HAMDEN, Conn. – The Quinnipiac women’s ice hockey team set a program record for goals in a game with a 12-1 rout of Post Wednesday.
“We played hard for 60 minutes and we stayed true to our identity,” said Quinnipiac assistant coach Amandal Alessi, who led the bench in place of head coach Cass Turner and assistant Brent Hill. Both of them were facing off behind opposing benches for the U.S. and Canadian women’s national teams in the opening game of the 2023-24 Rivalry Series in Tempe, Arizona.
The previous single game goal record was 11, occurring twice in school history with the most recent occurence on Jan. 17, 2021 when the Bobcats shutout LIU 11-0. Tonight’s game broke both the single game scoring and single game goal differential record as well.
Seven different Bobcats scored while an astounding 14 registered a point. Post appeared simply outclassed by Quinnipiac, who dominated the game on all levels. The Bobcats were able to win puck battles, control possession, and light the lamp with relative ease as the Eagles struggled to keep up.
The Bobcats lept to an early 3-0 lead in the first period after graduate defender and captain Kate Reilly opened the scoring with her first of two goals on the night. Quinnipiac junior forwards Maya Labad and Veronica Bac and graduate student forward Julia Nearis would each pot two goals of their own in the victory. Quinnipiac scored as many goals as Post had shots on goal, outshooting the Eagles 55-12.
The Bobcats would tack on five more goals in the second period to put the game out of reach and take a commanding 8-0 lead after 40 minutes. Captain forward Sadie Peart would strike just over three minutes into the third period for her team leading 11th goal of the season to make it 9-0. Later on, sophomore forward Mallory Mauracher would make it a double digit Quinnipiac lead after scoring her first goal of the season.
Post sophomore forward Rylee Patfield scored the lone goal scorer for the Eagles, beating Quinnipiac sophomore goaltender Tatum Blacker on a rebound opportunity midway through the third period to make the game 10-1. The Bobcats would respond just minutes later with a goal from senior forward Nina Steigauf to restore their lead back to 10. Reilly added the twelfth and final goal of the game with just over a minute and a half remaining in the game as the exclamation point on a domination performance from Quinnipiac.
Blacker earned her first collegiate start and win in the game, stopping 11 of the 12 she faced. The team rallied around the young goaltender.
“I’ve never seen a goalie battle harder in practice than Tatum,” Reilly said. “When we get that lineup and see that she’s starting, we want nothing but the best for her.”
The depth for the Bobcats shined with Bac, sophomore forward Sami Bowlby and senior forward Kate Villeneuve all netting their first points of the season.
The Bobcats will have the weekend off before returning to action in ECAC play on Nov. 17 at Cornell. Puck drop is scheduled for 6 p.m.
