The No. 9 Quinnipiac women’s ice hockey team wrapped up their regular season campaign with a 3-1 victory over Union Saturday afternoon. Following back-to-back wins, the Bobcats are now looking to prepare for the ECAC tournament, which starts at M&T Bank Arena next weekend.
This was the second contest between the two teams, with the Bobcats defeating Union 8-1 in Schenectady back in early January.
After an offensive explosion from the Bobcats the night prior, there was no scoring in the first period as each squad was still getting their feet wet. The end of the period saw both teams put more shots on goal, yet neither could capitalize.
Much like the first 20 minutes, Quinnipiac was dominating offensive zone time and shot attempts; however, they could not light the lamp as the game remained scoreless through two periods.
After two periods, Quinnipiac had outshot Union 60-16. Senior goaltender Sophie Matsoukas kept the Garnet Chargers in the game as she made 31 saves heading into the final 20 minutes.
The consistent looks against Union’s defense finally resulted in the game’s first goal three minutes into the third period. Bryn Prier stayed on a heater as she buried her fourth goal in the last two games, being assisted by Bobcats leading scorer Kahlen Lamarche and captain Kendall Cooper.
Five minutes later, senior center Maddy Samosekvich added insurance after she tossed one past the shoulder of Matsoukas to make it 2-0. Once again, Kendall Cooper helped set up the score with her second assist of the period.
Shortly after, a power play opportunity led to a score for Union. Junior defenseman Stephanie Bourque got the Garnet Chargers on the board against one of the nation’s top penalty kill units.
Junior center Emerson Jarvis sealed the game with an empty net goal with under a minute to go.
The 10 seniors/graduate students picked up a win in their final regular season home contest for the Bobcats.
It was only fitting that upperclassmen stepped up today. Graduate netminder Kaley Doyle stepped up today, only allowing one goal on 15 shots as she picked up her 13th win in her incredible season in net. Captain Kendall Cooper recorded a multi-point game of her own.
Head coach Cassandra Turner notches her 7th season with 20+ wins in her 10 seasons as the Bobcats head coach, including her third straight season of reaching that mark.
Clarkson’s win over Dartmouth helped clinch the Golden Knights the fourth and final seed for a bye in the upcoming ECAC tournament.
As Hamden remains cold, the Bobcats do not. 11 goals scored while allowing only two in the last pair of games gives the Bobcats confidence heading into tournament play. Quinnipiac is slated to face Harvard in the opening round of the conference tournament next weekend.
