The No. 4 Quinnipiac women’s ice hockey team ended its weekend getaway to New York with a 3-0 victory over RPI on Saturday afternoon. The Bobcats recorded their fourth consecutive shutout en route to their seventh straight win. 

Less than 24 hours removed from its 5-0 victory against Union, Quinnipiac came out in the first period with the same mindset, firing the puck at the net. The Bobcats tallied 30 shots in the first frame, 15 of those being on goal. 

If not for RPI’s senior goaltender Amanda Rampado, this game would have gotten out of hand early. The netminder was fantastic from the jump, smothering any potential Quinnipiac chances. A night after allowing five goals to Princeton, Rampado had the Engineers on her back all afternoon. 

It was a defensive battle throughout the first 20 minutes with the Bobcats controlling momentum but failing to breakthrough Rampado’s brick wall. The RPI defense also did its part in holding Quinnipiac’s potent offensive attack, blocking eight shots in the first period. 

As the second period began the Bobcats didn’t have to wait long before lighting the lamp. A scrum at the front of the net started by junior forward Olivia Mobley allowed the puck to drift back and find freshman forward Madison Chantler. Chantler lifted the puck over Rampado for her eighth goal of the year, putting the Bobcats up one. 

Less than a minute later, sophomore forward Maya Labad got sent to the box for a tripping call. The penalty kill has been one the strongest parts of the Bobcats game this season. Quinnipiac has gone 11 straight games with 19 straight penalty kills. The streak was extended to 20 as it killed off Labad’s tripping call. 

As the second period continued RPI was hanging on with the Bobcats, but the mistakes began to pile up for the Engineers. A turnover on their own end of the ice deemed to be costly as junior forward Sophia Urban found sophomore forward Veronica Bac for the slap-shot goal. 

Despite another five blocked shots and great goaltender play for RPI, it was looking at an uphill climb as the third period began. 

As the third period wore on, Quinnipiac applied suffocating puck pressure to RPI, not allowing any air for the Engineers to breathe. 

A glimmer of hope remained for RPI as Mobley got sent to the box for interference. The Bobcats killed off their 21st straight penalty, and were well on their way to engineering a seventh-straight win. 

Mobley slammed the door shut when she buried an empty-net goal with seconds remaining for her seventh goal of the season, and in turn, Quinnipiac’s 16th win. 

The Bobcats are in action next on Friday, Dec. 9, as they travel to Providence to take on the Friars at 6 p.m.