After losing their opening game of the weekend to Clarkson by a score of 4-1, the Quinnipiac Bobcats (7-3-1, 2-1 ECAC) continue conference play against the St. Lawrence Saints (7-0-1, 2-0 ECAC) Saturday afternoon.
Quinnipiac opened up conference play against Yale at Ingalls Arena last Friday where it defeated Yale 4-1. During the game, the struggling Bobcats’ power play came to life scoring three power play goals. Sophomore forward Kenzie Lancaster opened her Quinnipiac scoring account notching the first goal of her career late in the second period. T.T. Cianfarano also found her name on the scoresheet after being held pointless against Boston College in a two game series.
Quinnipiac then traveled to Brown University and routed the Bears 8-0. The scoring was dispersed amongst eight different goal scorers with 12 Bobcats registering a point in the contest.
St. Lawrence started Eastern College Athletic Conference play at home against Dartmouth University. Kennedy Marchment scored early for the Saints and they did not look back from there beating Dartmouth by a score of 2-0.
The Saints hosted Harvard University the following day, with Kennedy Marchment scoring her fourth, fifth and sixth goals of the year leading St. Lawrence to a comfortable 4-0 victory over Harvard.
Players to watch
Quinnipiac: A player to watch for the Bobcats is T.T. Cianfarano. She has 13 points in 10 games and scored three goals last weekend. Watch out for her to keep her scoring touch this upcoming weekend. Another player for Quinnipiac that could make a difference is Kenzie Lancaster. She had a breakout weekend and that may spark a barrage of point registering from her.
St. Lawrence: Junior forward Kennedy Marchment tallied three goals against Harvard and another against Dartmouth last weekend. She leads the team with 17 points in eight games and out of her 11 assists, nine are part one of her line-mates’ goal totals.
Special Teams: St. Lawrence struggles, Quinnipiac thrives
The special team’s matchup can play a big factor in games, and this one looks to be no different. Quinnipiac has found new life on the power-play, bringing their power-play percentage up to 22.7 percent on the year. For a team that’s 7-0-1, St. Lawrence’s power-play is in trouble. They have gone 14.3 percent so far this year on the power-play. Penalty killing is no better for St. Lawrence, killing 79 percent of the penalties that they take. Quinnipiac has been solid killing penalties in the early parts of the year, killing 91 percent of all penalties they have taken.
Expected starters: Rossman vs. Harrison
Quinnipiac: Expected to start in between the pipes for the Bobcats is Sydney Rossman. Rossman has been solid thus far, posting a 1.18 goals against average and a 93.7 save percentage.
St. Lawrence: Grace Harrison is expected to play again for the Saints. Harrison has seen every minute of playing time for St. Lawrence this year. After splitting time between three goalies last year, Harrison has taken the role of St. Lawrence head coach Chris Wells’ number one goalie. Harrison comes into this weekend with a save percentage of 93.6, almost identical to Rossman. She has also posted a 1.36 goals allowed average through the 8 games that she has played.
Previous meetings: Quinnipiac has St. Lawrence’s Number
The last time the Bobcats and Saints faced off was in the ECAC semi-finals when Quinnipiac edged St. Lawrence 2-1. Emma Greco kicked off the scoring for the Bobcats but Hannah Miller tied the game up for the Saints. Randi Marcon scored the game-winner for Quinnipiac, sending them through to the ECAC finals.
The Saints will want retribution when they come to Hamden Saturday afternoon, trying to show the Bobcats that they can skate with them. Quinnipiac took all three meetings last year against St. Lawrence.
Difference maker: Top Lines
The deadly line of Kennedy Marchment, Hannah Miller and Brooke Webster for St. Lawrence has combined for a total of 42 points in eight games this season. Quinnipiac’s top line has been adjusted with senior forward Megan Turner dropping down to the second line and being replaced by captain Emma Woods. The line is now T.T. Cianfarano, Emma Woods and Melissa Samoskevich. They were a major part of last weekend’s success and combined for 10 points in those two games. Ultimately, the difference in this game may come down to which top line will be held in check.
