It was a bitter end for the Quinnipiac Bobcats [9-3, 3-4 ECAC Hockey], as they lost momentum against the Colgate Raiders [12-5-1, 7-3 ECAC Hockey] losing 4-2 on Friday night.

Coming off of a two-game win streak against St. Lawrence, the Bobcats came out hot in the first period. They outshot the Raiders 15-11 and stayed even (10-10) in the faceoffs.

“We came out so hard and ready to play,” head coach Cassandra Turner said. “We wanted to get a really strong start, and I thought we did. We were confident with the puck. We possessed it well in the offensive zone.”

FINAL:

Bobcats held their own against one of the top teams in the nation and will be taking them on again tomorrow at 3pm! pic.twitter.com/esLqgHcuMX

— Quinnipiac Bobcats Sports Network (@QBSN) February 27, 2021

Sadie Peart was the first to get in on the action after she got one past Colgate goaltender Kayle Osborne to give the Bobcats to a 1-0 lead just five minutes into the first period. After scoring a goal in the recent series against St. Lawrence, Peart now has two goals in her last three games, and five on the season.

That lead, however, did not last long. Colgate’s Darcie Lappan sliced one past Logan Angers just 30 seconds after the goal by Peart.

Taylor Girard had an answer for the goal though, as she rocketed one into the net with just 50 seconds left in the first. The senior forward’s sixth goal of the season and 14^th point made it 2-1 QU heading into the second period.

The Bobcats’ downfall started in the second period as Kalty Kaltounkova shot one into the net for the Raiders bringing the game to a tie just one minute into the second frame. This became the only goal of the period, as although Colgate outshot Quinnipiac 14-10, the score remained deadlocked at two.

The Bobcats were unable to find their footing in the third period, as the Raiders grabbed two more goals late in the third. Danielle Serdachny grabbed her seventh goal of the season with two and a half minutes left, flying down the right wing and ripping a shot over Angers’s glove for the lead. Not long after, Allyson Simpsonscored an empty-net goal to grab an even larger 4-2 lead with only one minute remaining.

Quinnipiac was outshot 49-46, but went 35-20 in the faceoff dot. After a well-fought game, Colgate’s win drops the Bobcats to 9-5 for the season and 3-5 in ECAC Hockey Play.

“Compared to the first time we played Colgate, we just did so much better in so many different areas like we got shots on net,” Girard said. “We controlled play more than we did last time and we’re just taking steps in the right direction.”

“It’s the best full game we’ve played to date,” Turner said. “I’m proud of the effort we put out there and I think it’s the building block that we need to continue to strive to win a championship. I want to win, and I think we can. Our team deserves an opportunity to beat a team like that.”

The Bobcats will have an opportunity to do just that as the two teams play again Saturday night.