HAMDEN, Conn – No. 5 Quinnipiac women’s ice hockey team improved to 11-1-0 on the season after defeating No. 10 Clarkson 4-0 Friday.

19 years and 50 matchups later, the rivalry between the Bobcats and Golden Knights has only intensified since the teams’ first meeting in 2003.

“They’re definitely a rival for us,” Quinnipiac head coach Cass Turner said. “They play hard, they always have a lot of talent, and they’re always in the game … It’s a fun rivalry.”

As the game started there was one noticeable absence. The Bobcats were without senior forward and captain Lexie Adzija for the fourth consecutive game. Adzija has not played in just under a month after being injured in the Bobcats’ Oct. 28, game vs Cornell.

Right off the initial faceoff, you could tell it was going to be a competitive game. Both teams were very high-energy and extremely physical. 

Just 50 seconds in and off a pass that caught the Bobcats in the middle of a change, Golden Knights senior forward Darcie Lappan had a one-on-one opportunity, letting a wrist shot off. However, Bobcats graduate student goaltender Logan Angers smothered the shot with the glove, keeping the game scoreless.

The game turned into back-and-forth hockey with neither team maintaining offensive zone pressure. 

Just over three minutes in, senior forward Alexa Hoskin tried a wrap-around shot, but Golden Knights junior goaltender Michelle Pasiechnyk stretched out, just barely getting enough of the puck.

With just under three minutes left in the period, after a post-whistle scrum in front of the Clarkson goal, Golden Knights senior forward Gabrielle David and Bobcats junior forward Olivia Mobley were both given offsetting roughing minors. This is a matchup that would continue to intensify as the game progressed.

Starting the second period, the Bobcats had all the momentum on their side, dominating puck possession and forcing the Golden Knights onto their heels.

With eleven minutes left in the period, junior defender Kendall Cooper wristed a shot up over the right shoulder of Pasiechnyk, giving the Bobcats the 1-0 lead. With an assist on the play, Mobley extended her point streak to nine games.

A little past the halfway mark in the period and Golden Knights junior defender Nicole Gosling was assessed a tripping minor.

The Bobcats’ power play, which has been stellar this season, didn’t disappoint with senior defender Kate Reilly firing a slapshot from the blue line into the back of the net.

“I was pleasantly surprised that it went in,” Reilly said.

Just over a minute after Reilly’s goal, Bobcats’ graduate student defender Zoe Boyd lifted the puck up over the right pad of Pasiechnyk off a rebound, extending the Bobcats’ lead to three.

Quinnipiac had taken control of the game and it showed on the stat sheet. Going into the second intermission, the Bobcats were leading the Golden Knights 26-9 for shots on goal.

Coming out of the intermission, Clarkson tried to swing momentum in its favor, catching the Bobcats off guard. The Golden Knights ramped up physicality along with the pace of play, and instead of short passes, the team opted for stretch passes, trying to get back behind the Bobcat defenders 

“Clarkson really pushed back in the third and I thought we kept our composure and we kept attacking which was great to see,” Turner said. 

With 12 minutes left on the clock, Golden Knights senior defender Stephanie Markowski was assessed a body-checking minor. This was the first of Clarkson’s four penalties in the period. As the period wore on, the Golden Knights became more and more undisciplined, upset with how the game was unfolding.

With five minutes left in the game, it was evident that Clarkson had run out of gas. Players were hunched over in between plays, passes were sloppy, and playing mostly dump-and-chase hockey. 

The Golden Knights’ fourth penalty of the period was assessed to freshman defender Sara Swiderski with 12 seconds remaining on the clock. 

Bobcats graduate student forward Shay Maloney only needed 10 seconds to tip a shot over the pad of Pasiechnyk, making it 4-0 Bobcats. With the win, Angers earned her third shutout of the season.

Quinnipiac will be back in action tomorrow at home vs St. Lawrence at 3 p.m. Over Thanksgiving weekend, the team will host the 2022 Nutmeg Classic, facing off against Bemidji State in the opening round on Nov. 25.