The Quinnipiac women’s ice hockey team heads back to the indoor rink after the Frozen Fenway as they defeated the Dartmouth Big Green 3-2. 

“We enjoyed our experience so much yesterday,” said Quinnipiac head coach Cass Turner. “We enjoy being back on our own ice too… being able to make passes and not worry about the snow.”

The last time the Bobcats took on the Big Green in Hamden, Quinnipiac won 3-1. However, last season due to COVID-19, Dartmouth was missing seven of its 23 players forcing them to only play 16 to Quinnipiac’s 20 which included only one goalie for Dartmouth, Maggie Emerson.

“They were very different,” said Turner. “So much more depth. They have some strong players on their team.”

Defending ECAC Goalie of the Week Catie Boudiette stood between the pipes for Quinnipiac, stopping 18 of the 20 shots on goal.

The Bobcats were the first to strike as senior center Sadie Peart and junior winger Alexa Hoskin found first-year defender Zoe Uens, who scored her first collegiate goal 6:58 into the game.

“Her confidence is just soaring,” said Turner. “She’s a student of the game. She has a lot of questions if there is something she doesn’t understand. Instead of just pretending like she might understand, she comes up and asks questions… and that’s the reason she’s getting better every single day.”

Junior forward Olivia Mobley followed up for the Bobcats as she went top-shelf on Dartmouth goalie Maggie Emerson for her 10th goal of the season to extend Quinnipiac’s lead 2-0 with under five minutes remaining in the first period.

“She’s good at hockey,” said Turner. “She can be super deceptive of the puck and how she shoots.”

After a scoreless second period, Dartmouth was able to score its first goal of the game on a delayed Uens roughing penalty for sophomore forward Laura Fuoco’s fifth goal of the year.

Looking to kill off the roughing penalty, Mobley scored her second goal of the game short-handed and unassisted just under eight minutes into the final period.

“I think in general our team has a lot of speed,” said Mobley. “So going on the PK isn’t necessarily a downfall in our situation which is a huge benefit for our team.”

However, the Big Green struck back halfway through the third period as sophomore defender Caroline Appleyard was able to score her first goal of the year on a breakaway opportunity assisted by sophomore defender Kenzie Bachelor.

The last-minute effort by Dartmouth was not enough in the end as Quinnipiac was able to keep the puck away from the Big Green pressure.

The Bobcats will travel to New York next weekend as they take on Colgate on Jan. 13 followed by Cornell on Jan. 14.