By Thomas Albanese, QBSN Staff Writer

The Quinnipiac women’s ice hockey team did not fair well in the first game of the ECAC Quarterfinals against St. Lawrence University as it suffered a tough 1-0 overtime loss.

Both teams failed to score through the first three periods of regulation and the Saints ultimately put a goal passed Victoria Vigilanti after close to 71 minutes of hockey in the game.

With the loss, the Bobcats (19-11-4, 13-6-3 ECAC) now have their backs against the wall as they try to avoid an early exit from the ECAC Playoffs.

Keys for St. Lawrence:

The Saints must continue to rely on senior Kelly Sabatine on the offensive end as she leads the team with 19 goals. The team has been doing a great job spreading the wealth, as six different players have scored at least eight goals this season.

The Saints have been a better team at home then on the road, so getting the first game was a huge boost for the Saints as they had a great defensive stand all night long against the Bobcats.

St. Lawrence’s sophomore goaltender, Carmen MacDonald posted 46 saves against a tough offensive team from Quinnipiac. If she can produce those types of numbers and keep the Bobcats off the board once again, this will give the Saints a huge advantage to move on to the Semifinals.

Keys for Quinnipiac:

After the Bobcats’ offense played strong hockey in the last several weeks, the team failed to score one goal after taking 46 shots on goal in Friday’s game. The team’s offense has to come back strong if they want to send the series to a winner-take-all third game. Kelly Babstock, Nicole Kosta, and Erica Uden Johansson must lead the charge for the Bobcats.

Quinnipiac’s defense had a great performance in Friday despite the goal of which it gave up in overtime. Victoria Vigilanti also had a great game overall, so she needs to forget about what happened and just move on. She has the talent to keep the Bobcats in the series through her impressive play in the last eight games.

The Bobcats must capitalize on most of the opportunities for them to score against the Saints. After Friday, the team is 1-1-1 against St. Lawrence this season, so look for the Bobcats to do everything they can tie the series at one game apiece.