HAMDEN, Conn – The No. 3/4 Quinnipiac women’s ice hockey team won its third consecutive game with a 3-2 victory over Dartmouth Saturday afternoon.

The Bobcats were glad to be back in Hamden after beating Harvard 3-1 at Fenway Park, but Quinnipiac head coach Cass Turner raved about the team’s experience at Frozen Fenway.

“We enjoyed our experience so much yesterday, it was amazing, one of those things that I’m sure won’t happen again, and we enjoyed every second of it,” Turner said. “I think we enjoyed being back on our ice too, being able to make passes again and not worry about the snow, we were able to play to our identity a little bit more and make the plays we wanted to make, so it was nice to be back home again.”

The Bobcats certainly played like they were excited to be back home in the first period. Quinnipiac dominated puck control early, upped its tempo and moved the puck with purpose.

Freshman defender Zoe Uens laced the first goal of her collegiate career to put Quinnipiac up 1-0 seven minutes in. Uens found the puck on her stick off a Bobcat faceoff win before powering it past Dartmouth sophomore goaltender Maggie Emerson from near the blue line.

When your first goal is CLEAN 👀👀 pic.twitter.com/JOGZIu60FM

— Quinnipiac Women's Ice Hockey (@QU_WIH) January 7, 2023

Quinnipiac was able to add to its lead just 10 minutes later, when junior forward Olivia Mobley fired a shot past Emerson’s glove, off the post and into the net, extending the Bobcats’ lead to two.

Mobley got another chance a few minutes later, but Emerson was up to the task, sending the two teams to the first intermission with a 2-0 Bobcats advantage.

The second period was drastically different from the first. While Quinnipiac continued to methodically control pace of play, both teams failed to muster any substantial opportunities to put another tally on the board.

Quinnipiac junior goaltender Catie Boudiette stopped all five shots she faced in the period as the Bobcats took the two-goal advantage into the final frame.

Dartmouth came out flying to start the third period, looking like a completely different team than the one that showed up in the first 40 minutes of the contest.

Big Green sophomore forward Lauren Fuoco cut the Bobcats’ lead in half with 13 minutes remaining, cleaning up a chaotic scene in front of the net for her fifth goal of the season.

Dartmouth had all of the momentum going its way after Uens was called for roughing shortly thereafter, sending the Big Green to the power play.

All of that momentum was completely erased by Mobley, who scored a short-handed goal, her second in as many games, midway through the power play, going five-hole on Emerson to put Quinnipiac back up by two.

Casual coast-to-coast shorty 💅 pic.twitter.com/pFcygH0vpb

— Quinnipiac Women's Ice Hockey (@QU_WIH) January 7, 2023

“She’s good at hockey,” Turner said. “I think when you’re shorthanded you have a little bit more space on ice, and for someone like her, who sees that space and has great possession of the puck, she’s super deceptive with how she shoots.”

The Bobcats killed off the remainder of the Dartmouth power play, putting them back in the driver’s seat.

However, Dartmouth wasn’t done. The Big Green pulled back within one when sophomore forward Caroline Appleyard beat Boudiette for her first goal of the season.

As the Big Green pressed on for a tying goal, Boudiette made a phenomenal lunging pad save to deny a Dartmouth opportunity, just one of her 18 saves in the performance.

Emerson was eventually pulled, giving Dartmouth an extra skater and a chance to try to put one home, but that chance never came. Instead, Big Green junior forward Jenna Donohue was sent to the box for body checking with 12 seconds left, essentially eliminating any chance of the visitors equalizing.

The victory moves Quinnipiac to 20-3-0 overall and 10-1-0 in ECAC Hockey play. The Bobcats will be back in action on Jan. 13, at 6 p.m. when they travel to face off against Colgate.