HAMDEN, Conn — The Quinnipiac women’s ice hockey team continued to roll through its opponents and remained undefeated as the No. 7 Bobcats took down No. 8 Cornell in a 4-1 victory at M&T Bank Arena on Friday night.

In an arena buzzing with fans supporting suicide prevention, Quinnipiac took care of business early and didn’t look back. The Bobcats scored two goals just over a minute apart and found themselves with a decisive 2-0 lead halfway through the first period. 

It took goals from the line of freshman Madison Chantler, graduate Shay Maloney and junior Olivia Mobley to get things started. After finding herself on a rush, Mobley dropped it off for Maloney, who left a juicy rebound for Chantler to pot her sixth tally of the season.

“They’re connected,” head coach Cass Turner said. “They really work on offense to support one another.”

A minute and change later, Mobley converted a costly Big Red neutral-zone turnover into another assist and a goal for Maloney, her fifth of the year.

“She’s a relentless worker, she is somebody who has big goals and wants big things for her game,” Turner said about Mobley. “She keeps getting better every single game. It’s really fun to see.”

After an uneventful second period on offense, the Bobcats resorted to backchecking and physical play to sustain their lead. Through two periods of play, Quinnipiac had a 2-1 lead and know that getting the next goal would be huge.

As pressure mounted in the third, with Cornell pressing for the equalizer, senior forward Alexa Hoskin found herself on a 2-on-1 with sophomore linemate Maya Labad. Hoskin fed Labad with a sweet dish to put Quinnipiac up 3-1 with four minutes left in regulation.

“We were still working hard in the third,” Labad said. “The energy on the bench helped us in support for the goal.”

Aside from the victory over a familiar foe, the Bobcats were playing for something more tonight. The team hosted its annual “Do It For Daron (DIFD) Mental Health Awareness Game” in support of Daron Richardson, a 14-year-old Canadian hockey player who died by suicide on Nov. 13, 2010.

“I think it’s just so prevalent,” Turner said. “Mental health needs to be something that we need to be comfortable talking about.”

All in all, it was just another day at the office for No. 7 Quinnipiac, who improved its season record to 8-0-0. Graduate student goalie Logan Angers earned her fifth win of the year in net, while making 24 saves behind a solid Quinnipiac defense.

“I think our defense is super strong,” Angers said. “We get so many good blocked shots and good sticks I find is our biggest thing.”

Angers has had quite an impressive career against Cornell. In three games against the Big Red, the Winnipeg native is 3-0-0 with two shutouts.

“I think I try to approach games similarly,” Angers said. “Looking back on past success, I think it does make me a little more confident going into the game.”

Quinnipiac will look to continue its success Saturday night as Mobley and the Bobcats take on a ferocious No. 4 Colgate in a clash of undefeated teams.