After 93 minutes of play, senior Nicole Brown and the Quinnipiac women’s ice hockey team did not want to see a third overtime.
Brown skated the puck through the left offensive circle and took a shot on net, which was deflected away by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) goaltender Lovisa Selander.
However, Brown found the puck back on her stick moments later and made a move to beat Selander. Brown’s teammates poured over the boards to celebrate.
“What a rush,” Brown said. “I just remember everyone jumping on me.”
Brown’s goal gave the Quinnipiac women’s ice hockey team (28-2-5, 16-2-4 ECAC) a 2-1 double overtime victory over the Rensselaer Engineers (10-17-7, 8-9-5 ECAC) as the Bobcats advance to the ECAC Hockey semifinal.
With the win, head coach Cassandra Turner has the most wins ever by a rookie coach in Division I women’s ice hockey with 28 on the season.
“That was a great playoff hockey game,” Turner said. “I am really proud and impressed with our team. From their composure and their confidence. I couldn’t be happier. They were there for each other all day.”
Quinnipiac found themselves battling out of an early hole when RPI’s Jaimie Grigsby was left open in the slot and tallied her third goal of the season to put RPI up 1-0.
The Bobcats answered seven minutes later on the power play. Taylar Cianfarano, the reigning ECAC Hockey Player of the Week, got the puck in the slot and beat Selander five-hole to tie the game at 1-1.
The goal was Cianfarano’s 28th of the season, tying her for second all-time in program history.
Quinnipiac, who entered the weekend leading the country in fewest shots on goal with 597, only strengthened their numbers by holding RPI to only 26 shots on goal all weekend.
On the flip side, the Bobcats attempted over 200 shots in the two games against RPI this weekend.
The Bobcats return to action next weekend when they host the semifinals of the ECAC Hockey playoffs on Saturday, March 5 and Sunday, March 6 at High Point Solutions Arena. The time and opponent have not yet been determined.
