[media-credit id=2257 align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]The Quinnipiac women’s ice hockey team opened their two-game series Friday night against the Maine Black Bears with a thrilling 2-1 overtime loss at Frank Perrotti, Jr. Arena.

The Bobcats dropped their third home game in a row, but have shown several signs of being an aggressive and tough team to play against.

“Good hockey team, you know, you have to give them a ton of credit at how well they played today,” Quinnipiac head coach Cassandra Turner said. “When we gave them time and space, they made some tremendous plays and moved the puck quickly.”

The game started out at a high pace and lots of intensity. Both teams struggled to move the puck out of their respective zone and through the neutral zone due to heavy forechecking pressure. There were several turnovers created in both ends leading to a few prime scoring opportunities, but ultimately not leading to a goal.

Junior goalies Carly Jackson, from Maine, and Abbie Ives, from Quinnipiac, made some terrific saves to prevent any first period goals.

“I definitely think (Ives) held us in there a lot,” Quinnipiac freshman forward Lexie Adzija said. “We got to help her out a little bit, but I think that’s something we’ll do tomorrow.”

Adzija, who was recently named ECAC Rookie of the Week, scored her first collegiate goal by tipping a pass from her right-wing counterpart junior Sarah-Eve Coutu-Godbout and beating Jackson over her left shoulder.

“Definitely a memorable moment, I’d say, I’ve been dreaming of going here since I committed in my junior year,” Adzija said. “Feels good to get it out of the way.”

With momentum on their side, the Bobcats amped up the pressure to force the Black Bears to turn the puck over. Their over-aggression led to their first penalty of the game and gave the Black Bears the opportunity to tie the game up.

Ives made some saves on the penalty kill and kept her team in the lead over the next stretch of play as the Black Bears took over possession of the puck. The Black Bears fired several shots on net but could not finish their chances. Quinnipiac senior forward Randi Marcon dove across the low slot to block what seemed to be an empty net shot.

[media-credit id=2257 align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]It took several attacks, but Maine successfully converted a two-on-one odd-man rush on the power play, as junior forward Tereza Vanisova ripped a shot top corner over Ives’ glove to tie the game with a few minutes remaining in the second period. They would head to intermission tied at one.

Three big themes repeatedly occurred for Quinnipiac during the end of the second and throughout the third period; aggressive forechecking for turnovers, blocking shots and big-time saves from Ives.

The Bobcats struggled with putting shots on net as they only registered a total of eight shots through three periods. Their defense had been their strong point throughout the game and needed to pull through one more time after a late penalty taken.

The Bobcats killed the penalty and headed into overtime looking for their first victory of the season. The Black Bears heavily outshot the Bobcats in regulation, though, 27-8.

Within the first minute of overtime, the Bobcats were granted a golden opportunity to steal a win away as they went up on the power play. They registered a couple of shots on goal, but received no result.

Nearly a minute after killing the penalty, Maine’s Vanisova found herself walking in on Ives with another odd-man rush and fired underneath her glove side for the game-winner and Maine’s first win of the year.

“We need a little more grit offensively,” Turner said. “We have to be in position to limit their time and space.”

The Bobcats and Black Bears will duel again Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. at People’s United Center for the final game of the series.