HAMDEN, Conn. – After a close-fought game, No. 6 Quinnipiac women’s ice hockey defeated RPI 2-1 to improve to 26-5-0 on the season Friday night.

Graduate student forward and co-captain Lexie Adzija was back in the lineup for the Bobcats. Adzija had been out for the team’s previous three games after being injured in the team’s Jan. 21, game against Yale.

While the team saw the return of Adzija, junior goaltender Catie Boudiette was absent from the bench. Head coach Cass Turner didn’t give a reason for Boudiette’s absence.

Bobcats junior defender Maddy Samoskevich registered the game’s first shot just over a minute into the game. However, the game then slowed down, with neither team being able to put together sustained offensive-zone pressure.

“It was a playoff hockey game today,” Turner said. “RPI was relentless in how they pressured us.”

When the Bobcats did get a shot off, they were largely unscreened. This allowed Engineers senior goaltender Amanda Rampado to track the puck and make saves with relative ease.

With 9:06 remaining in the first period, Quinnipiac graduate student goaltender Logan Angers made her first challenging save of the night. Engineers junior forward Ellie Kaiser forced Angers to stretch out her left pad just enough to get a piece of the puck and keep the game tied.

After Kaiser’s shot, both teams ramped up their physicality and got more players in front of the net looking to screen the goaltender. 

The game’s first penalty would belong to the Bobcats, as sophomore forward Maya Labad was given a two-minute minor for tripping in the late stages of the period. After a successful penalty kill, the Bobcats were knocking on the doorstep, trying to get a shot past Rampado.

With 27.4 seconds left in the opening frame, Bobcats senior defender and co-captain Zoe Boyd wristed a shot past Rampado – into the top right corner – giving the Bobcats the 1-0 lead.

“It was a key momentum moment for us, especially when you know you’re playing a great goaltender like that (Rampado),” Turner said.

Coming out of the locker room, both teams got off to a quick start in the second period.

Just before the four-minute mark in the period the Bobcats once again found themselves in the penalty box, with freshman defender Zoe Uens assessed an interference minor. 

With only a few seconds left on the Uens penalty, Engineers junior forward Asiah Taylor-Walters was assessed a boarding minor after a hit that had Boyd slow to her feet. 

Even though they dominated possession, the Bobcats were hesitant to shoot the puck consistently. 

Soon after Taylor-Walters was out of the box, Engineers junior forward Meagan Byrum was also assessed a two-minute boarding minor, sending Quinnipiac back to the power play. 

In the dying seconds of the power play, Bobcats senior forward Jess Schryver fired a slapshot that forced Rampado out of position. With a now wide-open net, junior forward Nina Steigauf tried to let a shot off, but fanned on the opportunity.

Just when it looked like Rampado had the Bobcats offense figured out, sophomore forward Maya Labad let off a wrist shot in the slot for her team-leading 16th goal of the season with under four minutes until the second intermission.

“We had been getting the puck in deep and getting good pressure,” Labad said. “We had a feeling a goal was coming.”

Beginning the third period it was evident that RPI knew it was running out of time. Players were forcing passes, which the majority of the time resulted in a Bobcats interception and Rampado needing to make another save. 

“I don’t think it was until the end of the game (that) anyone was willing to admit how good (Rampado) was,” Turner said. 

Despite all the shots the Bobcats put on net, it was the Engineers who scored. With 8:41 remaining in the period, senior defender Teeghan Dalby fired a shot toward Angers. While Angers made the initial save, she wasn’t able to corral the puck. This allowed RPI sophomore forward Meg Hildner to chip the loose puck up over the left pad of Angers, making it a one-goal game.

With a goal on the board, the Engineers ramped up physicality once again and tried to dictate play. However, the Bobcats were able to adjust and keep the Engineers’ offense at bay. 

Coming out of a timeout with 2:10 remaining, the Engineers pulled Rampado, opting for the extra attacker in an effort to tie the game.

While the Engineers had possession they weren’t able to get the puck past Angers, and as the horn sounded it was yet another win for the nationally-ranked Bobcats. 

Quinnipiac will be back in action tomorrow at home facing Union for senior night at 3 p.m.