With a postseason home-ice playoff berth on the line this weekend, the Bobcats started their final weekend of the regular season with a 4-0 rout over Yale, Friday night at Ingalls Rink.
Senior Victoria Vigilanti stopped all 12 shots for her 24th career shutout and third this season, running her streak to eight games without allowing more than one goal. With a St. Lawrence 2-2 tie against Harvard, Quinnipiac remains in fifth place in the ECAC Hockey standings with 27 points compared to the Saints’ 28.
Four different Bobcats scored for Quinnipiac (18-10-4, 12-6-3 ECAC). Erica Uden Johansson, Nicole Brown, Regan Boulton and Brittany Lyons each added tallies. Kelly Babstock recorded two assists, while Uden Johansson added a helper of her own.
The Swedish native recorded her first multi-point game since Nov. 24, 2012 vs Connecticut in the Nutmeg Classic. Babstock’s two assists gives her 54 points (28 goals, 26 assists) moving her past Cornell’s Brianne Jenner for first place in the ECAC.
Babstock caused a Yale turnover as she intercepted a Bulldog pass and fed a pass to Uden Johansson skating up the right wing. Uden Johansson skated in a on a breakaway and backhanded a shot past Yale’s Jaimie Leonoff for a 1-0 lead.
Quinnipiac fired a season-high 52 shots including 22-1 in the second period. Leonoff stopped all 22 shots in the period and made 48 saves in the game. The 22 shots also represented a season-high for the Bobcats in any period.
The Bobcats offensive pressure paid off in the final frame as they scored three third period unanswered goals to ice the game. Just 3:42 into the third, Babstock caused another turnover this time near the boards. She fed Brown near Leonoff’s left. Brown rifled a shot that just slipped in the net past Leonoff glove side for a 2-0 lead.
Boulton added a goal at 12:43. Nicole Kosta swung the puck cross ice to Uden Johansson above the faceoff dot. She faked a shot and gave off to Boulton near the point. Boulton blasted a one-timer deflecting off Leonoff’s pads and into the net. Boulton’s goal was her sixth of the season, all on the power play, while Uden Johansson notched her 12th assist and Kosta added her team-leading 28th assist of the season.
The Bobcats’ second-leading goal scorer Lyons iced the game with just under two minutes left. Freshman Nicole Connery dumped the puck to Lyons who was open in the crease. She skated around Leonoff and shot a backhander past her for her 16th goal of the season.
Quinnipiac now trails St. Lawrence by one point heading into the final game of the regular season tomorrow afternoon at Brown in Providence R.I. Puck drop is slated for 4 p.m.
