HAMDEN — In a highly emotional and intense matchup with ECAC playoff implications on the line, No. 7 Quinnipiac women’s ice hockey defeated the Brown Bears 5-2 Friday night. The win officially clinches Quinnipiac a spot in the quarterfinals of the ECAC tournament.
“I’m really proud of our team today,” head coach Cass Turner said.
As they have for a bulk of their season, the Bobcats came out of the gate faster and quicker than their opponents. The bears felt that speed, pressure and then some from the opening puck drop.
“Fast starts are huge for us,” Turner said.
Three minutes into the period, junior forward Kahlen Lamarche cleared the puck to the stick of freshman defensemen Cadence Richards. Sophomore center Taylor Brueske poked away the puck off her stick, drove towards the cage of sophomore goaltender Anya Zupkofska and buried the puck behind her to open the scoring.
Less than 20 seconds later, the Bobcats would add to the scoring.
Senior center Emerson Jarvis drove hard into the Brown end, stopping on a dime before dishing the puck to sophomore defensemen Aynsley D’Ottavio. Skating near the blue line, the Rosedale, British Columbia native would launch the puck past Zupkofska and into the back of the net, furthering the Bobcat lead to two.
Quinnipiac was not done there.
Two minutes later, senior center Tessa Holk took the puck from behind the goal line and backhanded a pass to D’Ottavio just shy of the faceoff dot. D’Ottavio picked it up and weaved through the Brown defense and past Zupkofska again.
The Bears would respond with a goal of their own with just under 10 minutes to go in the period. Senior center Jade Iginla skated down the ice and backhanded the puck to sophomore forward Monique Lyons. Lyons returned the favor to Iginla, splitting two Bobcat defenders leading to the Lake Country British Colombia native beating an outstretched sophomore goaltender Felicia Frank to get the Bears on the scoreboard.
That goal would be the last offense from both squads until the closing minutes of the second period. Deep into the frame, the Bears did something very few teams have done against the Bobcats, score on the power play.
Senior forward Margot Norehead ripped the puck from the blue line that Frank could not field cleanly. The airborne puck snuck behind the Sweden native, opening the door for Lyons to net the puck and bring the game within a score.
While there would be no shortage of offense for the ensuing 20 minutes, that would be the final goal until halfway through the third period, when the Bobcats got yet another offensive contribution from their defensive core.
Brueske and senior defenseman Zoe Uens connected on a pass leaving Uens unattended in the slot. Uens launched the puck to the net landing just behind the glove of Zupkofska, giving the Bobcats the momentum shift they needed.
Down two with under five minutes left on the clock, Brown head coach Melanie Ruzzi would pull Zukofska in an effort to try and get back into the game. However, an empty net goal from Lamarche halted any offensive effort the Bears had.
With the game firmly in the hands of the Bobcats, Turner made the switch from Frank to senior goaltender Tatum Blacker, marking her first regular season minutes since her sophomore campaign and causing the Quinnipiac bench to erupt.
“The energy from our team for her getting in the net tells you just how hard she’s worked every single day she’s been here,” Turner said.
Blacker would go on to make a save off a shot from Lyons to officially ice the game for the Bobcats and clinching a first round bye in the ECAC tournament.
Quinnipiac returns to action on Saturday Feb. 14 against the Yale Bulldogs in the Battle of Whitney Avenue. Puck drop from Hamden is set for 3 p.m.
