HAMDEN, Conn. — Less than 24 hours after Quinnipiac defeated the Cornell Big Red at M&T Bank Arena, the Bobcats returned to their home ice in Hamden with hopes to take down the No. 4 Colgate Raiders; a task handled greatly by the home team, defeating the Raiders 3-0 behind a Logan Angers shutout. 

Coming into Saturday afternoon’s matinee matchup, both hockey clubs had yet to suffer a loss. In a game that was expected to be tight and down to the wire, both teams lived up to their expectations. It was on Quinnipiac’s second shot of the game that Colgate goaltender Kayle Osborne surrendered what would be her only goal against all day, on Kate Reilly’s second red light of the year. 

At the conclusion of a tightly-contested opening period, the shot totals had the Raiders ahead with 11, to the Bobcats’ seven, while Quinnipiac had the advantage on the big board, one goal to nothing.

As the second period got underway, it was more of the same from the first. Neither Quinnipiac nor Colgate would give an inch, and the scoreboard showed. After an eventless middle frame, in which both Osborne and the door to the penalty box saw the most action, the score remained a one-goal contest between these two undefeated squads. 

In that second period, the Bobcats limited Colgate to just five shots on net – all of which were stopped by goalie Logan Angers. This prompted head coach Cass Turner to credit her team’s defensive play against a highly-skilled Raiders club. 

“We played a game today that I don’t think we’ve played yet this year, which was just the ability to possess the puck and compete and play tough defensively,” Turner said. “That combination was I think what helped us to win the game today.” 

The Bobcats’ defensive play has been a huge part of their success thus far, only allowing seven goals across nine games this season, all of which saw Quinnipiac emerge on top. 

The third period of Saturday’s matchup, similar to the first 40 minutes, was very defensively sound. 

Colgate registered nine shots through the final 20 minutes of play, many from the perimeter as the Raiders found it difficult to penetrate the Quinnipiac defense, and the few times the Bobcats did allow a high-danger scoring opportunity, Angers was there to bail her team out. 

As the final minutes dwindled down, Raiders head coach Greg Fargo pulled his netminder in an attempt to tie the game, but Olivia Mobley and Shay Maloney had ideas of their own. 

Each skater tallied respective unassisted empty net goals within the final two minutes of regulation, which proved to be just icing on the cake, as Kate Reilly’s goal in the first period was enough to keep the Bobcats without a loss in this young 2022-23 season. 

To add to this impressive afternoon for the Bobcats, Quinnipiac team captain and leading goal scorer Lexie Adzija went down with an injury in Friday’s 4-1 victory against Cornell; something Turner addressed today as an opportunity for others to step up and fill that void in the lineup. 

“We have such great depth on our team,” Turner said. “Watching Sophie Urban step in today and play big minutes for us and battle, possess the puck and compete was huge.”

The still undefeated Bobcats get a well-deserved five days off after handing Colgate their first loss of the season, and will look to continue their winning ways next Friday against longtime ECAC rival Yale, in a quick trip to New Haven.