In the final Quinnipiac athletics event of 2022, the No. 3/4 Quinnipiac women’s ice hockey team battled No. 2 Wisconsin for a full 60 minutes but ultimately lost 3-0.

A key piece returned for the Bobcats, as graduate student forward and co-captain Lexie Adzija started on the front line after missing the last 12 games.

The scoring began early, but not for Quinnipiac. Wisconsin graduate student defender Nicole LaMantia scooted the puck up ice into the Badgers offensive zone and blew a wrist shot past Bobcats graduate student goaltender Logan Angers for the early 1-0 lead.

Despite the early punch to morale, the Bobcats continued to put shots on goal and kept control of the puck. They led in shots on goal, 6-1, 14:05 into the first period.

“Our puck management is going to need to be really good,” Quinnipiac head coach Cass Turner said between periods on the ESPN+ broadcast. “We want and need to have the puck when we play them.”

The goaltending for both sides was fantastic throughout the period and the whole game. No play proved it more than a sprawling save from Badgers redshirt senior goaltender Cami Kronish; she went cross-crease and suffocated an open look from Quinnipiac senior forward Jess Schryver.

Angers was excellent too, showing poise throughout the rest of the frame. She stopped the remaining 10 Wisconsin shots she faced in the period.

Quinnipiac left the period down by one but certainly didn’t leave without excitement. A shot from freshman forward Madison Chantler soared through the air of M&T Bank Arena seemingly on a path to the twine, but Kronish’s left leg pad blocked the puck just as the clock buzzed zero.

In the second period, Angers and the Badgers’ defense shined.

With 4:14 played in the second, a scuffle of Bobcats and Badgers in front of the net led Angers to cover the puck, preventing freshman defender and Olympic silver medalist Caroline Harvey from guiding the puck into the goal.

Quinnipiac’s defense continued to keep up with Wisconsin’s fast-paced offense despite the Badgers’ momentum. Angers made a SportsCenter Top 10 caliber play, as she sprawled cross-crease and caught a senior forward Jesse Compher shot in her left glove.

The Bobcats continued to prove why they have the best penalty kill in the nation, blocking shot after shot from the Badgers, while helping Angers keep the puck out of the net.

Immediately after the penalty was killed, senior forward Alexa Hoskin (who missed the last four games) found junior forward Nina Steigauf all alone for a one-on-one showdown with Kronish. Steigauf faked left, then moved right where Kronish met her and made an excellent save.

Quinnipiac stored its offense until the final two minutes of the period, firing five shots in the said time frame but ultimately couldn’t find the net.

The early part of the third period showcased more or less the same as the previous two: Angers’ excellence.

The Manitoba native made continuous saves, 11 in the first eight minutes of the period, which was emphasized by a five-hole save on a breakaway from junior forward Casey O’Brien.

But the Badger offense was too quick for the Bobcats. Despite all 32 of Angers’ saves, Wisconsin still found the back of the net, twice in one minute too.

Firstly, freshman forward Kirsten Simms left the puck for redshirt sophomore Lacey Eden to stroke the puck past a lunging Angers for Wisconsin’s second goal of the afternoon.

45 seconds later, redshirt senior forward and captain Britta Curl received and rocketed a rebound past Angers to give the Badgers a three-goal advantage.

Quinnipiac pulled Angers with 3:45 to go in a last-ditch effort to ignite some offense, but it couldn’t catch fire as the Bobcats dropped the first game of the series, 3-0.

Quinnipiac will host Wisconsin again tomorrow at 3 p.m. in hopes of splitting the series.