HAMDEN — After 40 previous wins, it seemed like a no-brainer that No. 7 Quinnipiac women’s ice hockey would have no troubles taking yet another win over Union.
And that is exactly what happened Friday night.
“We went into today wanting to be in a position where we were a little bit more relentless offensively and I thought we did that,” head coach Cass Turner said. “Union certainly pushed us at times today but I think we stayed true at having details that we wanted offensively which was great.”
Quinnipiac started its season with a nine-game win streak but then got shut out by Brown last weekend.
“Coming in on Monday, I think it’s definitely tough, but I think it shows that our group is super resilient,” senior center Tessa Holk said. “Getting these three points, it’s huge. It was hard but we bounced back pretty well.”
Right out of the gate the Bobcats came out swinging, when Holk sniped one past Union’s junior netminder Monja Wagner to put the Bobcats on the board early, for the first goal of what would become her first career hat trick.
“Feels super good, I can’t lie,” Holk said. “I could not be doing what I’m doing without (my teammates). They’re setting me up left and right.”
That momentum carried for the rest of the period, as the Bobcats kept the Garnet Chargers without any shots on goal for a good chunk of the first 20 minutes.
Senior center Emerson Jarvis took advantage of Quinnipiac’s first power play of the night, netting her fifth goal of the season barely 40 seconds in.
Junior winger Kahlen Lamarche netted one to open up the second period, continuing her streak on home ice.
Union managed to just sneak onto the scoreboard with an unassisted goal from junior defender Quinn Dunkle in the third period.
The Bobcats didn’t let them slow them down at all, though.
“The resilience that we have on this team, we know what we can do and we have the players to do it and we just went out and did exactly what we had to do, we finished the job,” Lamarche said.
She wasn’t done on the night, as she slid one in between the pads of Union’s senior goaltender Emily Evans who replaced Wagner in the net for the Chargers, with 10 minutes left to play in the third period.
Lamarche now records 14 goals on the season and after her assist for Holk’s third goal, she currently sits at 50 career assists.
“I’m a player that likes to see the play happening and if I see an open teammate I’m not shy to wire the puck at them,” Lamarche said. “Everyone can find the back of the net if the good plays happen.”
When asked if she expects Lamarche to stop scoring anytime soon, Turner only had one thing to say.
“No.”
To close out the night, Holk found the back of the net to complete the hat trick and bring the score to its final form, 6-1 for the Bobcats.
“I actually told her before the shift that she got the hat trick on, I turned to her and said ‘I think you’re gonna get the hat trick right now,’ and then we went on the ice and she got it and she went ‘How did you know?’ and I just had a feeling,” Lamarche said. “She’s amazing and it’s nice to see her get rewarded for how hard she’s working.”
It was a pretty cut and dry game for the Bobcats, with very little push back from the Garnet Chargers. Which just could’ve been exactly what this team needed to pick itself back up after losing its win streak.
The Bobcats are now 2-1 in the ECAC play. Quinnipiac will return to the M&T Bank Arena Saturday, Nov. 1, at 3 p.m. to face RPI.
