No. 8 Quinnipiac women’s ice hockey took to the ice this weekend to play meaningful hockey games for the first time since March when it fell short to Ohio State in last season’s NCAA tournament. Although much of the roster remains the same, several new players shined in its season-opening sweep of Maine. 

The Bobcats used their speed, depth and top-tier talent to handily defeat the Black Bears. Yes, it’s way too early to be punching tickets to the national tournament, but the Bobcats looked similar to the team they were last year — showing that once again it isn’t crazy to have title aspirations. 

Of course, dreaming of raising another banner in Hamden begins with the performance of graduate student goaltender Logan Angers. The sixth-year net-minder was stellar against the Black Bears, only allowing one goal throughout the weekend. She’s picking up right where she left off at the end of last season. 

“I just said to our coaches, ‘How good is Logan?,’” head coach Cass Turner said following Friday’s 3-0 win. “I know our team, they just trust her a ton. We’re so grateful to have her back, and it’s nice to see her play so well in our first game of the season.” 

The Winnipeg, Manitoba, native was calm, cool and collected all weekend in net, especially in Saturday’s contest, stopping 29 shots including a breakaway save against Maine senior forward Rahel Enzler. The save came with the Bobcats holding on to a 2-1 lead and on the power play, stopping a momentum-shifting short-handed goal for Enzler. 

Quinnipiac exhibited the trust it has in Angers through its offensive play. The Bobcats were constantly pushing the puck up the ice and using their speed to create odd-man scoring opportunities. 

Getting up the ice was something that was emphasized in preparation for the weekend series.

“We like to play fast … get that puck moving quickly,” Turner said. “So whether it’s a stretch pass, or we’re just creating space … we want to get north quickly.” 

Quinnipiac’s pressing speed led to a constant attack in Maine’s zone, hurling 69 total shots at the Maine goaltenders, eight of which found the back of the net.

Several newcomers also made their presence known during the weekend. Both graduate student forward Julia Nearis and sophomore forward Emerson Jarvis came onto the scene with high anticipation. 

Fortunately for the Bobcats, everything went according to plan. 

Nearis, the former BU captain, found the back of the net on a breakaway attempt during Friday’s 3-0 win. 

“It’s been a lot of fun … It’s been a lot of hard work,” Nearis said. “I’ve been very grateful to be a part of it. Cass expects everybody’s best everyday and I’m looking forward to keeping it going.”

The transfer tandem teamed up in Saturday’s 5-1 win when Nearis sauced a pass over to the Ohio State transfer, Jarvis, who drilled a shot for her first goal in Hamden. 

Emerson Jarvis welcome to Hamden!!!!#BobcatNation pic.twitter.com/UqSR0JzRkK

— Quinnipiac Women's Ice Hockey (@QU_WIH) September 30, 2023

“They’re both impressive in their own ways,” Turner said. “They play the game differently. Emerson really got her feet moving today … Julia just has great patience and a knack for the net. We’re excited to have them.” 

But despite the final scores, the Black Bears battled throughout the weekend, especially in the early stages of game two when they took a 1-0 lead. 

Playing Maine in the season’s opening weekend was by design, and has been for the last three years. The Black Bears forced the Bobcats to get their competitive juices flowing early and often. 

“We play Maine every year for that reason,” Turner said. “They’re a team that is going to compete incredibly hard and we want to play games like that so that we can figure out what we’re made of and keep getting better and ready for conference.” 

Now it wasn’t all smooth sailing this past weekend. Graduate student forward Alexa Hoskin went down with what appeared to be a serious lower leg injury in the first period of Saturday’s game. Hoskin was carried off the ice without putting any weight on her lower left leg, and received further medical attention from paramedics in the arena tunnel. 

With Hoskin potentially missing significant time, Quinnipiac will have to count on its depth to replace her production on both ends of the ice. Senior forward Sophie Urban filled Hoskin’s role of top-line center following the injury and will likely remain in that position. 

Turner is confident that Urban, who has experience all over the ice, will be able to help fill the void that Hoskins is leaving. 

“Urban last year or the year before, she played defense, center, split wing … She’s confident to go wherever we need her to go, and she’ll make players better,” Turner said. “She’s just a gritty, tough, good defensive player.”

Junior forward Veronica Bac also saw a significant increase in her playing time following Hoskin’s injury.  

“She has a lot of confidence with the puck,” Turner said. “She’ll make big defensive plays for us too.” 

Looking ahead to the next couple of weekends, the Bobcats will have a set of series against New Hampshire and Providence before ECAC Hockey play begins on Oct. 20. The Wildcats also swept their weekend games against Saint Anselm and Saint Michael’s while the Friars open their season this weekend.

February and March are still quite a ways away. For these Bobcats, the focus has to remain on stringing good weekends like these together. All the pieces are there for another great season in Hamden, with all the possibility in the world for more. 

“This is a group that wants really big things,” Turner said. “So this is exactly what we wanted this weekend.”