HAMDEN – It was a day of firsts for the Bobcats, as Quinnipiac women’s ice hockey defeated Providence College in a 5-0 win on Saturday afternoon. 

The win completed Bobcat’s weekend sweep over the Friars, taking the win in Friday night’s contest by a score of 5-2. It also extends the Bobcat win streak to four in a row to start the year, as well as moving them to 8-11-2 against Providence. 

The first period began with Quinnipiac’s high pressure offense coming out of the gate hot. It put the pressure on Providence early, forcing graduate student goaltender  Hope Walinski to flash the leather, saving shots from sophomore center Taylor Brueske and senior center Emerson Jarvis. 

Quinnipiac’s biggest loss however came with seven minutes left in the first period, when junior center Alex Law, who recorded a hat trick in Friday’s game, went down hard with an injury. 

Law’s departure from the game was another loss to an already depleted Bobcat attack, with senior forward Tessa Holk and freshman center Jade Barbirati absent from Saturday’s contest. 

Despite the offensive volume, this was a quiet period for the Bobcats, as well as the Friars. Neither team was able to put the puck in the net and both squads matched each other in shots with nine apiece. 

In the second frame, however, Quinnipiac turned up the heat. 

Right from the first puck drop, the Bobcats continued right where they left off, keeping their foot on the gas. By the time it hit the halfway point in the second period, the Bobcats had put over ten shots on Walinski. 

The breaking point came when sophomore defensemen Makayla Watson halted what would be a Friar breakaway. She would take the puck back into the Providence end, send it across the crease to junior forward Kahlen Lamarche, who would slip it behind Walinski for her first goal of the year, and the first goal of the game.  

Quinnipiac wasn’t done. Fifteen seconds later, Jarvis would take the puck from the attacking blue line, all the way around Walinski. From there, she would hit freshman forward Peyton Cormier at the top of the crease, where she would score her second collegiate goal, furthering Quinnipiac’s lead 2-0. 

The Bobcat’s offense would continue to be relentless. Fourty seconds after Cormier’s goal, graduate student forward  Laurence Frenette would pass the puck to sophomore defenseman Ansley D’Ottavio right in front of Quinnipiac’s bench. She would launch a wrist shot from the blue line, and it would land past Walinski, extending the lead to 3-0. This would be D’Ottavio’s first collegiate goal.  

Quinnipiac’s defense would be near lights out for the entirety of the frame as well. The team would hold Providence to four shots in the second period, with the Friars failing to put an opportunity on sophomore goalie Felicia Frank until the 10 minute mark of the period. 

Quinnipiac’s offense would continue to put the pressure on Providence as it entered the final frame, wasting very little time adding to the score. 

Four minutes into the third period, D’Ottavio received a pass from Brueske just shy of the left zone in the Providence end. With the puck on her stick in prime goal territory, she ripped a wrist shot into the back of the net for her 2nd goal of the game, extending Quinnipiac’s lead 4-0. “Tav is an offensive player,” head coach Cass Turner said. “We expect this from her, she expects this from herself, and I think she’s ready to make those confident plays for us.” 

The Bobcats would round out the scoring ten minutes later at the 14 minute mark. Watson would poke away the attack from Providence sophomore forward  Emma Hofbauer, sending the puck to Bobcat sophomore forward Avery Bairos. She would put a shot on Wallinski, which the goalie would deflect, only for freshman forward Ruby Rauk to put in the loose puck and add to the Bobcat lead. 

“I was kind of surprised that the puck just happened to pop right onto my stick with a wide open net.” Rauk said. “It was pretty awesome” 

The Quinnipiac defense would hold for the rest of the game, only allowing one more shot from the friars and sealing the team’s first shutout of the season and the fifth of Frank’s career. 

“A great team win,” Turner said. “They were relentless on the puck, really connected were and on a mission to win today’s hockey game” 

The Bobcats will travel to Syracuse, N.Y. to face the Syracuse Orange next Friday, Oct. 10. Puck drop is set for 5 p.m.