HAMDEN, Conn. —  No. 6 Quinnipiac women’s ice hockey team faced off against arch-rival No. 5 Yale in the first half of the Battle of Whitney Ave. and after four first-period goals, the Bobcats ended the night with a 6-3 win Saturday afternoon.  

The win kept the Bobcats’ undefeated streak alive, improving to 8-0-0 on the season.

Fans weren’t even in their seats when Bobcats sophomore forward Emerson Jarvis got the game’s first goal. The Ohio State transfer beat Bulldogs junior goaltender Pia Dukaric with a wrister from the slot at 18:40 in the period.

“(Dukaric) is a great goaltender,” head coach Cass Turner said. “We knew it was really important to get an early lead.

A mere 28 seconds later, freshman forward Kahlen Lamarche beat Dukaric glove side, as she netted her first collegiate goal, off an assist from senior defender Kendall Cooper

With just two shots, the Bobcats had two goals on the board.

As Yale tried to collect itself, Quinnipiac’s offensive assault continued, as the Bulldogs had to rely on dump and chase in order to change lines.

After Yale sophomore defender Gracie Gilkyson and senior forward Elle Hartje found themselves in the box mere minutes apart, the Bobcats had a five-on-three opportunity.

Just as Gilkyson’s penalty was about to expire, Bobcats junior forward Maya Labad secured her own rebound and stuffed it under the pad of Dukaric, making it 3-0. In 10 minutes, the Bobcats had three goals on the board.

With just under five minutes left in the period, graduate student forward and co-captain Sadie Peart fired a wrist shot from the face-off dot up and over the glove of Dukaric.

If the first period was all Quinnipiac, then the second period was all Yale.

In the second period, the Bulldogs outshot the Bobcats 15-6. This gave the Bulldogs the lead in shots on goal (24-19) and total shots (42-29).

“They’re a good team, they’re really well coached,” Cooper said. “They weren’t just going to back out.”

After continuing to pressure Quinnipiac graduate student goaltender Logan Angers for the first half of the period it was sophomore forward Carina DiAntonio who — despite Angers hugging the left post — was able to sneak the puck past her ear and into the top corner of the net.

Three minutes later a shot from sophomore forward Jordan Ray was redirected by Peart and able to sneak under the glove of Angers.

“They’re a relentless team on the forecheck,” Turner said. “They make teams so uncomfortable and really pressured us.”

A minute later, a deke that fooled Bobcats graduate student Julia Nearis had Ray on a one-on-one with only Angers to beat. This time Angers made the glove save to keep it a two-goal lead.

After most of the third period was back-and-forth hockey with just over five minutes remaining, it was Bulldogs freshman forward Stephanie Stainton tricking Bobcats senior defender Maddy Samoskevich with a fake shot, giving Stainton a clean shot at the net. 

Despite a diving graduate student defender and co-captain Kate Reilly trying to block it, the shot found the back of the net and made it a one-goal game.

With his team on the penalty kill with just under two minutes remaining in the period, Bulldogs head coach Mark Bolding pulled Dukaric. The Slovenian had barely reached the bench when Jarvis notched her second goal of the game, making it 5-3 Bobcats.

Off the ensuing faceoff, Bolding again pulled Dukaric for the extra attacker. This time it was senior forward Nina Steigauf who put the nail in Yale’s coffin, scoring with 19 seconds remaining. 

As the horn sounded the Bobcats remained undefeated. After claiming Saturday’s victory, the team will have to wait until Jan. 26 to try to claim the Battle of Whitney Ave. outright.

“It’s the Battle of Whitney Avenue, it’s two schools that don’t really like each other,” Cooper said.

 Quinnipiac will be back in action on Oct. 27 when it travels to Potsdam, New York to take on Clarkson at 3 p.m.