Three of the four Bobcat goals came from freshmen in the victory in the women’s ice hockey team’s season-opening 4-1 victory against Sacred Heart Saturday afternoon at the TD Bank Sports Center.
Quinnipiac head coach Rick Seeley was glad to see the offensive production by the freshmen
“We had trouble putting the puck in the net last year and that was one of the areas we tried to address,” Seeley said. “We expect (Breehan) Polci, (Heather) Hughes and (Brittany) Lyons all to produce regularly.”
However, Seeley was not entirely pleased with the team’s performance, despite the victory.
“The effort was there at times but not enough,” Seeley said. “I thought we showed up a bit more in the third period, but to be outshot in the second 11-3 is inexcusable. We knew it was a relatively weak opponent, and unfortunately that played in to how our kids prepared.”
The win was a sloppy one that Seeley and the team could do without seeing again.
“I don’t think anyone in the locker room is feeling really great about the win,” Seeley said. “I think we’re all more concerned about the effort and commitment level. A loss today would’ve been devastating and would’ve crippled us for a long time, so it’s nice to get the win out of it, but we all know we have a lot of work to do.”
Quinnipiac got all the goals it needed in the first period off of two fast-break goals. The first goal was recorded by Polci and was assisted by senior Evelina Husar. Polci skated through two Pioneer defenders and placed a wrist shot past the goalie into the top shelf. Hughes scored two minutes later in the period during a power play opportunity. Sophomore Kate Wheeler was credited with the assist.
QU closed out the game strong in the third period, when they outshot Sacred Heart 22-4. The Bobcats were able to completely dominate the puck thanks to three early penalties by the Pioneers. Lyons scored to add on another insurance goal 2:58 into the period.
The second period was the only shaky part of the game for the Bobcats. Sacred Heart attempted 11 shots in the period, eventually scoring at the 14:53 mark when Katie Dunlop placed a shot past sophomore goaltender Amanda Nagel. The Pioneers swarmed the net for most of the period and kept the Bobcats’ offense in check.
Sophomore Bethany Dyarczyk was the only non-freshman to score for QU when she scored an empty-net goal with five seconds left in the game.
The Bobcats return to action on Friday, Oct. 16 when they face Boston College on the road.
