11 goals in two days.

No. 10 Quinnipiac women’s ice hockey came out fast and furious in their first series of the season, sweeping the Maine Black Bears Friday and Saturday. After falling to Cornell in the quarterfinals of last season’s ECAC tournament, the Bobcats had a chip on their shoulder heading into the weekend.

For the fourth consecutive season, the Bobcats downed the Bears in their annual series, starting with a dominating 7-0 win Friday night and completing the knockout Saturday with a 4-0 win.

From the opening puck drop, the Bobcats used their speed to their advantage, putting intense pressure on the Black Bears in the offensive and defensive ends. Quinnipiac forced Maine into turnovers, giving the Bobcats opportunities to fire 35 shots on Maine’s sophomore goaltender, Julia Bachetti, four of which found the back of the net.  

On the defensive end, graduate student Kayle Doyle remained dominant in net, stopping all 24 shots from the Black Bears and recording her second straight shutout of the season. Graduate student defender Kendall Cooper played a smart game behind the blue line, utilizing her ability to see the ice to make stretch passes and generate opportunities for the Bobcats. 

With strong sticking handling, sophomore forward Kahlen Lamarche buried the puck over the right shoulder of Maine’s goaltender in the first period to open the scoring for the Bobcats. 

At the end of the second period, senior forward Maya Labad’s speed along with graduate student forward Jenna Donohue’s forecheck allowed her to trickle the puck past Bachetti, giving the Bobcats a two-goal lead going into the third frame.  

While a two-goal lead is the scariest lead in hockey, the Bobcats did not slow down in the final 15 minutes. Quinnipiac continued to use its speed to generate traffic and put shots on net, earning two more goals along the way to secure the victory.

The Bobcats play their next series against Northeastern Oct. 5 and Oct. 6 at Matthew Arena to continue their non-conference slate.