The Quinnipiac women’s ice hockey team celebrated the four-year careers of its seniors with a 5-0 beating of the Brown Bears Saturday night at TD Bank Sports Center. The Bobcats were led by junior Morgan Fritz-Ward, who scored two goals on the evening, and freshman goaltender Sydney Rossman, who recorded 16 saves.
The game started on an emotional note when the team honored six seniors during the annual Senior Day ceremony. Kelly Babstock, Amanda Colin, Olivia Brackett, Elena Orlando, Shelby Wignall and Ashley Winslow all came forward as the Bobcats and their fans celebrated one of the most successful senior classes in the program’s history.
Perhaps it was fitting that a senior would open the scoring for the Bobcats. Babstock did just that when she scored an unassisted goal 11 minutes into the first period, the 197th of her career. Babstock’s goal would open the floodgates for Quinnipiac, which outshot Brown 15-3 in the first period. With under two minutes remaining in the period, Meghan Turner would add another goal on an assist from Colin to give the Bobcats a 2-0 lead heading into the intermission.
The Bears tightened their defense in the second period, allowing only five Quinnipiac shots. However, the defense and Rossman stood strong to preserve the 2-0 lead. Fritz-Ward sparked the Bobcats offense late in the period with her first of two goals. She would score again 13 minutes into the third period to put the game out of reach for Brown. Emma Woods would also score on a Shiann Darkangelo assist with one minute remaining in the game.
After a four-game stretch without a victory, Bobcats Coach Rick Seeley was impressed by his team’s dominating performance.
“I thought our game was a lot better today,” Seeley said. “We just wanted to create a program that works hard every shift, plays defense, scores goals, and I thought it was a pretty complete effort today.”
With three minutes remaining in the game Seeley pulled Rossman in favor of senior Ashley Winslow. Through four years, Winslow had never played in a game for Quinnipiac. In what was one of the most emotional moments of the Bobcats’ season, Winslow’s teammates and fans gave her a standing ovation as she prepared to take the ice for the first time.
“I started crying on the bench,” Amanda Colin said. “It was an exciting thing she’s worked hard.”
The senior did not disappoint either; she recorded her first career save and maintained the Quinnipiac shutout.
“I knew my whole team was behind me and was pulling for me and that kind of helped,” Winslow said. “It made four years worth it and I was really excited.”
The Bobcats will take the ice again on Friday, Feb. 21 when they travel to Ithaca to face Cornell.
