The Quinnipiac Bobcats (4-4-0 overall, 0-1-0 Eastern College Athletic Conference) began conference play Friday with a 1-0 loss to the Dartmouth Big Green (1-2-0 overall, 1-1-0 ECAC).
Quinnipiac entered the game with a 4-2 loss to Boston College, which broke a three-game winning streak. Meanwhile, Dartmouth came into this contest losing their first two games to Harvard and New Hampshire by a combined score of 10-2. Not only was Quinnipiac head coach Cassie Turner 4-0 all-time against the Big Green, but Dartmouth was seeking their first victory during their four-game road trip to begin the season.
The Bobcats came right out of the gates with persistent pressure in the attacking zone, collecting six shots on goal. However, no goals were scored, and that would remain a constant for Quinnipiac throughout the game.
Turner reflected on the team’s inability to score, despite outnumbering the Big Green in almost every statistical category by the game’s end.
“Hockey’s a really funny game,” Turner said. “We hit a number of posts, and unfortunately, we just couldn’t put the puck in the back of the net.”
Just a few minutes later, Big Green’s alternate captain Morgan Turner was called for tripping, and this power play gave Quinnipiac one particular golden scoring opportunity. Freshman center Brooke Bonsteel passed the puck over to junior defender Anna Kilponen, who took a shot and missed just wide on the near side of the goal. The Bobcats then hit the post immediately followed this scoring chance, but the game remained scoreless.
Though Dartmouth was being outshot 12-4 in the middle of the first period, they were awarded with a powerplay of their own when Quinnipiac defender Shannon Cherpak was called for hooking. The Big Green’s only two goals this season had come on the powerplay, and the difference-making goal would also arrive on special teams. Junior center Alyssa Baker tucked in a goal that bounced off the end boards, catching Bobcat sophomore goaltender Abby Ives out of position. Sophomore defenders Bailee Brekke and Hailey Noronha assisted on the game’s only goal that put the Big Green up 1-0.
Turner took a lot of positives away from this game.
“Believe it or not, I think this was our best game of the season,” Turner said. “I’m excited by what we saw tonight, and I’m looking forward to see what the future holds in store.”
The second period consisted of the same trend: countless Quinnipiac scoring opportunities, but nothing to show for them. The Bobcats were awarded four power play opportunities in the second frame. However, they still couldn’t get by Dartmouth netminder Christie Honor, who stood on her head in her third straight start, making 61 saves in her first shutout of the season.
The third period was more of the same as Quinnipiac dominated possession and puck movement, yet were unable to find the back of the net. Quinnipiac junior captain Melissa Samoskevich had one of the best scoring chances of this period, ringing a shot off the crossbar. The Bobcats had many scoring chances in the final frame, but the puck would not squeak by the wall that was Christie Honor.
Samoskevich was disappointed about her unsuccessful attempts to register her first goal of the season in tonight’s game.
“It’d be better if it [my first goal] came sooner rather than later,” Samoskevich said. “But I’ll still continue to do everything I can to help this team improve moving forward.”
The final statistics of the game were eye-opening. The shot attempts reached triple digits (122) for the Bobcats. Quinnipiac also outshot Dartmouth 61-16. The Big Green went 1-for-2 on the power play, while Quinnipiac struggled mightily, going 0-for-6. The Bobcats dominated at the face-off dot, winning 64 percent of the draws. Dartmouth blocked 38 shots that Quinnipiac attempted, while the home team only blocked two.
Quinnipiac aims to get back into the win column and snap this two-game losing streak when they face the Harvard Crimson today at the TD Bank Sports Center in Hamden at 3 p.m.
