Quinnipiac women’s ice hockey dominates LIU, winning 4-0

Benjamin Yeargin, Contributing Writer

Quinnipiac women’s hockey outshot the Sharks 23-1 in the first period. (Jack Spiegel/Chronicle)

Quinnipiac bombarded Long Island University (LIU) with an onslaught of shots and swept the season series against the Sharks, winning 4-0.

Quinnipiac has won its past five matchups against LIU by taking advantage of the power play and battering it with shots. Today was no different. 

The Bobcats outshot the Sharks 47-10 during the game, spending crucial minutes within LIU’s offensive zone and gaining chance after chance against a rough LIU defense that struggled to stop any Quinnipiac offensive momentum.

The power play has been a struggle for the Bobcats all year with a .158 conversion percentage, but today they scored an emphatic first-period goal while on one, giving the team momentum for the rest of the game.

Scoring began around ten minutes into the first period, with junior forward Sadie Peart scoring right in front of the net to give the Bobcats a 1-0 lead. First-year forward Ann-Frédérik Naud and redshirt junior defenseman Courtney Vorster assisted on the play.

By the end of the first period, Quinnipiac outshot the Sharks 23-1. 

A bright spot for LIU was freshman goaltender Tindra Holm who saved 22 of 23 shots during the first period, posting a .960% save percentage (SV%). 

LIU kept up with Quinnipiac during the second period, taking eight shots compared to Quinnipiac’s twelve. 

But four and a half minutes into the second period, first-year forward Veronica Bac flicked a shot through the five hole of Holm in front of the LIU net, extending the Quinnipiac lead to 2-0. Junior forward Jess Schryver and graduate student defenseman Olivia Konigson each earned an assist. 

Not even five minutes later, first-year forward Maya Labad fired a back-hand shot off of Holm in front of the net to give the Bobcats a commanding three-goal lead over the Sharks. Graduate student forward Taylor House and sophomore forward Nina Steigauf fed Labad on the play. 

House shined in this game, dicing up the defense to extend the play that earned Labad her first goal, and also having key defensive plays that limited the LIU offense.

“She is the player that we rely on, that is the how-to in so many situations … it’s exciting to have her back for her fifth year,” said Quinnipiac women’s hockey head coach Cass Turner. “She’s an incredible player and a great person.” 

Both Labad and Bac earned their first collegiate goals during the game.

“It felt really nice to get a goal and be rewarded for working hard with that in games,” Bac said. 

In the third period, Quinnipiac resumed dominating LIU on shot attempts taking twelve shots compared to the Sharks’ one.

With a little more than five minutes to go, Quinnipiac elongated its lead even further with a wrist shot by sophomore forward Olivia Mobley from the right dot in its offensive zone. She was assisted by Schryver on this goal, her fourth in two days against LIU. 

Quinnipiac took advantage of its depth today with ten different players earning at least one point. 

“Everybody has their own strengths, for sure, we all bring different things, which allows us to be better on the ice together,” Bac said. 

Despite being undefeated, Quinnipiac looks to improve it’s game in all facets.

“There’s still a lot of area for us to grow … we can continue to be a little bit more precise in how we’re playing,” Turner said.

Quinnipiac will attempt to build off its undefeated start on Friday, Oct. 8 against Saint Anselm in the People’s United Center at 6 p.m.