Shelby Wignall was in the right place at the right time to help the Bobcats tie the game. Aside from that, almost nothing could get past Brown goalie Katie Jamieson.
Wignall deflected Regan Boulton’s shot with 9:04 left in regulation for her first career goal, but Jamieson stopped 48 shots, as Quinnipiac and Brown tied, 2-2, Saturday at High Point Solutions Arena at the TD Bank Sports Center.
“It’s tough to dominate possession that much and come off with a tie, but we had a couple of breakdowns on their goals and I have to give them credit, they were great around their net,” Quinnipiac head coach Rick Seeley said. “That’s a tough point to lose. We can’t really afford to lose those points.
Quinnipiac (4-5-1, 3-0-1 ECAC) recorded 50 shots in the game, and also had 24 off-target attempts and 17 shots that were blocked by Brown defensemen.
“We had a lot of shots that we should have buried on,” Wignall said. “We just have to take more quality shots than throw them at the net.”
Bobcat goalkeeper Victoria Vigilanti made 11 saves while Quinnipiac’s offense controlled the pace of the game, but misplayed two pucks that led to Brown’s goals.
“Both of those goals are, by our standards, relatively weak goals,” Seeley said.
Kelly Babstock scored her team-leading fifth goal of the season, while Melissa Perry and Wignall both had an assist.
Trailing 2-1, Boulton took a shot from the point that was deflected off Wignall’s stick and up into the net past Jamieson for the equalizer.
“I just got in front of the net, had my stick down for once, and I felt it just go right up off my stick,” Wignall said. “I don’t think anybody else knew it was my goal but I was just happy to be in the right place at the right time.”
Brown’s Paige Pyett tripped up Babstock with 2:21 left in overtime, but Jamieson made three saves while Brown (1-2-2, 0-2-2) was shorthanded.
“We haven’t scored a power-play goal in conference, so for me right now, the power play kind of screws up our momentum because I think we’re taking it to them and then we’re slowing down the power play, which I don’t really like,” Seeley said.
Babstock scored with 3:19 left in the second period right in front of Jamieson. Perry sent the puck to Wignall, who passed it to Babstock right in front of the crease to tie the game at 1.
“Kelly can change the game by herself,” Seeley said. “Like tonight, we were down one and she scores a great goal.”
Shannon Flatley’s goal with 11:03 left in the third gave the Bears a 2-1 lead. Sarah Robson broke past a Bobcat defender and skated to her right. Vigilanti dove to her left for the save, but Flatley picked up the rebound and sent it into a wide-open net.
Robson scored with 10:35 left in the second period when her shot from just inside the blue line was tipped by Vigilanti into the back of the net.
“We didn’t cover their defenseman on the first one, and on the second we had four people surrounding the person who scored and no one covered,” Seeley said. “Those are the mental lapses that we should be able to improve on, so we just want to cover some of those right after.”
Jennifer Nedow and Vanessa Welten both had an assist for the Bears.
Quinnipiac looks to extend its four-game unbeaten streak when it travels to Clarkson Friday.