The Quinnipiac University Bobcats fell to the St. Lawrence Saints 4-3 in overtime on Friday. The Bobcats tried to rally from a 3-0 deficit going into the third period but ultimately fell just short. It was not the start the team wanted entering the final home weekend slate of the regular season.
The night started on a lighthearted note as the team was celebrating National Girls and Women in Sports Day. A day that head coach Cass Turner feels proud of her team for inspiring the next generation of girls in the sport.
“I think it’s so important. I think for our team they find as many opportunities as they can to interact with young girls,” Turner said. “That is just invaluable. The mentorship opportunities, the chance for young girls to see what they put into their sport, what they put into their academics, they’re role models and we’re really proud of how they push it.”
Once the puck dropped, the Bobcats got off to a slow and frustrating start. The team went scoreless in the first period with big missed opportunities early being that they were on the power play twice. The first sequence led to two missed shots from senior defender Maddy Samoskevich and Kendall Cooper. The second sequence also left the Bobcats empty-handed to end the first period and continue into the second period. Despite the lack of scoring though, the Bobcats remained aggressive outshooting the Saints 8-5 on goal and 15-8 in total shots.
That momentum would start to swing in favor of St. Lawrence, however, when things kicked off in the second period, once again the Bobcats failed to put a goal on the board. Quinnipiac’s best opportunity came on a two-on-one fast break where Cooper missed a shot in front of the net. St. Lawrence started to take sole control of the game by rattling off three unanswered goals in the second by senior forward Anna Segedi and junior forward Abby Hustler who scored two of her three goals in the period to put the Bobcats down 3-0 going into the final 20 minutes of regulation.
But then, it was as if the Bobcats flipped a switch going into the third period. Just five minutes into the period the Bobcats finally got on the board with a goal from senior forward Nina Steigauf through a crowded lane with assists coming from sophomore defender Zoe Uens and junior defender Mia Lopata. Just two minutes later graduate forward Jess Schryver netted Quinnipiac’s second goal off a fast break takeaway by graduate forward Julia Nearis. Then late in the third, the Bobcats tied the game as graduate forward Sadie Peart tied the game for the Bobcats at three after scoring on a wide-open net.
Turner talked about an important key that she believes led to the Bobcat’s success in the period.
“I think just consistent puck management. It’s something we’ve been talking about a lot,” Turner said. “We started to really do that in the third.”
After all of this, the win just wasn’t in the cards. A potential game-winner by Samoskevich bounced off the post leading to a breakaway goal for Hustler, securing the hat-trick and the win for St. Lawrence.
“Always kinda funny when you hit a post and they go back the other way and they win the game,” Turner said.
Despite the loss, Turner feels confident in her team going forward.
“I thought overall our team battled hard, I think we continue to get better, and we showed a lot of confidence with the puck and had great scoring opportunities today,” Turner said.
The Bobcats continue their final home weekend on Saturday against Clarkson at 3 p.m.
