NEW HAVEN — Quinnipiac women’s hockey fell victim to a combination of poor timing and sloppy play, taking a late penalty against Yale en route to a 2-1 overtime defeat Friday.
The last time the Bobcats played the Bulldogs at New Haven’s Ingalls Rink, they left with their fourth-straight Nutmeg Classic title in hand. But on Friday, they left with nothing but their third consecutive loss and a sour taste in their mouths.
The night didn’t start that way, though.
While the No. 8 Bobcats by no means dominated play in the first period, they managed to keep pace with the No. 15 Bulldogs. Where Yale put up six shots on goal, Quinnipiac put up seven. And where the Bulldogs won nine face-offs, the Bobcats won eight.
“I think in the first period, we started pretty well,” Turner said. “I thought we did some really good things.”
Quinnipiac’s wheels seemed to come a little loose in the second, but they were definitely still attached.
Or, as Turner put it: “The second wasn’t too bad either.”
The Bobcats started to fall behind in shots on net (12-8) and in face-off wins (10-8), but a bizarre bounce on junior forward Veronica Bac’s shot broke the scoreless tie in Quinnipiac’s favor.
It wasn’t until the third period that Quinnipiac came absolutely unglued.
The Bobcats’ defense let up more shots in the third period (19) than they had all game (18). And their offense was at this point no longer able to keep pace with Yale’s, putting only five shots on Bulldogs junior goaltender Pia Dukaric in the final frame.
“We got out-battled,” Turner said. “Credit to Yale — they played really, really hard tonight, and they fought for that win.”
With under seven minutes to play, Yale senior forward Elle Hartje one-timered the equalizer past graduate student goaltender Logan Angers — and it was almost a shock it hadn’t happened sooner.
All six feet of Angers sank to the ice and, for a moment, just sat there. The game the Bobcats had been losing on the ice but winning on the scoreboard was now tied.
The remainder of regulation was largely uneventful — that is, until the final seconds.
With 45 seconds to play, officials called Quinnipiac graduate student forward Julia Nearis for delay of game.
“I think we got a little bit antsy and concerned,” Turner said, calling the play “something you just can’t do … It’s not the place you want to be when you start overtime.”
If it hadn’t been tied, Nearis’ two-minute minor probably wouldn’t have been a problem for the Bobcats. But it was tied. And it was definitely a problem.
The Bobcats still had 75 seconds to kill off of Nearis’ penalty when overtime began. But the Bulldogs only needed one-third of that time.
Sophomore forward Carina DiAntonio deflected Hartje’s power play shot past Angers 25 seconds into the extra frame, winning the game for the team that had never once led.
“A tough moment,” Turner said.
Up until Friday, calling the Bobcats’ recent performance a “skid” seemed kind of unfair.
After all, Quinnipiac’s 5-0 blowout loss to Colgate on Jan. 19 could have been a fluke.
And the team’s last-second heartbreaker against Cornell the following afternoon might have been a coincidence.
But three consecutive losses almost certainly qualifies as a skid, particularly because Quinnipiac had dropped a total of three games prior to Jan. 19.
“I think there’s a little bit too much doubt in our play right now,” Turner said. “We gotta keep it simple and get back to understanding that we’re a good hockey team.”
Unlike in last weekend’s losses, though, Quinnipiac managed to earn a point from Friday’s overtime loss.
“If you get one, it’s a lot better than getting zero,” Turner said. “So, it’s a good thing.”
The Bobcats look to rebound from their recent string of losses on Saturday at Brown. Puck drop is set for 3 p.m.
“Short memory,” Turner emphasized, as she always does. “It doesn’t matter who you’re playing. Every point in the ECAC is important, and tomorrow’s points are going to be really important.”
