HAMDEN, CT — The Quinnipiac Bobcats were kept scoreless Friday night. On Saturday, the Cornell Big Red kept up that streak until late into the first period. In a tough ECAC weekend, the Bobcats were swept by No. 4 Colgate and No.8 Cornell.
This weekend’s matchups for the Bobcats were vital for both ECAC standings as well as national rankings. The Bobcats faltered in Friday’s matchup against Colgate, so the aura of the M&T Bank was that of curiosity, wondering how the Bobcats would rebound after their first loss at home of the season.
The action started right away for both teams as Cornell started fast on the attack which caught the Quinnipiac defenders off guard. The Cornell attack peppered goaltender Logan Angers early and often. The Big Red eventually found the back of the net off the stick of senior captain Izzy Daniel.
The Bobcats’ defense would eventually settle down in the first allowing them time to collect themselves. Cornell would go on the power play due to Mia Lopata trip. Cornell would only get a single shot on Angers and the penalty would be killed off by the Bobcats’ penalty kill.
With less than five minutes to play in the first, junior captain Rory Guilday of Cornell would go to the box for hooking. Exactly 40 seconds later, first year forward Kahlen Lamarche found Maya Labad who put the puck in the back of the net.
The first period ended tied but the second period would not as Guilday would get another one past Angers to put Cornell back in front.
The Big Red would add to their lead halfway through the third as sophomore forward Mckenna Van Gelder would put another in the net for the Big Red to extend the lead.
“Those are moments where we need to continue to find maturity and also be prepared to respond,” said Quinnipiac head coach Cass Turner, “I think we were finding ways to win pucks back but we weren’t responding with chances to score.”
The Bobcats would not fold after that third goal as the Bobcats would pull their netminder and bring on an extra skater. This would lead to senior forward Nina Steigauf bringing the score within one.
Grad student forward Alexa Hoskin would then tie up the game 40 seconds later. The goal was her first of the season as she had missed significant time earlier in the year due to an injury.
Coach Turner stated that “she’s [Hoskin’s] been building slowly, it has been a long time off the ice for her…she has been picking up things fast definitely with her speed on the ice…”
The Bobcats’ hopes would ultimately be dashed by the Big Red. Junior forward Gabbie Rud of Cornell would hop on an opportunity where sophomore defenseman Zoe Uens lost the puck and would score with just under a minute left to play.
The Bobcats are now 10-5-0 in ECAC play and were jumped in the standings by the Cornell Big Red, who are now fourth and sit in the fifth position in the standings. The Bobcats won’t have to travel far as they will head down Whitney Ave. to face the Yale Bulldogs on Friday, Jan. 26, followed by a trip to Providence to take on Brown on Saturday, Jan. 27.
