don’t pay attention to defense,” Seeley said.
As the Bobcats head into a major ECAC run that could define their season, taking on six different conference opponents to close out the season, one of the most daunting problems is who will start between the pipes.
“I thought all three goals were pretty weak, so we have to figure out the goaltending situation. We’ve got a real important conference stretch coming up,” Seeley said. “I’d say at this point Laden’s won the starting job.”
Billadeau managed to put away 53 saves. Vigilanti had three saves in her 17 minutes of action, and Laden had 17 stops of her own.
Quinnipiac begins this stretch when the head to Harvard and Dartmouth on Feb. 3 at 7 p.m. and Feb. 4 at 4 p.m. respectively.
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Uden Johansson leads Bobcats to 3-0 win
By Marty Joseph, QBSN Staff Writer
The Quinnipiac women’s ice hockey team (15-9-2, 10-4-2 ECAC) defeated the Syracuse Orange (8-16-3, 0-3-3 CHA) 3-0 Friday night at High Point Solutions Arena at the TD Bank Sports Center in a non-conference match-up.
Erica Uden Johansson (Sundsvall, Sweden) carried the offense factoring in on all three of the Bobcats’ goals with a goal and two assists. Nicole Kosta (Mississauga, Ontario) and Kate Wheeler (Oakville, Ontario) each added goals in the third period to seal the win. Kelly Babstock (Mississauga, Ontario) and Breann Frykas (East St. Paul, Manitoba) also added assists and Chelsea Laden (Lakeville, Minn.) made 18 saves for the shutout.
The Bobcats dominated the puck in the first period, outshooting Syracuse 12-4 and controlling play in the offensive zone. Uden Johansson netted her fifth goal of the season with the assist coming from Frykas. Uden Johansson now has points in five of the last six games. The team went into the locker room with the 1-0 lead after the opening frame.
“She’s really picked up where she left off from last season,” head coach Rick Seeley said of Uden Johansson’s recent play. “Since coming back from injury she has played really well for us, and she is getting better and better every game. Two weeks ago, there were elements of her game she wanted to improve upon, and she did it in two weeks.”
The two teams skated in a scoreless second period and each put seven shots on goal. Both net-minders Laden and Jenesica Drinkwater made key saves in the period to keep the score 1-0.
Kosta extended the Bobcats' lead with her fourth goal of the season just over five minutes into the third period. Uden Johansson assisted on the play as she hit an open Kosta in the high slot before Kosta ripped a shot passed Drinkwater for the goal. Wheeler rounded up the scoring putting the Bobcats up 3-0 just over four minutes later with her fifth goal of the season assisted by Babstock and Uden Johansson. Babstock threw the puck towards the net and it deflected right onto the stick of Wheeler who quickly capitalized on the opportunity, putting a shot high glove side passed Drinkwater. The Bobcats outshot Syracuse 14-7 in the final frame.
The Bobcats are back in action tomorrow afternoon at 4 p.m. with the second game of the weekend series against Syracuse at High Point Solutions Arena.
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Bobcats Return to Winning Ways
By Kevin Noonan, QBSN Staff Writer
The Quinnipiac University women’s ice hockey team finally earned its first victory of the 2012 calendar year. The Bobcats (14-9-2, 10-4-2 ECAC) soundly defeated the Colgate Raiders (8-14-1, 3-8-1 ECAC) 4-1 at Starr Rink in Hamilton, N.Y.
Bobcats head coach Rick Seeley changed goaltenders for the first time since Dec. 3rd, 2011. Freshman Chelsea Laden (Lakeville, Minn.) took over the duties in net for struggling junior Victoria Vigilanti (Woodbridge, Ontario). Vigilanti had given up 10 goals in 3 January games to this point.
Quinnipiac used a 1st period offensive attack to score 3 goals on Colgate. Once gaining this strong lead the Bobcats never looked back.
Junior Regan Boulton (Brandon, Manitoba) started the Bobcats off on the right foot scoring her 5th goal of the season from the top of the offensive zone. Sophomores Erica Uden Johansson (Sundsvall, Sweden) and Kelly Babstock (Mississauga, Ontario) were each credited with assists, their 3rd and 16th respectively.
At the 15:03 mark of the first period, the Bobcats scored their 2nd goal of the game. Uden Johansson netted her 4th goal of the season. Freshman Nicole Kosta (Mississauga, Ontario) delivered her with a beautiful pass into the slot to earn her 14th assist of the season.
Quinnipiac still wasn’t done scoring either. 16:52 into the first period, freshman Morgan Fritz-Ward (Mason City, Iowa) notched her first career goal in a Bobcat uniform. Fritz-Ward dove to slap in the rebound of the shot from senior Jordan Elkins’ (Wasilla, Alaska). Elkins was awarded her 2nd assist of the year while sophomore Amanda Colin (Burnsville, Minn.) got her 5th.
The end of the first period also brought an early exit for Colgate Goaltender Kimberly Sass. After giving up the 3 goals on 8 shots, she was taken out for freshman Susan Allen.
The Raiders finally got on the scoreboard 8:58 into the 2nd period when junior Brittany Phillips scored a power-play goal. Teammates Jenna Klynstra and Taylor Volpe were credited with assists on the play for Colgate.
The Bobcats scored the final goal of the game 4:15 into the 3rd period. Regan Boulton scored her 2nd goal of the game after rocketing a shot past Allen during the 4-4 time of offsetting penalties. The goal was Boulton’s 6th of the season and Kosta was credited with her 2nd helper of the game and 15th of the season.
Quinnipiac played great defense all game long, which was crucial to earning the victory over the Raiders. The defense had somewhat disappeared since the 7 game winning streak to close out the first half of the season.
Stepping up to hold Colgate to only one goal allowed Quinnipiac to avoid the multiple goal meltdowns that harmed them against Dartmouth, Harvard and Cornell.
Chelsea Laden matched her career-high for saves with 32 on 33 shots for the Bobcats. Kimberly Sass stopped 5 of the 8 shots she faced while her replacement stopped 13 of Quinnipiac’s 14 shots.
Quinnipiac has next weekend off before returning to action for a weekend series at the High Point Solutions Arena at the TD Bank Sports Center against the Syracuse Orange. Games are Friday, Jan. 27th at 7 P.M. and Jan. 28th at 4 P.M.
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Bobcats aim to end skid against Colgate
By Kevin Noonan, QBSN Staff Writer
The Quinnipiac Bobcats women’s ice hockey team (13-9-2, 9-4-2 ECAC) continues its weekend series in upstate New York with a 4 p.m. matchup against the Colgate Raiders (8-13-1, 3-7-1 ECAC) at Starr Rink in Hamilton, N.Y. Quinnipiac is currently tied with Cornell for first place of the ECAC with 20 points, while Colgate is in the bottom third of the conference with seven points.
The Bobcats have struggled to start the second half of the season after winning seven straight to close out the 2011 calendar year. Quinnipiac has showed flashes of brilliance and resilience in 2012, but not nearly as much as during the streak.
Quinnipiac’s Last Game:
On Friday night, Quinnipiac was defeated by the #3/3 Cornell Big Red 4-1. The Bobcats jumped out to a 1-0 only 21 seconds into the game after the one-timer by senior Kate Wheeler (Oakville, Ontario) for her fourth goal of the season. Sophomore Kelly Babstock (Mississauga, Ontario) was credited with her 15th assist of the season after her shot was redirected by Big Red netminder Lauren Slebodnick.
The score remained the same until Cornell scored their first of four unanswered goals three minutes and 41-seconds into the second period. Jillian Saulnier of Cornell hit the slap-shot past Quinnipiac’s junior goaltender Victoria Vigilanti (Woodbridge, Ontario). At the halfway mark of second period, Catherine White lit the lamp with a one-timer off the pass from Lauriane Rougeau to put the Big Red up for good at 2-1. Two minutes later, Rougeau assisted another goal, this time to Brianne Jenner who scored from the wing. A power-play goal in the third period by Jessica Campbell made the lead 4-1, where it would stay for good.
Vigilanti had 17 saves on 21 shots and gave up three or more goals for the third straight game. Slebodnick of Cornell kept her record perfect on the season (8-0-0) by stopping 20 of Quinnipiac’s 21 shots.
Colgate’s Last Game:
There was plenty of scoring in the Colgate Raiders matchup with the Princeton Tigers on Friday night. Princeton scored five of the first seven goals in the game. Denna Laing and Corey Stearns of the Tigers each scored a goal in the first period 36-seconds apart to quickly put Princeton up 2-0.
The Raiders were unable to retaliate until just over seven minutes into the third period when Brittany Phillips scored a goal to cut the lead in half. Miriam Drubel scored a goal for the second straight game to tie up the game at 2-2. The Tigers then scored three goals within two minutes of each other to put the game out of reach for the Raiders.
By the 17:46 mark of the final period, Paula Romanchuk scored on a power-play goal, Sally Butler notched a goal, and Alex Kinney scored on an empty net to extend the lead to 5-2. With 32-seconds remaining in the game, Rachel Walsh of Colgate scored a power-play goal, but the game was too far out of reach for the Raiders.
Princeton Goaltender Rachel Weber had 24 saves on 27 shots while her counterpart Kimberly Sass stopped 27 of the 31 shots she faced.
Keys for the Bobcats:
Quinnipiac needs to take a deep breath and find the inner-strength to overcome this second-half struggle. The Bobcats have not won a game in 2012 after going on a seven-game winning streak. Vigilanti had not allowed a goal in the entire month of December, and now she has allowed 10 goals in three January games. She needs to step up her game or head coach Rick Seeley may have to consider playing freshman Chelsea Laden (Lakeville, Minn.) in net to change the current pace of the team. If the Bobcats can score early and often, and then manage to hold on to the lead against the Raiders, they should be in good shape to win. Quinnipiac is overdue for a victory.
Keys for the Raiders:
Colgate has struggled in the ECAC all season long, only managing three wins. The Raiders have not found momentum as of late, being unable to put together consecutive victories since early in the season. The defensive end is what is killing the Raiders. In the last six losses, Colgate has allowed three or more goals in each game. If they can keep the Bobcats to one or two goals, look for Colgate to be able to squeak out at least one point from the game. Goaltender Kimberly Sass allowed three goals in two minutes in the third period against Princeton after Colgate came back to tie the game. If she can avoid a meltdown like this, Colgate may earn a point from the game.
Last Meeting:
Quinnipiac soundly defeated the Colgate Raiders 6-2 in their previous meeting at the High Point Solutions Arena in the TD Bank Sports Center. Kelly Babstock led the Bobcats with two goals and two assists while freshman Nicole Kosta (Mississauga, Ontario) notched a goal and two assists of her own. The two teams skated to a scoreless first period. Babstock then scored the first goal of the game midway through the second period. The Raiders retaliated with their only two goals of the game, coming 24-seconds apart. Drubel and Jocelyn Simpson scored for Colgate. Quinnipiac then scored five unanswered goals heading to the 6-2 victory. Juniors Regan Boulton (Brandon, Manitoba), Brittany Lyons (Canton, Mass.) and Breann Frykas (East St. Paul, Manitoba) also scored goals for Quinnipiac. Vigilanti got the win for the Bobcats stopping 25 of the 27 shots. Sass was the goaltender for the defeated Raiders, getting 33 saves on 39 shots.
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Bobcats get claws clipped
By Pete Rossi, QBSN Staff Writer
The Quinnipiac women's ice hockey team (13-9-2, 9-4-2 ECAC) lost a hard fought battle to No. 3/3 nationally ranked Cornell (14-2-0, 10-1-0 ECAC), 4-1, on Friday evening at Lynah Rink in Ithaca, N.Y. The Bobcats and Big Red now share first-place in ECAC Hockey standings with 20 points apiece.
Quinnipiac came out with a vengeance in the first period, seeking retribution for a 7-1 loss the last time the two teams met way back in November. Just 21 seconds into the first period, sophomore Kelly Babstock (Mississauga, Ontario) had a wide-open shot from the crease which was initially saved by Big Red goaltender Lauren Slebodnik. The rebound however slid right to assistant senior captain Kate Wheeler (Oakville, Ontario) who backhanded it to the back of the net for her fourth of the year. Babstock was credited with her team-leading 15th helper of the season. The Bobcats held down the fort defensively as they held Cornell to just three shots on goal. It looked as if things were going to go the Bobcats’ way for the night. It seemed all they did was awaken a sleeping giant.
At the 3:47 mark of the second period, Cornell tied things up with a point slap shot from freshman Jillian Saulnier. It came right off of a successful Bobcats penalty kill, but Quinnipiac could not get out of their own zone. Sophomore forward Jessica Campbell was also credited with an assist on the goal. At the 10:12 mark, Cornell got its second goal of the night. Junior defender Lauriane Rougeau received a fast pass from senior Catherine White and one-timed it past Bobcat goalie Victoria Vigilanti (Woodbridge, Ontario). Just over two minutes later, the Big Red struck again as Brianne Jenner found room coming down the wing, fired a quick wrist shot on goal, and buried her eighth goal of the season. The period would end 3-1 in favor of the Big Red.
The third period went along with the Quinnipiac playing evenly with Cornell, but with another power play opportunity at the 11:43 mark, Cornell scored their fourth and final goal off the stick of Campbell for her second point of the night. Overall, Quinnipiac held Cornell to just one-for-seven on its power-play chances. The Bobcats failed to convert in their five extra skater opportunities.
In the contest overall, the shots were deadlocked at 21 apiece, as Vigilanti turned away 17 shots in net for Quinnipiac, while Slebodnick made 20 saves for Cornell.
Quinnipiac looks to bounce back tomorrow afternoon on Saturday, Jan. 14, when it travels to face ECAC Hockey opponent Colgate at 4 p.m.
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Bobcats take on Cornell after rough ECAC weekendBy 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.
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.
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.
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Women’s hockey drops ECAC game
By Angelique Fiske, QBSN Web-Editor
The Quinnipiac Bobcats’ hockey team could not bounce back after giving up two quick goals in Friday’s matchup as they played host to the Dartmouth Big Green. Despite goals from both senior Kate Wheeler (Oakville, Ontario) and sophomore Amanda Colin (Burnsville, Minn.) the Bobcats still fell, losing 3-2. The ECAC loss brings the Bobcats to 13-8-1 overall and 9-3-1 in conference play, while the Big Green bring their record up to 8-5-1 overall and 5-3-1 in the ECAC.
Before the Bobcats had time to lace their skates, Dartmouth had already struck – twice. An inconceivable 37 seconds after the puck was dropped, junior Camille Dumais came up with an unassisted score. To make matters for Quinnipiac worse, Dartmouth senior Erica Dobos took a mere 27 seconds after to come up with her own unassisted goal.
Despite feeling pressure early on, the Bobcats managed to hold off the rest of Dartmouth’s offensive attacks until the third period when Jenna Hobeika scored a power play goal in the opening two minutes.
Quinnipiac also came up with its own power play goal off the stick of Wheeler in the second period. The goal makes for her second of the season. Regan Boulton (Brandon, Manitoba) took the initial shot, but the Dartmouth keeper Lindsay Holdcroft could not control the puck. Wheeler followed up on the shot and knocked it in. Boulton was credited with her sixth assist on the year and sophomore Erica Uden Johansson (Sundsvall, Sweden) earned her second assist of the season.
Colin added in an unassisted goal of her own in the waning minutes of the third period, but in the end, Dartmouth held on for the win, denying attempts to tie up the game.
Both goaltenders saw almost equal amounts of offensive pressure. Victoria Vigilanti (Woodbridge, Ontario) came up with 26 saves while Holdcroft made 25 stops of her own.
The Bobcats must quickly put this loss behind them as they host No. 8/10 Harvard in yet another ECAC contest on Saturday, Jan. 7 at 4 p.m. at High Point Solutions Arena at the TD Bank Sports Center.
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What to watch for: Big Green visits Hamden
By Mark Spillane, QBSN Staff Writer
The Quinnipiac Bobcats women’s ice hockey team will get back on the ice for the first time since Dec. 10 when the Dartmouth Big Green come to town on Friday, Dec. 6 at 7 p.m.
This is the first of two meetings between the Bobcats and Big Green this year, with the second one coming in February. Thus far Dartmouth holds the all time series lead 7-3-2, but Quinnipiac has won three of the last four, including a 4-0 victory in the most recent contest last February.
The Bobcats are hoping that they have not lost any momentum during the long layoff, as they had won seven consecutive before the break. With the hot streak, Quinnipiac has surged to the top of the ECAC standings with a 9-2-1 conference record, good for 19 points.
On the other side, Dartmouth ended their break with a 5-2 victory over Vermont on Tuesday, fueled by a goal and two assists from junior forward Camille Dumais. The Big Green sits in seventh place in the ECAC, but is only four points out of second place.
Each team is beginning a large slate of ECAC games that will all be crucial to the final standings. For Dartmouth, starting with Friday, fourteen of their final fifteen games will be within the conference, with Providence being their only non-ECAC opponent. For the Bobcats, Friday is the first of ten remaining ECAC games, with two matchups coming against Syracuse later this month.
Keys for Dartmouth:
The keys for Dartmouth are to convert on their power play opportunities and continue its strong penalty killing. On the season, the Big Green has scored on 20 percent of its power place chances in its seven wins, but only on 11 percent in its five losses. The special teams unit played a large role in the team’s upset over third ranked Cornell, as the Big Green scored two power play goals on five chances. It’s a case that clearly shows when the power play goes, so does Dartmouth. Much like the Quinnipiac men’s squad, the Big Green women are ranked in the top five in the nation on the penalty kill, sitting at third with nearly a 90 percent penalty kill. Those types of numbers will force Quinnipiac’s special teams to play very well in this one.
Keys for Quinnipiac:
The keys for Quinnipiac are to continue limiting shots from the opposition, and continue to finish strong in the third period. During the Bobcats’ seven game winning streak, junior goaltender, Victoria Vigilanti (Woodbridge, Ontario) has been nothing short of incredible, but she has received tremendous help from her defense. Quinnipiac has done a terrific job of back-checking over the past seven games and has limited opponents to less than 25 shots in four of them and less than 30 in six of them. While limiting the opposition’s shots all game long, the Bobcats have done a terrific job of finishing each contest strong. During the win streak, they have notched third period goals in six of the seven battles, while allowing opposing goals just twice in the final stanza. If the Bobcats keep these two themes going, they will find success.
Last Meeting:
The 4-0 shutout victory last February was powered by freshman forward Kelly Babstock (Mississauga, Ontario), as she netted two goals, while Vigilanti stopped 35 shots, including 19 in the third period to earn her seventh shutout of the season.
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Women’s hockey readies to fight post-break slump
By Marty Joseph, QBSN Staff Writer
Preview of Second Half:
The Bobcats have key games at home against Dartmouth and Harvard coming out of the break. Recently the team has struggled to come out of the break motivated and with a strong effort, so the team needs to remain focused and ready to continue the win streak following the long lay off.
Following the home stand, the Bobcats head to Ithaca, N.Y. for a statement game against Cornell. The Big Red cruised to a 7-1 win at High Point Solutions Rink on Nov. 19, so the Bobcats seek revenge in a match-up that could likely decide the top seed in the ECAC.
The team battles Colgate before heading home for a weekend series against Syracuse. The Bobcats head to Harvard and Dartmouth for their final road trip of the season before heading back to Hamden for its final four games of the regular season.
Improving on home-ice is vital for the Bobcats in the second half, and this final home stand would be the best to do it. The team welcomes St. Lawrence, Clarkson, Union, and Rensselaer to the High Point Solutions Arena. In the case that the Bobcats own the top-seed in the Conference heading into these four games, they will have the opportunity to clinch the ECAC regular season championship on home ice in front of the Bobcat faithful.
What Needs to Be Continued:
The Bobcats sit atop the ECAC Conference with a 9-2-1 record and own a six-point lead over second-place Clarkson. The current seven-game winning streak the team is on has also made the miserable start to the season a distant memory. The Bobcats are 0-2-1 in their first game coming off the break since head coach Rick Seeley took over, so the team needs to break away from this tendency to continue its winning streak. The Bobcats have played well on the road this season with an 8-4 record. The team needs to continue its road warrior mentality with pivotal games in the second half away from High Point Solutions Rink.
Timely goal scoring has been the Bobcats’ most lethal weapon all season. The team is scoring goals at the most important times, and it has contributed to the team’s success. The team is 6-2 in one-goal games and an astonishing 8-2-1 in games when the opponent nets the first goal. Falling behind in games is never something teams base their game plans around, but it has seemed to motivate the Bobcats as a wake-up call.
Two capable goaltenders between the pipes are also what make this team so dangerous. Junior Victoria Vigilanti (Woodbridge, Ontario) has played in 19 of the team’s 21 games, but freshman Chelsea Laden (Lakeville, Minn.) has played well when she has been called upon. This welcomes a healthy competition between both goaltenders and motivates each one of them to always be giving their best effort. Both goaltenders will need to come up big for the Bobcats if the team wants to remain at the top of the ECAC Conference.
What Needs to Be Improved:
The Bobcats have developed the habit of giving up the first goal in the majority of their contests during the first half. With an 8-1-2 record in these games, this habit hasn’t hurt the team to this point, but with key games down the stretch, the Bobcats need to focus on getting early leads in games. Playing with the lead will only make life that much easier for the team and potentially make it that much more dangerous. If the Bobcats want to be atop the ECAC at the end of the season, this habit will need to be broken.
The Bobcats have enjoyed the majority of their success on the road in the first half with an 8-4 road record. However, the team is only 4-3-1 on home ice. The team will need to improve its play at home with an important four game home stand to close out the season in February. This will especially be important in the likely scenario of the team clinching home ice in the first round of the ECAC playoffs. Getting momentum at home will set the team up for a long postseason run in the ECAC tournament.
The power play hasn’t been a huge problem for the Bobcats in the first half. However, in ECAC games the power play is only operating at 11.4 percent, which is seventh best in the Conference. With the offensive skill the team possesses, the power play should be one of the most feared in the Conference and not at the middle of the pack. Timely goals have defined the team to this point, but it’s time for the team to start adding timely power play goals to the equation.
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State of the Bobcats, Pt. 2: Women’s ice hockey
By Marty Joseph, QBSN Staff Writer
Recap of First Half:
The Bobcats (13-7-1, 9-2-1) were ranked No. 9 nationally in USCHO.com preseason poll heading into the season. A slow start, however, with a pair of devastating home loses to Maine dropped the Bobcats out of the national polls. Heading into ECAC Conference play with a 1-5-0 record was not what the Bobcats had hoped, and the team knew it had to turn its play around.
The Bobcats started conference play in late October with a pair of wins on the road at Rensselaer and Union and carried momentum into November. Wins against Yale, St. Lawrence, and Colgate highlighted the month in conference play but loses to conference powerhouses Clarkson and Cornell were a cause for some concern. However, since the 7-1 loss at the hands of Cornell on home ice, the Bobcats have seemed to play with a purpose. A come-from-behind overtime victory against nationally ranked Boston College was the turning point in the team’s season to this point. The Bobcats closed out the month of November by winning the Nutmeg Classic with wins over Connecticut and Robert Morris.
The team seemed determined to get back to its winning ways before the winter break by going 4-0-0 in December with wins at Brown and Yale before sweeping a weekend set against Princeton. The Bobcats go into the break riding a seven-game winning streak and sit atop the ECAC with a 9-2-1 record.
Following the 3-0 win against Princeton, head coach Rick Seeley commented on the up-coming break.
“I think it’s a real focus of ours, because the last three years we’ve come back and had a weak first week in January,” said Seeley. “I think they’re really committed to staying in shape during exam week and really focusing while they’re at home.”
Trends/Streaks/Performances/Milestones:
Kelly Babstock (Mississauga, Ontario) became the Quinnipiac women’s ice hockey team’s all-time point leader on Nov. 18 with a four-point night in a 6-2 win over Colgate. In just her 50th career game, her four points gave her 75 points in her career, breaking Vicki Graham’s previous record of 73 points set in 2007. Babstock currently leads the team with 11 goals and 13 assists in 21 games.
Goaltender Victoria Vigilanti (Woodbridge, Ontario) leads the nation with six shutouts going into the break. In the final weekend before the break, Vigilanti led the Bobcats by posting two shutouts on the way to a two-game sweep of the Princeton Tigers. Vigilanti is 11-6-1 on the season with an average of 2.02 goals against and .913 save percentage.
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Women’s hockey stays hot, Vigilanti's sixth shutout
By Angelique Fiske, QBSN Web-Editor
After its 1-0 win over Princeton on Friday in which junior goaltender Victoria Vigilanti (Woodbridge, Ontario) recorded her league-leading fifth shutout of the season, the women’s ice hockey team again shut out the Tigers, 3-0. With this win, the Bobcats have swept yet another ECAC weekend and extended their winning-streak to seven games. On the way to seven straight, Vigilanti nabbed her 20th shutout of her career and sixth of the season which leads the NCAA. The Bobcats now have an overall record of 13-7-1 and 9-2-1 in ECAC Hockey to lead the conference.
Even though the first period ended with no score, it was dominated by Quinnipiac, outshooting Princeton 16-5. The Bobcats were applying offensive pressure as if the Tiger defense had a fatal wound, but Princeton goalie Rachel Weber denied every attempt.
“We just talked about it in between periods to just assume that [Weber] was going to leave rebounds, and I think that helped us,” said head coach Rick Seeley.
It did not take long into the second period for the in-between-play talks to pay off and the offensive efforts to explode. Junior Regan Boulton (Brandon, Manitoba) landed a power play goal only five minutes and 24 seconds into the period. Her shot from between the faceoff circles stayed low, into right side of the net past Weber. The go-ahead goal makes for Boulton’s fourth score of the season. The assist was credited to sophomore Erica Uden Johansson.
A little over three minutes later, junior Brittany Lyons (Canton, Mass.) and senior Kate Wheeler (Oakville, Ontario) made their way down the ice with a series of quick back-and-forth passes. When Lyons’s pass hit the right boards, Wheeler quickly regained control and sent a pass in front of the Princeton goal. Lyons knocked it in for her sixth goal of the season. Along with Wheeler, who earned her first of two assists of the period, senior Chelsea Illchuk also earned a point on the helper.
The Bobcats waited until the third period to strike again, this time junior Breann Frykas (East St. Paul, Manitoba) came up with the second power play goal of the game. Wheeler and sophomore Kelly Babstock (Mississauga, Ontario) assisted Frykas on the play.
Quinnipiac would hold off the Princeton offense for the remainder of the game with much thanks to Vigilanti, making 21 total saves.
“My rebound control could have been a bit better, but the defense was there to clear the loose pucks away, so they got the job done,” said Vigilanti of her performance.
In spite of the rebounding, the Tigers could not get it past her, particularly when she is playing to the best of her ability, according to Seeley.
“She’s challenging, and that’s when she’s at her best,” said Seeley. “She’s getting on her feet, she’s getting up, she’s challenging. I thought she made a few great saves through screens where her legs just came out of nowhere, but when she’s confident, she’s one of the best goalies around.”
While the Bobcats are on a hot-streak, they have not reached where they want to be.
“The best thing about the streak is that we continue to get better,” said Seeley. “We’re not satisfied; we’re learning from our mistakes.”
Even though Bobcat fans must wait nearly a month to see if their team can continue its success, when the Bobcats get back in action, they will be immediately tested. Quinnipiac plays host to Dartmouth on Friday, Jan. 6 at 7 p.m. and Harvard the following day at 4 p.m. Both are ECAC games.
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What to watch for: QU faces Princeton in weekend set
By Mark Spillane, QBSN Staff Writer
The Quinnipiac Bobcats women’s ice hockey team will face the Princeton Tigers not once this weekend, but twice. First the Bobcats visit Princeton’s Hobey Baker Rink tomorrow night at 7 p.m. Then the two teams will travel back to the High Point Solutions arena for the second contest. The two games will mark games number 16 and 17 in series history with the Tigers leading with a record of 10-3-2.
Quinnipiac (11-7-1) comes into this game riding a five game winning streak, including an overtime victory over rival Yale last Saturday. Princeton (6-7-1) enters with their own two game win streak after also defeating Yale and Brown last weekend, in which they outscored the Bulldogs and Bears by a total of seven goals. In each game, they got off to a fast start, scoring six of their eight goals in the first two periods of play. Quinnipiac has done much of the same, scoring first in three of their last five victories, comebacks coming against Boston College and Yale.
The Tigers has been led this year by three sophomore forwards, Sally Butler, Denna Laing, and Olivia Mucha. The young trio has combined for 17 of the Tigers’ 33 goals, with each of them having double-digit point totals. Butler leads the way with 14 total points, seven goals and seven assists.
Sophomore Kelly Babstock (Mississauga, Ontario), not surprisingly, has led Quinnipiac, this year, but another Bobcat has gone unnoticed lately. That player has been junior Breann Frykas (East St. Paul, Manitoba). The former Wisconsin Badger has recorded a point in each contest during the five game win streak, tallying two goals and three assists, including an assist on the game-tying goal against Yale last weekend. Frykas has certainly been a main contributor to the Bobcats’ offense of late and has helped fuel the strong team play. This should come as no surprise as nine of her 10 points this season have come in Quinnipiac’s 10 wins, with just one point coming in the Bobcats’ seven losses.
Key For the Tigers:
Princeton needs a good game out of senior goalie Rachel Weber (Hudson, Wisc.). In the Tigers six wins, Weber is allowing an average of just one goal per game, while allowing an average of 3.5 in their seven losses. The Tigers also need to limit the shot totals for the Bobcats. In those six wins, they’ve held opponents to approximately 23 shots per game, compared to 29 per game in the losses. Weber has been generally strong this year with the ECAC’s fifth best save percentage, but she will need help from her defense against the strong Quinnipiac offense.
Key For the Bobcats:
Quinnipiac needs Frykas, and junior defender Regan Boulton (Brandon, Manitoba) to stay hot. Everybody knows about the offensive prowess of Babstock, and of course the Bobcats need to utilize her skills against the Tigers, but like Frykas, Boulton has been flying under the radar. She has tallied four points during the five game winning streak, including two in last Saturday’s win against Yale. These are the kinds of performances that the Bobcats need from players other than Babstock on the offensive end to contribute to wins. It will also be interesting to see if Coach Rick Seeley decides to use both of his goalies, junior Victoria Vigilanti (Woodbridge, Ontario) and freshmen Chelsea Laden (Oakville, Minn.) this weekend, or if he will stick with just one for both contests.
Last Meeting:
The last time these two teams met, Quinnipiac defeated Princeton, 2-0, on Saturday, February 26, 2011 during the ECAC Hockey Quarterfinals, earning the program's first-ever playoff series victory.
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Women’s ice hockey sweeps weekend set
By Marty Joseph, QBSN Staff Writer
The Quinnipiac women’s ice hockey team improved to 11-7-1 on the season and 7-2-1 in ECAC Hockey conference play with wins over Brown University and Yale University on the weekend. On Friday, the Bobcats shutout the Brown Bears 3-0 behind 16 saves from Victoria Vigilanti (Woodbridge, Ontario). The Bobcats defeated the Yale Bulldogs in overtime by a score of 3-2 on Saturday on a goal by Chelsea Illchuk (Lockport, Manitoba). The Bobcats now ride a five game win streak and sit atop the ECAC Hockey Conference.
On Friday, Vigilanti turned in her fourth shutout of the season and 18th of her career. Kelly Babstock (Mississauga, Ontario), Bethany Dymarczyk (Hamden, Conn.), and Brittany Lyons (Canton, Mass.) all scored for the Bobcats in the victory.
The Bobcats came out firing on all cylinders in the first period, outshooting Brown 17-6 in the period. Brown goaltender Aubree Moore stood strong between the pipes to keep the game scoreless through the first period.
The Bobcats continued their attack in the second period and were able to break through when Babstock scored her 11th goal of the season at the 2:46 mark of the period.
Babstock was able to pick up a loose puck and backhand a shot over the pad of Moore for the goal. Regan Boulton (Brandon, Manitoba) recorded the lone assist on the goal. The Bobcats continued the offensive attack, outshooting the Bears 16-5 in the second period.
Quinnipiac added to the lead with two goals late in the third period to cruise to a 3-0 win. Dymarczyk scored on a slap shot from the point with 8:03 remaining in the period, coming off an assist from Shelby Wignall (Hamilton, Ontario). Lyons closed out the scoring in the game with her third goal of the season at the 6:00 mark. Lyons skated into the offensive zone and wristed a shot right by Moore. Breann Frykas (East St. Paul, Manitoba) was credited with the assist on the play.
On Saturday, the win came with far more difficulty for the Bobcats. Illchuk was the difference for the Bobcats in the win recording a game-tying assist and the game-winning goal in overtime.
The Bobcats fell behind early in the game on a goal by Yale’s Heather Grant at the 3:56 mark of the first period. Erica Uden Johansson (Sundsvall, Sweden) tied the game at the 12:23 mark of the period when she snapped a shot passed Yale goaltender Genny Ladiges after receiving a pass from Melissa Perry (Champion, Mich.). Dymarczyk also recorded an assist on the play.
Yale was able to take the lead again at the 3:28 mark of the second period on a goal by Lynn Kennedy.
Quinnipiac turned up the intensity in the third period and was able to tie the score, 2-2 with 4:58 remaining in regulation play. On a delayed penalty call, Illchuk stepped onto the ice as an extra-attacker and was able to keep the play alive in the offensive zone. She picked the puck up and passed it to Frykas who fed the puck to Boulton who drilled a shot over the shoulder of Ladiges to even the score.
After assisting on the game-tying goal, Illchuk won the game with a goal on her own at the 2:49 mark of the extra frame. The win gave Quinnipiac a season sweep over Yale.
Quinnipiac returns to action on Dec. 9 when it travels to Princeton for an ECAC Conference matchup at 7 p.m.
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Record win for Bobcat coach: Seeley gets 200th
By Brian Farrell, QBSN Staff Writer
Sometimes a win is not just a win. On Saturday evening, a non-conference game against Robert Morris may have seemed to be just another win for anyone outside the shadow of the Sleeping Giant.
The win marked the ninth of the season for the Bobcats and their third in a row. The win kept the Nutmeg Championship in Connecticut and more importantly, kept it in Hamden. It was the program’s 100th win and for head coach Rick Seeley it was his 200th career win.
Quinnipiac players chanted 'speech' to Seeley after the game, who replied with a sarcastic smile before giving his team what they were asking for.
“Well I had no idea,” Seeley said still smiling. “I guess these things are important at the end of your career, but what makes it great right now and you know that I am tough, and you know that I love this group, and I’m so glad I get to share it with you guys.”
After the game in true humble fashion, Seeley continued to try to downplay the importance of the record.
“It’s a number…but the only great thing about it is that I got to share it with this team,” he said.
This team is the first in which the entire roster contained Seeley recruits.
“Being a part of Coach's 200th win milestone is something none of us probably ever thought about happening,” senior captain Jordan Elkins said. “Our class started at Quinnipiac the same year Coach Seeley and his staff did so we naturally have a special connection, and I was proud to be able to help Coach achieve a goal like he is always helping us.”
Before coaching at Quinnipiac, Seeley compiled a 54-16-4 record with Manhattanville and a trip to the NCAA Division III finals in 2001-2002. That same season Manhattanville went undefeated in conference play.
At Clarkson University, his Golden Knights produced a 93-67-18 record. With Seeley at the helm, Clarkson reached the ECAC playoffs each year they were eligible. Year in and year out Seeley recruited some of the top players in North America, most notably in the Ontario region. His success on the college level with Clarkson and now Quinnipiac has earned him a high status in the Ontario region.
What is most impressive about the 200 wins are the teams Seeley won with. In his first seasons at Manhattanville and Clarkson, the teams were not yet active. His second season with those teams they were independent of any leagues. When he arrived at Quinnipiac, the Bobcats had won just five games the previous season and averaged a mere six wins in the previous seven seasons.
At each university he coached at it took just two seasons before his squads would win 20 plus games.
The Bobcats will look to add to their win total as they travel to Brown and Yale this weekend. This weekend’s games also hold more water as the Bobcats are back in the national ranking discussions after receiving a vote in yesterday’s poll.
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Bobcats split ECAC weekend
By Peter Rossi, QBSN Staff Writer
This past weekend, the women’s ice hockey team (5-6-1, 4-1-1 ECAC) split two ECAC games, suffering a 3-0 loss to Clarkson (7-3-4, 3-2-1 ECAC) Friday night and hanging on to a 3-2 win yesterday afternoon against St. Lawrence (5-4-3, 2-3-1 ECAC).
Friday’s loss makes for the Bobcats’ first ECAC loss of the season. Quinnipiac outplayed Clarkson for much of the first period, but the Knights managed to get one past junior goaltender Victoria Vigilanti (Woodbridge, Ontario) with just 51 seconds remaining in the period. Sophomore forward Brittany Styner collected a loose puck in Quinnipiac's defensive zone, skated across the crease, and backhanded the puck past Vigilanti for her first of the season to give Clarkson the 1-0 lead.
Quinnipiac continued strong play in the second and forced Clarkson commit three penalties, but the Bobcats could not cash in on any of their man-advantages. Freshman Nicole Kosta (Mississauga, Ontario) led most of the charge for the Bobcats in the period, as she nearly tied the game in the final seconds of the period and ended the game with eight shots on net.
At the start of the third period, it was clear Clarkson took over control of play. With 13:38 remaining in the frame, senior forward Juana Baribeau put Clarkson up 2-0 with her second of the season. Clarkson's forwards Shelby Nisbet and Hailey Wood were each credited with an assist on the score.
With just under three minutes left in the third, Clarkson added their third and final tally as Baribeau redirected a shot from fellow senior Danielle Bourdreau, and netted her second score of the game and third of the season.
The Bobcats owned a slight 27-22 overall shot advantage. Each team went scoreless on its power-play opportunities, as Quinnipiac went had four chances and Clarkson three.
On Saturday, the Bobcats looked to rebound against St. Lawrence, and they did so putting three on the board in the first period and weathered a comeback attempt by the Saints.
St. Lawrence found the back of the net first as a power-play goal from junior Kelly Sabatine gave St. Lawrence the 1-0 lead at the 5:58 mark in first period. Sabatine would later take a penalty in the period, leading to Quinnipiac’s first score of the afternoon off of the stick of junior transfer Breann Frykas (East St. Paul, Manitoba), who is certainly growing into her new role on the Bobcats. Frykas’s goal, her second of the season, came at the 11:04 mark of the period.
Quinnipiac remained steadfast and aggressive, as sophomore Kelly Babstock (Mississauga, Ontario) scored at the 14:11 mark in the first period to net her sixth of the season and give the Bobcats the 2-1 lead. Senior Melissa Perry (Champion, Mich.) and sophomore Amanda Colin (Burnsville, Minn.) each earned an assist on the score.
With just 1:25 remaining in the first period, sophomore Megan Hagg (Ajax, Ontario) capped off the big first period as she scored her first Bobcat goal, giving Quinnipiac the 3-1 lead with assists being handed out to Kosta and Babstock.
St. Lawrence closed Quinnipiac's lead to 3-2 with its second power-play goal of the game at the 16:42 mark into the second period. Junior Brooke Fernandez's slap shot from the point beat Vigilanti who was screened on the play. Senior Alley Bero and Sabatine earned assists on the goal. The score would prove to be the final tally for either squad in the contest, as the teams skated to a scoreless third period of action.
Both teams kept their respective seats in the penalty box warm, as 13 total penalties were whistled in the game. Quinnipiac went 1-for-6 on its chances, while St. Lawrence went 2-for-6 on its extra skater opportunities.
Quinnipiac returns home next weekend when it hosts Colgate and No. 2 Cornell on Friday, Nov. 18 and Saturday, Nov. 19. Friday's game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start, while Saturday's game will begin at 4 p.m.
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Women's ice hockey ties Brown in ECAC gameBy Angelique Fiske, QBSN Web Editor
After taking all three of its ECAC games thus far this season, including Friday’s 3-0 victory over Yale, the Quinnipiac women’s ice hockey team could only pull off a tie against conference opponent Brown University. The 2-2 overtime contest brings the Bobcats’ ECAC record to 3-0-1 and 4-5-1 overall.
The first period saw Quinnipiac outshoot Brown 14-6, but remained scoreless. The first goal did not hit the back of the net until halfway through the second period when Brown’s Shannon Flately ripped a Jennifer Nedow offering to the upper left corner past the Bobcat keeper, junior Victoria Vigilanti (Woodbridge, Ontario).
Quinnipiac immediately re-energized to seek the equalizer, eventually succeeding through Kelly Babstock, snagging her fifth goal of the year off an assist from sophomore Shelby Wignall (Hamilton, Ontario) and senior Melissa Perry (Chelsea, Michigan).
“Kelly can change the game by herself like she did tonight. We were down by one and she scored a great goal,” head coach Rick Seeley said. “She did have numerous opportunities in the third. They’re her bread-and-butter plays, and they were just sliding off her stick tonight.”
Despite Babstock’s many opportunities in the final period of regulation, it was another Bobcat who would come through after giving up another goal to Brown’s Brittany Moorehead. Having just recently made the switch from defender to forward, Wignall knocked in her first goal of the year midway through the third period. Junior Regan Boulton (Brandon, Manitoba) lined a power-shot in front of the goal, and Wignall just “had [her] stick down for once,” she said.
“I don’t think anyone realized it was my goal,” Wignall said with a laugh. “I was just happy to be in the right place at the right time.”
Even though the personal achievements added for a bit of optimism after the game, the Bobcats know this performance needs to be learned from, having taken 50 shots on goal and capitalizing only twice.
“It’s tough to dominate possession that much and come out with the tie,” Seeley said. “I’ve got to give them credit; they were great around the net, so we weren’t getting any rebounds. The open nets we had, they were jamming us up. They did a great job.”
With all of the clear offensive pressure in the game, the Bobcats really sprung back to life when they were on the hunt for an equalizer. However, when momentum only comes after being struck against, the game became offensive as a reaction. According to Seeley, the Bobcats should be showing up already in the playing state of mind.
“I think the days of Vince Lombardi motivating teams are long gone,” Seeley said. “If you don’t show up ready to play, I don’t think a coach can do it. Our job is to get them ready during the week, prepare them the best we can.”
Motivation aside, the team has an idea of where it has been and where it needs to be in terms of conference competition.
“We’ve started out with, traditionally, four weak teams in conference play. Even though we’re 3-0-1, we’ve had lapses that if we have those kinds of lapses against Clarkson and St. Lawrence will probably end up in our net,” Seeley said. “We just have to tighten up our game, and work hard to play a full 60 minutes instead of 58 or 55.”
The Bobcats continue ECAC play as they take head to Clarkson on Nov. 11.
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Women's hockey sweeps ECAC weekend competition
By Peter Rossi, QBSN Staff Writer
The Quinnipiac Bobcats women’s ice hockey team entered this past weekend with an overall record of 1-4-1 and looked to start ECAC conference play against two tough Rensselaer and Union teams. With that challenge ahead of them, head coach Rick Seeley knew that changes had to be made. He started off by moving assistant captain and defenseman Bethany Demarczyk (Hamden, Conn.) to forward and putting Wisconsin transfer Breann Frykas (East St. Paul, Manitoba) to defense. A move some questioned, but now it seems to be paying dividends as the Bobcats had their first ECAC sweep of the season.
The Bobcats enjoyed early success with a 2-0 shutout of Rensselaer on Friday night. Quinnipiac displayed much of the tight for checking and defensive play that it was without throughout its five game losing streak early on in the first period. The Bobcats were able to keep Rensselaer’s attack at bay throughout the first and found their scoring in the second.
Sophomore Kelly Babstock (Mississauga, Ontario) notched her third goal of the season at the 9:11 mark of the second period after she collected her own rebound and fired it over the glove of Rensselaer’s freshman net minder Kelly O’ Brian (Sussex, Wis.). The Bobcats managed to keep Rensselaer scoreless for the rest of the period.
Then at the 6:43 mark of the third period, captain and senior defenseman Jordan Elkins (Wasilla, Ala.) fired one of her patented slap shots for her first goal of the season off a pass from sophomore Amanda Colin (Burnsville, Minn.).
Junior goaltender Victoria Vigilanti (Woodbridge, Ontario) seemed to have found her game as she denied all 21 Rensselaer shots she faced. It was Vigilanti’s second shutout of the season and the 16th of her career. Quinnipiac also went 0-5 on the power-play, and the Bobcats penalty kill was strong, killing off all four Engineers opportunities.
The Bobcats continued their early ECAC success on Saturday afternoon as they skated to a 5-1 victory against Union. The Bobcats took no time in jumping onto the score sheet just 4:20 into the first period on Frykas’s first goal of the season and first as a Bobcat. Assists on the goal were credited to sophomore Olivia Brackett (Coopersville, Mich.) and senior forward Kate Wheeler (Oakville, Ontario).
With 4:11 remaining in the first period, sophomore Amanda Colin (Burnsville, Minn.) found the back of the net for her first of the season. Freshman standout Nicole Costa (Mississauga, Ontario) made a clever pass right to Colin’s stick for an easy tap in by Colin. Junior Brittany Lyons (Canton, Mass.) also was credited with an assist on the goal, her fourth of the season.
The Bobcats kept control of play as they extended their lead to 3-0 at the 13:05 mark of the second period when Babstock earned her team-high fourth goal of the season. Sophomore Shelby Wignall (Hamilton, Ontario) shot a pass to junior Felicia Vieweg (Port Orange, Florida) who then flicked the puck to Babstock. Babstock weaved around the Union defense and took a wrist shot to put it behind Union’s junior goalie Alana Marcinko (Altoona, Pa.).
Entering the third period, the Bobcats kept a tight fore-check and were rewarded with two goals 30 seconds apart to start the frame which put them ahead 5-0. Junior Kristin Eklund (Barrington, R.I.) scored her first of the season just 1:06 into the period with a great individual effort to strip the puck from a Union defender, allowing her to skate into the offensive zone unwatched, and then fired it past Marcinko’s shoulder. Elkins followed suite with her second goal of the season and of the weekend at the 1:36 mark of the third period. Wheeler was awarded with her second assist of the game.
After the fifth Bobcats goal, Union changed goalies and put in senior Kate Gallagher (Minneapolis, Minn.) Vigilanti followed up her shutout performance from the previous night with another strong showing, turning away 19 Union shots. Union did manage to get one past Vigilanti at the 6:03 mark of the third period off the stick of junior Emma Rambo (Joliet, Ill.) for her first of the season, and bringing the score to 5-1. Marcinko and Gallagher combined for 24 saves. Both teams went 0-2 on the power-play.
It might be too early yet to see if the Bobcats can keep up this style of play against ECAC opponents, but if they can, look for the Bobcats to become a favorite in the ECAC.
Quinnipiac returns to action on Friday, Nov. 4 when it hosts rival Yale at High Point Solutions Arena at 7 p.m. and Saturday, Nov. 5 when they host Brown at 4 p.m.
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| Courtesy: Quinnipiacbobcats.com |
Bobcats Make Changes Prior to ECAC Play
By Brian Farrell, QBSN Hockey Reporter
When a season doesn’t start the way that a team wants it to there are only so many changes that a team can make on the collegiate level. There are no trades or free agents, but there are some roster moves that can be made.
Last weekend Quinnipiac women’s ice hockey head coach Rick Seeley and his staff made one of those changes. Senior assistant captain and last year’s top defensive player Bethany Dymarczyk switched to forward, while junior Wisconsin transfer Breann Frykas moved back from forward to play defense.
To any person with average hockey knowledge this move would raise an eyebrow or two, but Quinnipiac’s coaching staff saw something. So much so that the team decided to add sophomore Shelby Wignall to the list of blue liners that will turn forward this weekend.
“[Dymarczyk and Wignall] are more aggressive playing forward…” Seeley said. “I think there’s less pressure that your mistakes will end up in the back of the net at forward and they’ve got a little bit of that pressure off their backs and they’re just having fun.”
The 5-10 Dymarczyk and 5-9 Wignall bring a whole different look at the forward position.
“They’ve both got such huge wingspans and they’re proving to be pretty good forecheckers,” Seeley said.
Along with moving two giants, QU has moved forward speedster Frykas to a different spot.
“With Frykas on D it gives us speed on D we just don’t have back there. She gives us the ability to pick off a pass and in two steps be blowing by the forecheck.”
Along with some of these radical changes, the Bobcats are still looking to do what they’ve done in the past: out work the other team. For the skating positions it is easier to judge than with one of Quinnipiac’s usual strengths—goaltending.
In the past two seasons Victoria Vigilanti proved to be one of the best between the pipes. This year she is struggling with a 3.42 goals-against average and a save percentage just over .880.
“Vigilanti is her own biggest critic,” Seeley said. “When she isn’t playing well, she knows it. She has worked hard in practice this week on her focus and decision making. I am sure we’ll see the Vigy we’ve come to expect this weekend”
With these recent changes the team is looking to get back on track with their first conference games this weekend.
“We’ve worked hard this week understanding where we have to improve our game and stepping up our commitment to executing well. We’ve had a pretty spirited week of practice.”
A slow start to the season is not the worst thing that can happen to a team, but to be able to overcome that start can be uplifting as the season progresses. Last season the Bobcats played their best hockey during the playoffs and the good news is that after losing just one regular skater from last year this team has that same potential.
Quinnipiac hits the road this weekend when the travel to RPI on Friday and then to Union on Saturday. Both start times are set for 3 PM.
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Bobcats Collapse for second Straight Game.
By. Dom Lancella
The Quinnipiac Women’s hockey team was scratching their head for the second straight game as they managed to blow another three-goal lead. The crowd at High Point Solutions at TD Bank Sports Center was stunned when the Maine Black Bears tied the score with just 30 seconds remaining in the game.
The mood went from bad to worse as the Bobcats proceeded to lose the game 5-4 in overtime, as the Black Bears improved to a flawless 4-0 on the season while the Bobcats fell to 1-3.
Brittany Dougherty tied the game in the third after making a move behind Bobcats goalie Victoria Vigilanti (Woodbridge, Ontario) and sliding the puck in as she was falling to the ice. Dougherty also assisted on a power play goal by Myriam Croussette.
The winning goal was scored by Danielle Ward on a deflection. Dawn Sullivan centered from behind the net, the puck bounced around and hit a Bobcats defender before Ward deflected it home. Ward had two goals on the game.
The Bobcats let in four unanswered goals to complete the team’s second consecutive collapse at home. Bobcats Head Coach Rick Seeley had a simple answer for the positive things that QU can take away from this weekend.
“None,” Seeley said.
He described it as a “tale of two games” as the Bobcats had a commanding lead and playing with an aggressive pace. They let up on that pace and allowed the Black Bears to hang around long enough to come back.
Vigilanti made 23 saves as the Black Bears out-shot Quinnipiac 28-24. Brittany Ott started in goal for Maine, but was quickly pulled after giving up the Bobcats first goal just three minutes into the game. She stopped two of the three shots she faced. Kylie Smith relieved her and stopped 18 shots and gave up three goals.
The Bobcats had their opportunities to put the game away, both teams went 2-6 on the power play, but the Bobcats failed to capitalize on their final two which came in the third period.
The only bright spot for the Bobcats was the solid play from the line of sophomore Kelly Babstock (Mississauga, Ontario), junior Brittany Lyons (Canton, Mass.) and freshman Nicole Kosta (Mississauga, Ontario).
Babstock and Lyons each had a goal and two assists while Kosta had a goal, the first of her career, and an assist, but it was not enough to split the weekend series. Kate Wheeler (Oakville, Ontario) also had a goal, the only one that did not come from the Babstock line.
“I’m numb after today’s game,” said Seeley.
The Bobcats were inconsistent on defense. Maine only got two shots on goal in the first 15 minutes of the second period, but they did not come out in the third period with the same defensive intensity. The Bobcats forecheck was excellent for the first half of the game, but fell apart in the third period.
The Bobcats have time to improve before their first conference game on October 28th, but the story of the weekend was the Bobcats inability to finish the game.
Things do not get any easier for the Bobcats as they will be on the road for the next three weeks. Their next home game is not until November 4th when they host Yale.
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Maine Steals Lead to Defeat Bobcats
By: Taylor Massey QBSN Staff Writer
In their first home game of the season the Quinnipiac woman’s ice hockey team started with a strong lead, but quickly lost control and let the Maine Black Bears skate past for the win. Different players scored the three Quinnipiac goals. Junior Brittany Lyons (Canton, Mass.) ended the game with a goal and two assists, but it wasn’t enough to keep Maine from taking the game.
After winning the opening faceoff the Bobcats wasted no time getting to the net. Senior defender Bethany Dymarczyk (Hamden, Conn.) slipped the puck past Maine goaltender Brittany Ott (St. Clair Shores, Mich.) for a power-play goal just 18 seconds into the first period. She was assisted by sophomore Kelly Babstock (Mississauga, Ontario) and Brittany Lyons. Maine stepped up their defense, pressing the Bobcats and keeping them from extending their lead. However, with 11 seconds left Quinnipiac senior Chelsea Illchuck (Lockport, Manitoba) tossed the puck into Maine’s goal to end the first period leading 2-0.
The second period began as a repeat of the first with Quinnipiac’s Brittany Lyons nabbing an unassisted goal just 41 seconds into the period. This time Maine fired back. After fighting for the puck sophomore Kayla Kaluzny (Calgary, Alberta) of the Bears swiped a goal past Bobcat’s goaltender junior Victoria Vigilanti (Woodbridge, Ontario) just over seven minutes into the second period. Brianne Kilgour (Hamilton, Ontario) assisted in Maine’s first goal of the game. The Bobcats still held a 3-1 lead until just six minutes later Maine scored again. Myriam Croussette (Baie-Comeau, Quebec) passed to Danielle Ward (Lansing, Mich.) who slapped the puck into the corner of Quinnpiac’s net, barely passing Vigilanti. The Bobcats barely held onto the 3-2 lead at the end of the second period.
The beginning of the third period showed a complete turn around in the game as the Black Bear’s offense came out strong and the Bobcat’s defense faltered. In the first 30 seconds of play, Kayla Kaluzny scored her second goal of the game to tie the score 3-3. She was assisted by Jennifer More (Deloraine, Manitoba) and Chloe Tinkler (Wabush, N.L.). Then, only a minute and a half later Maine took the lead with a goal by Missy Denk (Poplar Grove, Ill.). Vigilanti had just deflected a previous shot when the puck went off the stick of Brianne Kilgour over to Denk who tapped it into the net. The Bobcats pushed for another goal the rest of the third period, but the Black Bear’s defense held strong. Victoria Vigilanti was pulled to allow another forward on the ice with 30 seconds left in the game in a last effort to score. Unfortunately it was too late for the Bobcats, and they lost 4-3 to Maine.
During a post-game interview head coach Rick Seeley was asked about goaltender Victoria Vigilanti’s progress from game to game as she gave up four goals last weekend against Mercyhurst and did the same against Maine. Seeley said “We’ve been spoiled with Vigilanti and we’ve grown to count on her every night and we’ve had three games and I agree that two of them haven’t been good.” Vigilanti was recently named ECAC Goaltender of the Week for the 10th time in her career. With a personal-high of nine shutouts last season she protects the Bobcat’s net with determination, but she can’t do it alone. The Bobcat’s defense will need to step it up in order to defeat Maine in the next game.
The Bobcats will play Maine again Saturday at 1pm. Be sure to listen for live updates at theqbsn.com
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Women's Ice Hockey Blows Out Durham Jr. Lightning 7-0
By Marty Joseph, QBSN Staff Writer
The Quinnipiac women’s ice hockey team rolled passed the Durham Jr. Lightning Saturday night in their lone exhibition contest, 7-0. Six different players found the back of the net for the Bobcats, with all three goaltenders seeing game time in the shutout of the Lightning. Brittany Lyons (Canton, Mass) led the way with two goals and an assist, along with freshman Nicole Kosta (Mississauga, Ontario) who netted a goal and two assists.
The Bobcats had control of the puck from the opening face-off throughout the first period, as they out shot Durham 15-3 in the first. Durham’s three chances were all quality-scoring chances, but Quinnipiac’s Victoria Vigilanti (Woodbridge, Ontario) made three quality stops, keeping the Lightning off the scoreboard. On the other side, Durham goaltender Jackie Rochefort (Ajax, Ontario) was phenomenal in the first period stopping 13 of 15 shots.
The Bobcats finally beat Rochefort at the 16:37 mark on a goal by Breann Frykas (East St. Paul, Manitoba). Frykas took the pass from Olivia Brackett (Coopersville, Michigan) and put a shot on the net. Rochefort was screened on the play and never got a good look on the shot, as it beat her under her left pad. 57 seconds later, Amanda Colin (Burnsville, Minn.) was able to break through the Durham defense and put a point-blank shot on Rochefort, which trickled by her to make it 2-0 Bobcats.
The Bobcats picked up where they left off in the second period, as they were able to extend their lead to 5-0. The Bobcats continued to dominate play as they controlled the puck in both the offensive and defensive zones. Brittany Lyons scored to make it 3-0 at the 7:06 mark off a great setup from Kelly Babstock (Mississauga, Ontario) and Amanda Colin.
Both teams switched goaltenders at the halfway point of the 2nd period, as Kimberly Keller (Stouffville, Ontario) came into the game for Durham and Chelsea Laden (Lakeville, Minn.) for the Bobcats. Anna Borgfeldt (Kristianstad, Sweden) got a pass from Nicole Kosta in the slot and fired a shot passed Keller to put the Bobcats up 4-0 later in the second. Kristen Eklund (Barrington, RI) concluded the scoring in the second period as she put a shot passed Keller at the 13:34 mark. Megan Hagg (Ajax, Ontario) and Chelsea Illchuk (Lockport, Manitoba) got the assists; the goal was the result of a strong shift from that line.
Quinnipiac was able to close out the game on the Lightning in the third period, staying focused and putting out a full 60-minute effort. Brittany Lyons netted her second of the game at the 9:56 mark to make it 6-0. To finish things off, Nicole Kosta scored with 8.8 seconds remaining, as she put a wrist shot passed Keller. Kosta had one of the strongest performances for Quinnipiac, and was rewarded with a goal after being setup by Melissa Perry (Chelsea, Michigan) and Breann Frykas.
The No. 9 Bobcats open their season next weekend on the road against No.8 Mercyhurst. After the two game set with Mercyhurst next weekend, the Bobcats open their home schedule against Maine on October 7th.
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Bobcats fall to #2 Cornell in ECAC semis
By Corey Hersch, QBSN Co-Director
Before the game, Bobcats women’s ice hockey coach Rick Seeley said that his team would have to play the perfect game to beat Cornell in the ECAC semifinal game on Thursday night. They nearly did, but it wasn’t enough.
In the end, though, a pair of goals from Hayley Hughes—including the eventual game-winner—led the #2-ranked team in the country to a 4-3 victory over the Bobcats.
“Other than the goals, we stuck to the game plan pretty well,” Seeley said. “I thought we played well enough to win.”
Late in the first period, Cornell earned a 5-on-3 advantage after penalties to both Kelly Babstock and Kelley Davies. Quinnipiac was able to kill off the initial penalty to Babstock, but after a multitude of chances, the Big Red’s high-octane power play struck with 1:47 to play in the first. Chelsea Karpenko settled the puck in the right-wing circle, and wristed at past Victoria Vigilanti’s glove for the opening goal.
Jessica Campbell added a goal for the Big Red five minutes into the second, and the Bobcats found themselves down by two goals. But as they would do on multiple occasions on the game, Quinnipiac fought back.
“Overall I thought our kids played great,” Seeley said. “They played with great heart and they battled even when we were down by a couple.”
First it was Erica Uden Johansson at the 7:28 mark of the second period. The Swedish National team member skated into the zone on the left wing, was stopped on her initial two shots by goalie Amanda Mazzotta, but banged home the third effort to cut the Cornell lead to one.
But late in the second, Cornell answered. Hughes scored from the high slot, spinning to the ice as she shot, and put it past Vigilanti’s five hole to extend the Big Red lead to two once more.
Next, it was Brittany Lyons’ turn to keep Quinnipiac in the game. 1:50 into the third period, Jordan Elkins’ shot from the point was stopped and the rebound bounced straight up. Lyons was waiting at the far post, batted it out of mid-air and past Mazzotta to make it 3-2.
After, Hughes scored again to increase the Cornell lead to two for a third time, it looked as if the Bobcats might not have a third response in them. But Hamden’s own Bethany Dymarczyk did not want to go back to her hometown without a fight. She fired a shot from the point that went through a Babstock screen and underneath Mazzotta’s pads to once again cut Cornell’s lead in half.
As the final minute of regulation approached, Seeley had no choice but to pull Vigilanti in favor of an extra skater. As it typically does in 6-on-5 hockey, chaos ensued. With less than 10 seconds left on the clock, a blocked shot led to a mad scramble for the puck in the slot. It came to the stick of Davies, who settled and fired one that just caught the right toe of Mazzotta. And like that, the historic season for Quinnipiac’s women’s ice hockey team was over.
“I thought we did a great job of winning the initial battles once we had [Vigilanti] pulled,” Seeley said. “We had three chances at the end.”
The bright side for the Bobcats is that, in graduating just Davies and Kelsey Britton, Quinnipiac returns plenty of firepower on both the offensive and defensive ends. When last season ended in a five-overtime loss to RPI, it pushed the team to greater heights this year, reaching its first ECAC semifinal in program history. While this one was decided in regulation, only time will tell if the loss will provide the Bobcats with that extra spark to get them over the hump in 2011-2012.
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Bobcats roll to ECAC semis after sweep of Princeton
By Corey Hersch, QBSN Co-Director
When the Quinnipiac women’s ice hockey team came into Hobey Baker Rink to play Princeton Friday afternoon, they had never beaten the Tigers on the road, nor had they ever earned a trip to the ECAC semifinals. When they left 24 hours later, they had accomplished both.
Victoria Vigilanti stopped all 18 shots sent her way, including a pair of dazzling saves in the final minutes, as the Bobcats swept the Tigers in the three-game series with a 2-0 win. Kelly Babstock scored the eventual game-winner and Erica Uden Johansson put home an empty net goal with 16 seconds left to seal the deal.
This time last year was a completely different story for the Bobcats. After a game one win in the quarterfinals against RPI in Hamden, Quinnipiac fell in games two and three to lose the series in heartbreaking fashion.
“None of us wanted to have that feeling again of losing when we should be winning the series,” Vigilanti said. “We tried to give that feeling to the freshmen and they went on to play one of the best playoff series I could imagine.
Just like in Friday’s contest, the first period ended without a goal from either side, but with the Bobcats controlling the majority of play. They won battles for loose pucks in the Tigers zone while also blocking shots at the other end of the ice.
“Our defense played unbelievable. I couldn’t ask for anything else,” Vigilanti said. “They were blocking shots with their necks, backs, sticks, anything. That’s desperation playoff hockey.”
With the game still scoreless early in the second period, Kelly Babstock won a faceoff in the Princeton zone. The puck came to the right point to Felicia Vieweg, who settled it and fired a slapshot towards Princeton goalie Rachel Weber. Babstock got her stick out in front of the crease, and deflected it past Weber to give the Bobcats the lead.
Babstock scored 29 times in the regular season and earned her second point of the series with the second period goal. She was also named as one of three finalists for the ECAC Player of the Year over the weekend.
Even leading through two periods, Quinnipiac did not let up their pressure on the forecheck. They continued to send all their forwards deep into the zone, winning pucks behind the Princeton net throughout the third.
“I think we wore them down, that was the game plan,” head coach Rick Seeley said. “They really ran out of gas towards the second half of the game.”
Princeton was able to mount some offense in the final period, but after hitting three posts in game one of the series, they were denied once again after Denna Laing rang one off the iron. With their season hanging in the balance, the Tigers had two of their best chances all game. But Vigilanti robbed Sally Butler’s deflection with a sparkling glove save, and just a couple minutes later went into the splits to stop a rebound with her right pad.
“I had already counted those both as goals in my head,” Seeley said. “But that’s Vig, she’s capable of making huge saves, and she’s capable of being steady like she was today.”
“That’s my job,” Vigilanti added. “I have to be on my toes and make the big saves to keep my team in the game.”
The win ensures the Bobcats of at least one more game this season. They will be playing on the road against either Cornell or Harvard on Thursday, with a win sending them to the ECAC Championship game.
“Cornell is just a powerhouse, we’ll have to make some adjustments against them,” Seeley said. “I think we match up well against Harvard. We had them two-nothing in the third at their place last time, but we just kind of fell apart.”
Vigilanti is even more confident in the team’s ability to make noise in the upcoming games.
“If we just play our game, we can beat anyone. Put us out there against an NHL team and we’ll win.”
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Lyons Scores in Final Seconds, Bobcats Take 1-0 Series LeadBy Corey Hersch, QBSN Co-Director
Last season, the Quinnipiac women’s ice hockey team played a pair of overtime games in their quarterfinal series against RPI. With the score tied at one in the third period on Friday night, it looked like game one of this year’s quarterfinal against Princeton was headed for extra hockey as well.
But with five seconds to play in regulation, Brittany Lyons took a beautiful centering feed from Kelly Babstock, put it between the legs of Princeton’s goalie Rachel Weber, and gave the Bobcats a 2-1 victory over the Tigers.
“Babs is always where you need her and she got the puck to me on her knees,” Lyons said. “I was able to get it five-hole.”
The play started with the puck in the Bobcats end on a defensive zone faceoff, but Quinnipiac was able to get up ice and score with time winding down.
“The whole line looked determined even when the faceoff was in our zone with 31 seconds left,” head coach Rick Seeley said. “It was a battle. I was trying to think of what I was going to be saying between periods and then, boom, the game’s over.”
Even though Quinnipiac didn’t have the lead until Lyons’ deciding goal, Seeley was pleased with the team’s effort.
“I think this was maybe the best we’ve forechecked all year on a consistent basis,” Seeley said.
There was little offense to speak of in the first period, with both teams struggling to get any offense going. Quinnipiac outshot the Tigers just 7 to 5 in the first, with the best chance for either team coming by Babstock. Working in the left-wing corner, she stickhandled to the net, hesitated for a couple seconds, tried to go high on Weber, but just put it off the crossbar.
With the game scoreless headed to the second, Princeton went on the offensive right off the bat. Danielle DiCesare sent a pass to the near post right to the stick of Sasha Sherry, who slipped it past Victoria Vigilianti just 23 seconds into the middle frame.
The Tigers continued their offensive onslaught throughout the early stages of the second, controlling the flow of play. But with eight minutes left in the period, Bethany Dymarczyk came into the Tigers zone on the right wing and fired a slapshot past Weber to tie the game at one.
The Bobcats opened the third period with 1:48 remaining on a power play, but were unable to generate any offensive chances. The teams battled back and forth until Lyons netted the game-winner.
The two teams will take to the ice at Hobey Baker Rink again at 4:00 Saturday afternoon with a chance to clinch the series and move on the ECAC semifinals.
“They’ve forgotten about this win already,” Seeley said. “We have to go after it the same way we have the past few days. It’s a short series and we don’t want to go to game three. So we’re going to come ready.”
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Bobcats and Wildcats Skate to 1-1 Draw
Youngsters Shine on Senior Day, Help Bobcats Beat Union 4-0
By Brian Farrell, QBSN Staf Writer
On Saturday afternoon the Quinnipiac Bobcats welcomed the Union Dutchwomen to the TD Bank Sports Center for the Bobcats final regular season home game. On a night that the senior class was honored, freshman Kelly Babstock scored two goals to lead the Bobcats to a 4-0 win. Victoria Vigilanti made 23 saves to gain her eighth shutout of the season. Union’s Kate Gallagher made 42 saves in the losing effort.
Quinnipiac took the 1-0 lead with 6:23 remaining in the opening frame after an extended cycle in the Union zone. Following a number of centering passes were broken up, one finally got through. Elena Orlando had the set up pass when she connected with Babstock to Gallagher’s right. Babstock took control of the puck and wristed it past Gallagher for her 28th goal of the season.
With 4:45 left in the period, the Dutchwomen took to the advantage after QU’s Shelby Wignall was called for high sticking.
Just seconds into the power play Union thought they had tied the score. After a Union rebound popped in the air to the left of Vigilanti, Elsa Bruestle swatted it out of the air. The puck tipped high and above the dive of Vigilanti and into the back of the net. The goal was disallowed after a discussion between the officials, Philip Kitchen and Michaela Frattarelli, as it was determined that Bruestle’s swing was a high stick.
“It was a tough call back, but we should have responded better,” said Claudia Asano. “It hurt us a lot not getting that goal and your team has to react in the most positive way possible. It was just really tough to take.”
The Bobcats took a 2-0 lead after a high light reel goal from Brittany Lyons 3:46 into the second period. Lindsay Burman began the play after her shot was saved by Gallagher. The rebound came out in front on the left side where Lyons picked it up. She then skated in front of the crease forcing Gallagher to move left to right. After Gallagher had sprawled out, Lyons dove and tapped her backhander into the net for her tenth goal of the season.
Later in the second, it was Kelly Babstock again taking a centering feed for her 29th goal of the year. Amanda Colin took the puck in the far corner and waited for Babstock to break through the slot. Babstock grabbed the puck in the low slot and tapped the puck five-hole to beat Gallagher.
The Bobcats added a fourth goal 8:41 into the third period on Burman’s second goal of the season. Senior Kelley Davies started the play with a pass to Lyons on the right side. Lyons fed the puck to Burman behind the net where Burman made a move to the net. Burman took the puck on her back hand and beat Gallagher to the left post on her wraparound. Davies, playing in her final regular season home game was credited with an assist.
“I have watched (Kelley Davies) grow up over the past three years,” said Seeley. “I have seen her go from being a nervous hockey player to a great leader.”
QU’s Kelsey Britton also played in her final regular season home game and got the attention of her coach. “She works her heart out in every practice and tonight we needed her. The player she replaced was not playing well and we needed her to step up.” said Seeley.
Quinnipiac enters the final regular season weekend in fourth place in the ECAC and one point back of Dartmouth for third place.
By Marc "Palatial" Schwartz, QBSN Staff Writer
In the rematch of a previously game postponed due to inclement weather, the Quinnipiac University Bobcats and the University of New Hampshire Wildcats tied 1-1. A Quinnipiac goal from Amanda Colin (Burnsville, Minn.) and New Hampshire goal by Courtney Birchard (Mississauga, Ontario) provided the lone scoring for the evening in this non-conference matchup.
The tie came with top defensemen Jordan Elkins (Wasilla, Alaska) and Regan Boulton (Brandon, Manitoba) not playing.
When asked if there was any new defensive strategy put in place with these absences, Head Coach Rick Seeley responded that they needed to “hang on for dear life!”
The first period did not feature much action, as the two teams skated to a scoreless period. This was not without opportunities for both teams. Quinnipiac went on the first power play of the game 8 minutes in, but were unable to convert it into a goal, as the UNH penalty kill unit was superb. Kelly Babstock (Mississauga, Ontario) sported her dazzling puck-handling skills in the period with some electrifying moves, but she too was unable to net the puck in the period.
The play in the first period was very even, and this continued to be the case for the start of the second.
That was until Colin netted her 6th goal of the year on a picture-perfect pass from Babstock. Babstock’s great effort of not only keeping the almost-cleared puck in the UNH zone, but gaining enough control of the puck to execute a precise pass to a perfectly positioned Colin right in front of UNH goalie Kayley Herman (Weyburn, Saskatchewan) gave the Bobcats their first lead of the night.
“Whoever is working with Babstock is gonna get some great opportunities,” said star goaltender Victoria Vigilanti (Woodbridge, Ontario) after the game.
The scoring chances for the Bobcats continued in the later stages of the 2nd period, as two more penalties were called against UNH. Once again the Wildcats penalty kill unit stepped up, and easily thwarted any opportunities that the Bobcats had of scoring on the power plays.
UNH had opportunities of their own during the second period, but were unable to convert. A penalty against Lindsay Burman (Stanchfield, Minn.) of at the 9:45 mark in the period presented the Wildcats with their best opportunity of the game to this point. The Quinnipiac penalty kill unit stepped up against a solid UNH power play unit, and denied the Wildcats of the equalizing goal.
UNH came out with more urgency in the third period. It was this energy in the skates that would lead to a Quinnipiac turnover behind their net and result in a UNH equalizing goal. Arielle O’Neill (St. Catharines, Ontario) would recover the Bobcat turnover, and deliver a perfect feed to a streaking Courtney Birchard (Mississauga, Ontario) in the slot, who went top shelf on Vigilanti on a one-timer to tie the score up at one a piece.
The Bobcats did get their opportunities to regain the lead later in the period, but Herman for UNH would have none of it, stopping a Babstock breakaway chance with four minutes left, and another Babstock open wrist shot with 1:15 left in the period. A beautiful glove save by Vigilanti on a wrist shot from Sarah Campbell (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) with 1:15 remaining helped preserve the tie and send the game into overtime.
In overtime, once again, UNH came out with more energy than Quinnipiac. The Wildcats outshot the Bobcats 3-0 in the 3:45 of the period, and never allowed Quinnipiac a chance to win the game. Thanks to another nice save by Vigilanti with 30 seconds left in overtime, the game ended in a 1-1 tie.
This weekend the Bobcats host RPI Friday night at 7 p.m. and Union College Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. Quinnipiac looks to avenge a tragic loss to RPI in the ECAC Tournament last year that ended their season at home. Said Coach Seeley, “What is on our mind is how we played against RPI this year.” Both games will be played at the TD Bank Sports Center, as well as being broadcasted live on the Quinnipiac Bobcats Sports Network.
QBSN Staff Writer, Brian Farrell
On Friday afternoon the Quinnipiac Bobcats welcomed the Brown Bears to Hamden for the start of a weekend series, the Bobcats only games in the month of December. Quinnipiac defeated the Bears 4-0 to improve their ECAC record to 5-5-0, while Brown falls to 2-4-1. Victoria Vigilante made 17 saves in the winning effort, earning her fifth shutout and moving her in to a tie for the nation’s lead. Freshman Kelly Babstock also scored her 16th goal of the season, breaking the school’s single-season goals record.
Quinnipiac’s offense got off to a fast start just 2:22 into the first period as junior defenseman Bethany Dymarczyk slapped home her third goal of the season. Babstock won the offensive zone face off and sent the puck around the near side boards where, fellow freshman Erica Uden-Johansson sent a backhand pass to the point. Dymarczyk took the feed and beat sophomore Katie Jamieson glove side as the Brown goaltender was screened out front.
Dymarczyk admits that the defense is trying to produce offensively.
“Starting from last year we started to become more offensive and that has carried over to this year” says Dymarczyk, “We know our team relies on us at the point and we know we need to score.”
Brown’s best opportunity of the game came late in the first period after goaltender Victoria Vigilante misplayed a puck behind her net. The puck trickled loose behind the cage where Vika Mykolenko took the puck and tried a wrap around on the near post. Vigilante was able to race back just in time to make a sprawling split save to keep Quinnipiac’s 1-0 lead.
The Bobcats extended their lead at the 4:44 mark of the second period on Babstock’s historic goal. Freshman Shelby Wignall sent a slapshot on Jamieson, who made the save, but allowed Uden-Johansson to send the rebound to a wide open Babstock. Babstock, just inside the far side hash-marks, sent her wrist shot through the leg pads of Jamieson. Babstock now holds Quinnipiac’s single season record in goals, assists and points. Just 19 games through the season Babstock has 16 goals, 19 assists and 35 points.
“It is certainly nothing I have had to deal with as a coach where every night you can rely on her to produce in every game,” Bobcats head coach Rick Seeley said of Babstock’s sensational play just half a season into her collegiate career. “She did a lot of great things on the defensive side of the puck tonight. That is the special thing about her because as talented as she is she still wants to improve.”
The Bobcats added more insurance late in the second period off of senior Kelly Davies power play goal. After Babstock was tripped up on a streaking two-on-one opportunity, the Bobcats found themselves on the power play.
Just seconds into the advantage, junior captain Jordan Elkins took the puck from Elena Orlando at the point. Elkins sent her slapshot on Jamieson, who made the save. But senior Kelly Davies was there to collect the rebound at the far circle and promptly sent her shot over the blocker of Jameison for her third goal of the season.
The Bobcats added one more with just under a minute left in the third period on a Chelsea Illchuk soft wrister on net that found its way through the five-hole of Jamieson. Illchuk was assisted by Dymarczyk and Orlando.
Quinnipiac will play Yale tomorrow, and then will be off until January 3rd when they travel to Hobey Baker Rink to take on Princeton.
“The concern is staying in the right condition. It is such a tough thing to have that much time off.” said Seeley.
Quinnipiac will faceoff tomorrow afternoon against Yale for the second time in a week. The Bobcats defeated the Bulldogs 2-1 in the Nutmeg Classic Championship last Saturday in Hamden. Faceoff is set for 4:00 tomorrow afternoon at the TD Bank Sports Center.
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