No. 4 Quinnipiac clawed up by Princeton in blowout

Sophomore+forward+Maya+Labad+earned+two+points+in+the+blowout+11-3+loss+to+Princeton.

Daniel Passapera

Sophomore forward Maya Labad earned two points in the blowout 11-3 loss to Princeton.

Alexandra Martinakova, Staff Writer

The No. 4 Quinnipiac women’s ice hockey team faced Princeton Sunday for the second time this weekend but were unable to extend their win streak, falling to the Tigers in a historic 11-3 rout.

The Bobcats came out on the ice with their heads and hopes held high after cruising to an easy 4-0 win over these same Tigers Saturday. Those hopes were crushed merely three minutes into the game. Princeton senior forward Maggie Connors bested Quinnipiac graduate student goaltender Logan Angers, turning her first shot into the first goal of the game.

Just 20 seconds after, Quinnipiac senior forward Sadie Peart had a quick answer, slapping the puck past freshman goaltender Taylor Hyland evening the score. Assists from sophomore forward Maya Labad and senior forward Alexa Hoskin helped the chance.

20 seconds later, the Tigers beat Angers once again, with senior forward Kayla Fillier recording her only point of the game. This goal gave Princeton a 2-1 lead over the Bobcats in less than a minute after the game’s opening goal.

Like Quinnipiac head coach Cass Turner said after yesterday’s match, the Tigers proved to be a real challenge on their home ice. Ever so when Connors stole the puck and sent another one past Angers seven minutes into the first period.

Not even halfway into the period, the Bobcats were already down two goals. Despite the shutout performance, Angers put on the day prior, Turner swapped her for junior goaltender Catie Boudiette following the third goal. After a season where she has allowed only five goals in nine games, Boudiette got just over three minutes of ice time Saturday, giving up two goals on as many shots.

After Quinnipiac’s offense failed to even the game, Princeton sophomore defender Dominique Cormier caught a perfect pass from her teammate, junior forward Danielle Calabrese, who outskated Quinnipiac’s defense and took advantage of the one-on-one, outwitting Boudiette to extend the Tigers’ lead.

Freshman forward Jane Kuehl raised the score to 5-1 right after, causing Turner to switch Angers back on the ice after a very-needed timeout was called by the Bobcats.

Due to Princeton freshman forward Issy Wunder boarding a Bobcat, Quinnipiac had its shot at a five-minute major power play near the end of the first period, which was unsuccessful.

Despite the 14 shots on goal and the uneventful power play, it wasn’t until the last minute that Labad bit into the Tigers’ lead. The sophomore took a shot from Hoskin and tipped it over the goal line.

After an eventful first period, the second one felt slow. Quinnipiac failed to turn even one of its 12 chances on goal, while Jane Kuehl converted on the other end for her second goal of the night and junior forward Sarah Fillier joined her right after. The Bobcats’ frustration was felt, as it rose with every unsuccessful shot. However, it changed nothing.

The last period of the game mirrored the first one more than the second did, as far as Princeton’s offense went. Just 13 seconds after the first faceoff, Fillier scored her second of the game, nudging a shot just past Angers’ leg pad.

Unlike Quinnipiac, Princeton didn’t let its power play go unpunished. Almost halfway into the final period, Connors recorded the game’s first hat trick after shooting right between Angers’ leg pads, bringing the score up to 9-2. Barely four minutes later, Sarah Fillier joined Connors in the hat trick club.

Embarrassingly, Jane Kuehl didn’t fall far behind her teammates, becoming the third player to score a hat trick on the Tigers’ ice in the game’s closing minutes, bringing the final score to 11-3.

Quinnipiac junior forward Olivia Mobley managed to get the puck past Hyland late in the third, but even that felt bitter, as the Bobcats’ bench barely celebrated.

Both teams managed 34 shots on goal throughout the match, yet today the Tigers simply weren’t going to let the Bobcats steal their thunder on their home ice. The loss was only the second time in program history Quinnipiac has allowed 11 goals in a single game, the first coming in 2004.

The Bobcats suffered their fifth loss of the season and third in ECAC Hockey play. They have four days to recuperate from today’s loss before they face the Dartmouth Big Green, a team just outside the conference top-10, on the road on Feb. 3 at 3 p.m.