Bobcat bombardment: Women’s ice hockey claws through early-season slate with record-breaking offensive attack
October 11, 2022
If you want an idea on how the Quinnipiac women’s ice hockey team has been playing this year, just take one glance at Saturday’s box score.
The Bobcats recorded seven goals in their victory against Saint Anselm. The visiting Hawks recorded just seven total shots on goal, scoring only once.
Based on this statistic alone, this edition of Quinnipiac women’s ice hockey is bound for an electric 2022-23 season, one that has already started with six straight wins.
Through the first six games, the Bobcats have destroyed their opponents, remaining undefeated with a 26-4 scoring differential. The biggest contributors to this early-season explosion have been freshman forward Madison Chantler, junior goaltender Catie Boudiette and graduate student forward Lexie Adzija.
The offensive depth has been strong, featuring seven different goal scorers against Saint Anselm this past weekend. But the Bobcats have also gotten help with a couple of hat tricks. Chantler broke onto the scene early, recording one back on Sept. 30, against Boston College. Graduate student forward Shay Maloney also scored a trio of goals in Saturday’s game against the Hawks.
Maloney, a Brown transfer, was praised by head coach Cass Turner during the preseason. Turner said she would play an important role in the preseason and the former Bears captain has proved her coach right.
“I think one thing we wanted to focus on going into this weekend was putting pressure onto our offense,” Maloney said on Saturday. “All of our lines did a good job this week.”
Adzija, a team captain, had another fantastic game on Saturday, winning 17 faceoffs to go along with eight shots and her team-leading fifth goal. Her tally was one of three power play goals the Bobcats scored in the game, something Turner puts a lot of emphasis on.
“With our power play, it’s all about communication, it’s all about confidence,” Turner said on Saturday. “We are excited where we are on the power play.”
Winning the first slate of games is a fantastic start for the Bobcats, but conference play will determine this team’s out- come. Quinnipiac begins next weekend with an away match-up against Harvard on Oct. 15, before heading back to Hamden for games against Cornell Oct. 28, and Colgate Oct. 29.
The Bobcats, who are currently ranked No. 7 in the NCAA Division I rankings, are also getting healthier as the year moves along. Defensemen Zoe Boyd (undisclosed injury) and Kendall Cooper (concussion) both returned to the lineup after missing significant time.
“They are both phenomenal players,” Turner said. “They see the ice so well, they add to our offense, it’s good to get some games under their belts.”
The blue line may be bolstered by both the graduate student Boyd and the junior Cooper, but the netminders have been brick walls thus far. Boudiette is having a breakout season in her first year as a lineup regular and graduate student Logan Angers has been solid, just like she has been the last few seasons.
Boudiette, a Redding, Connecticut, native, has only allowed one goal all year, on a broken play that led to a Saint Anselm breakaway. The strong goaltending has allowed the Bobcats to play fast and fluid, knowing that the goaltending between the pipes will be superb.
As an overall theme heading into its ECAC Hockey slate, Quinnipiac emphasizes finishing strong on the offensive side of the ice and maintaining poise from the blue line and beyond. With the depth of this Bobcats team paying off to the tune of a top-10 ranking nationally, Turner and the rest of the coaching staff have their work cut out for them head- ing into conference play.
“We have been focusing a lot on our detail and I think if we just stick to our game plan, then we can focus on ECAC play and keep doing what we are doing,” senior forward Alexa Hoskin said on Saturday.
While the entire conference as a whole is a beast, the Bobcats have shown that they have the offensive firepower and the defensive prowess to slay the monster.
