The No. 11 Quinnipiac women’s ice hockey team continues to keep pace in the competitive ECAC with a 3-0 victory over Dartmouth. Following Clarkson’s loss to Cornell, the Bobcats jump up to fourth in the conference.

This is the second meeting between the two squads as the original matchup saw Quinnipiac win in overtime 2-1 at Dartmouth back in November.

The game began quietly, with each team unable to generate any chances in their opponent’s zone. However, the Bobcats quickly started to pick it up after the first five minutes of play.

Constant pressure and zone control against the Big Green eventually led to a first-year forward Bryn Prier dish from behind the goal line to center graduate defender Maddy Samoskevich, who ripped one to find the back of the net to give the Bobcats a 1-0 advantage. It was her first goal since January 3rd against Union. Dartmouth was unable to convert against the ECAC’s top penalty kill unit on their power play opportunity towards the end of the period.

“This week in practice we’ve been really focusing on passes from below the goal line to the front line,” said Samoskevich following the win. “We’ve also been working on shooting off the pass, so I think dialing into that this week with my line mates just made it easier.”

The second period saw more of the same as Quinnipiac continued to generate plenty of offense as they outshot Dartmouth 18-6 and even had a chance on the power play. However, freshman goaltender Michaela Hesova stopped all of the Bobcats chances to keep the Big Green within reach.

The final period of regulation saw Dartmouth have their best opportunities offensively, getting another chance with a man advantage and creating plenty of chances close to the net. The Bobcats defense denied all their chances as graduate goaltender Kaley Doyle stood strong in net.

“We have a lot of speed and I think we’re able to get back quickly,” said head coach Cassandra Turner. “It was really important to transition back and we did a nice job with that today.”

With just under five minutes left to play, Samoskevich controlled a rebounding puck and scored again, this time with the Bobcats on the power play. Graduate winger Kathryn Stockdale added an empty net goal to close out the victory.

Doyle continues her hot streak as she recorded her 7th shutout of the season and her second in as many starts. In her last three starts, she’s allowed only a single puck to find the back of the net. She credited her defense only allowing 12 shots on goal to help her keep the zero on the scoreboard.

“I’ve gotten more used to playing here,” said Doyle. “We played really well defensively, especially blocking shots to the outside.”

Quinnipiac ships up to Canton, N.Y. to face St. Lawrence next Friday in another ECAC matchup. The Saints currently sit at third in the conference, right in front of the Bobcats.

“I think every game we play is good experience for us and using it as confidence to go in any play our best,” said Turner. “It’s definitely hard to play at St. Lawrence, so it’s important we’re sure to stick to our game plan.”