In the second installment of the Battle of Whitney Ave on Saturday, the No. 4 Quinnipiac Bobcats lost to the No. 2 Yale Bulldogs with a final score of 4-2 for the second time this season.

“It certainly wasn’t the result that we were really hoping for going into today’s game but we didn’t have the start that we needed to win today,” said Quinnipiac head coach Cass Turner.

With the Bobcats seeking revenge from their previous matchup and Yale looking for another win against the Quinnipiac, both teams came in hot and started the game off strong. 

Yale got on the board first with 8:18 left in the first period. Yale captain Claire Dalton scored the first goal at the front of the net with the assist coming from Charlotte Welch. 

Going off the momentum of their first goal, Yale soon scored their second goal of the game with 3:39 left in the first period. Emma Seitz scored the goal for Yale with an assist from Carina DiAntonio and Olivia Muhn. 

With only 43 seconds left in the first period, Yale scored their third goal of the game. DiAntonio hit a long shot into the top of the net to extend Yale’s lead heading into the second period of play.

Quinnipiac still kept up their high spirit and did not lose hope. After Yale had scored three of their four goals of the game in the first period, the Bobcats would enter the second period trying to hunt for their first goal of the game.

The second period was not as action-packed as the first period. Even though no goals were scored during the second period, both teams still played with a lot of energy. Toward the end of the second period, Yale sophomore Emma DeCorby was given a two-minute penalty for body checking. Quinnipiac captain Lexie Adzija was on the receiving end of the hit and was sent into the stanchion in the Quinnipiac bench. Adzija had to leave the game early as a result of this play.

Despite having a two-minute power play, the Bobcats were unable to score and the game remained scoreless going into the third period. 

Even though the score was still 3-0 going into the third period, the Bobcats were not ready to give up yet. 

“I am so impressed with how our team continued to battle and what we accomplished in the second period,” Turner said. “What we accomplished in the third period showed a lot of the character that’s in our room and just an understanding of what we can accomplish this year.”

Quinnipiac scored their first goal of the game with 8:36 left in the third period. The goal was scored by Olivia Mobley and she was assisted by Sadie Peart and Alexa Hoskin. With Quinnipiac scoring their first goal, not only was the team lifted up, but the crowd instantly became re-engaged and life was brought back into the crowd. 

A little over three minutes later, the Bobcats scored their second goal of the game. Kate Reilly got the puck into the net after an assist from Kendall Cooper. The Bobcats now decreased the Bulldogs’ lead to one with a score of 3-2. The excitement continued to build in the arena as the Bobcats had a chance at tying the game. 

“That shot from Kate was one of the first that we had, a true screen on the goalie and it was in the net,” Turner said. 

With 2:10 left in the period, Turner called a timeout and made the decision to take Logan Angers out of the net. Now with an extra player on the ice, Quinnipiac was ready to take their last chance to tie the game.

While the Bobcats had some chances in the final minutes, the Bulldogs scored an empty net goal with 1:19 left in the third period. Yale finished the game with a win and a final score of 4-2. 

“We hit some adversity and we saw players step up and players playing different positions and there was just a great belief on our bench that we could do it, we were close,” said Turner. “I think we just probably waited a little bit too late to do the right things.” 

This loss ended the Bobcats’ six game winning streak and put their record at 23-4-0. The Bobcats will look to move forward to next week’s game against Princeton at home on Saturday, Jan. 28 at 1:00 p.m.