The No. 9 Quinnipiac women’s hockey team was back in action once again on Saturday against No. 10 Clarkson in Game 2 of its quarterfinal playoff series, with hopes of an ECAC tournament semifinal appearance. 

Much like the opening period of Friday’s game, the similar tone was being set from the start. Clarkson was on the attack for a majority of period and was able to kill off a Bobcats power play in the process. The Golden Knights posted 14 shots on goal, but they were unable to get one by Quinnipiac graduate goaltender Corinne Schroeder. 

The defensive prowess of Quinnipiac carried over into the second period as it continued to deny Clarkson of any significant scoring opportunities with a multitude of blocked shots. 

The Bobcats were finally able to break through on the scoreboard at the 11:44 mark. Junior forward Alexa Hoskin tipped one in front and sophomore defenseman Maddy Samoskevich was able to knock it in behind Clarkson graduate goaltender Amanda Zeglen to give them a 1-0 advantage. 

Quinnipiac carried over a power play into the third period and cashed in. Olivia Mobley was active once again and connected for her 16th goal of the season to make it 2-0. It’s been an impressive run as of late for the sophomore forward as she has racked up four goals and five assists over her last six games. 

Minutes later, the Bobcats took advantage once again off a turnover as graduate forward Taylor House rifled one through for her 14th of the season, and her second goal of the series as the Bobcats continued to expand their lead to 3-0. 

“I had a lot of time and space I saw when I got that puck…I figured maybe use the defender as a screen, just really take that space and get as close as I can and shoot where I saw it,” House said. 

The finishing touch to the Bobcats offensive attack was put on by sophomore forward Nina Steigauf, who redirected a puck in front and got it in to make it a 4-0 game, which ultimately became the final score. 

Quinnipiac head coach Cass Turner praised the tandem of House and Mobley for their success and how it helped the team clinch the series this weekend.

“They’re both dynamic offensively, incredibly skilled, fast, but detailed,” Turner said. “They care about playing offense and defense…the chances they’re creating, it usually comes from a transition opportunity…they’re both incredibly important to the depth of our offense.”

Schroeder had an answer on all of the Golden Knights attacks, racking up a total of 39 saves, capping off an impressive weekend of play in the series. Saturday marks her third consecutive game with at least 35 or more saves as opposing teams continue to struggle scoring against the Bobcats defense.

Quinnipiac should be very impressed with the quality of play that was on display this weekend. Playoff hockey can certainly energize teams, and it looks like the Bobcats are certainly using it to their advantage. 

On the weekend, they posted nine goals and six different goal scorers headlined the stats. The Bobcats were perfect on execution throughout the majority of the series, both offensively and defensively.

Next up, it’s a date in the ECAC semifinals for Quinnipiac, a place it has not been to since the 2016-17 season. Turner is excited and optimistic for her team going forward into the next round.

“We are learning from the experiences we’ve gotten and now we’re ready to get in position to compete for an ECAC championship,” Turner said. 

As the No. 4 seed, Quinnipiac is likely going to head on the road against a higher seeded opponent next weekend. The Bobcats will await the results of other quarterfinal matchups around the conference as a pair of three-game series are in store across the ECAC women’s hockey playoffs on Sunday.