As the summer comes to an end and the fall season starts to approach, there becomes a certain feeling in the air.
The breezes are crisper and the leaves start to change color. The changing of the seasons can also be seen in the athletes who are starting to prepare for the beginning of their regular seasons.
The women’s hockey team is back on the ice this year, trying to improve on last year’s disappointing 5-25-2 record. Although the team finished below .500, they were able to receive many valuable lessons which will help them to turn around the program during the 2003-2004 campaign.
The team returns 16 players from last season and will dress six freshmen for the up coming season.
The team will be helped by the return of junior Gillian Gallagher from Monteville, New Jersey, who led the team in 2002-2003 with nine goals and 16 total points and was tied for second on the team with Candice Boyles of Anchorage, Alaska, with eight assists.
Gallagher and Boyles will be joined by team assist leader from a year ago Caitlin Peters of Minneapolis, Minnesota, who tallied 10 assists.
Peters was also tied for second on the team with Boyles in total points with 15.
The team will have Catherine Lapare between the pipes. She was 3-5-0 last season playing in a back up role for the Bobcats. She made 269 saves out of 299 shots she faced in 569:01 minutes of play.
The team plays a tough schedule this year, with games at Boston College, the University of Connecticut, Vermont, and Ohio State University.
The started out there season however with an exhibition game against the Etobicoke Junior team on October 3. The score ended in a 2-2 tie.
The Bobcats got on the board first thanks to a goal by sophomore Katie O’Hara of Lake Forest, Illinois, 9:18 into the first period.
Quinnipiac added their second goal exactly one minute later at the 9:42 mark on the first when Gallagher scored to give the Bobcats a 2-0 lead.
The Dolphins added a goal at the end of the first period and one midway through the second period to tie the score at 2-2.
Lapare saved eight of ten shots faced before being relieved by freshman Janelle Wolitski from North Battleford, Saskatchewan who saved all 11 shots she faced.
The Bobcats will begin there season at Union College in Schenectady, New York. The Bobcats will play their first home game on Friday October 17 against Colgate in Northford, Connecticut.
