Quinnipiac’s women’s ice hockey team defeated the University of Maine with a 3-0 shutout victory on Saturday afternoon. It was the Bobcats second win, and second consecutive win against the Black Bears, who they defeated 5-4 in their season opener.
After a season opener that saw the Bobcats explode offensively with four goals in the first period, it was quite the opposite on day two. Maine dominated possession time in the first, and disabled Quinnipiac from finding an offensive groove.
Head coach Cass Turner was well aware that Maine would come out with a different edge to them in game two.
“The team has a lot of pride,” Turner said. “For as long as I can remember, it’s a group that’s going to battle. They did that and we knew they were going to do that. Sometimes in games like that you have to be prepared to play a little greedy, boring hockey, until plays open up for you.”
After a quiet first period offensively, the Bobcats sprung to life in the second, scoring three goals.
Coming off a season opener where she scored two goals, center T.T Cianfarano picked up where she left off, scoring the first goal of the game.
Just a few minutes later, forward Meghan Turner scored her first goal of the season. The offensive outburst didn’t end there, as left wing Melissa Samoskevich scored her second goal of the season.
Cass Turner wanted her team to enter the second period with more confidence.
“To gain a little bit of confidence and composure with the puck. I think we really stuck to our game plan in the first period, just in terms of making better decisions with the puck. I think that carried over to the third.”
The third period was reminiscent of the first, as it became a physical, defensive battle. Quinnipiac’s stout defensive performance was a key to taking down Maine two days in a row.
Coming off a less than stellar performance against Maine the previous day, goaltender Sydney Rossman rebounded with a shutout.
“Knowing I have to be ready for the puck at any time, and acting like it’s always zero to zero,” Rossman said. “I think I was a little bit more confident today in knowing my team mentioned that.”
The team will play its next game on Friday, at UConn for its first away game of the year.
