LAKE PLACID, N.Y. — It’s been a decade since Quinnipiac women’s ice hockey had the chance to play in the ECAC Tournament Championship.
It was a different league then. The tournament was hosted at the highest remaining seed’s home arena, and the Bobcats drove that No. 1 seed in the ECAC championship to a victory on home ice, starting with a semifinal victory over St. Lawrence.
Ten years is a long time, and so much has changed. The Bobcats’ roster, opponent, and most notably, the location of the ECAC Championship Weekend, are all different from the last time the squad was able to secure a win in the final two games of ECAC play.
One thing that didn’t change? The result.
Quinnipiac secured its first championship weekend win in 10 seasons, defeating the Princeton Tigers 2-1 in overtime in the ECAC Semifinal to advance to the conference championship.
“We were hungry for that win,” head coach Cass Turner said. “We knew it was going to be a battle.”
She knows about that hunger all too well. Turner is another thing that hasn’t changed since the Bobcats last won the ECAC, and the squad is itching to continue the championship legacy that Turner brought to this program in her rookie season.
“It’s been ten years since we’ve been in this championship, and this is the group I want to go to battle with tomorrow,” Turner said.
Even before the opening puck drop, the battle the Bobcats needed to face was plain to see. Princeton was the only team in the conference to sweep Quinnipiac in the regular season. The Tigers also boast a star-studded lineup, with All-ECAC First Team senior forward Izzy Wunder, and All-ECAC Second Team players junior goaltender Uma Corniea and sophomore forward Mackenzie Alexander.
It’s a lineup that almost mirrors the Bobcats. A strong top-line, staunch defense and an award-winning goaltender.
That battle seemed to start right from puck-drop. Playoff hockey was in the air, and with the ice freshly resurfaced from Yale’s complete dismantling of Cornell mere hours earlier, the Bobcats were ready to go to war.
Four minutes in, it appeared the Bobcats had placed the first blow. After splitting offensive possessions, the Bobcats were able to find the back of the net before Princeton could get its skates underneath them. Sophomore forward Bryn Prier rifled a shot past Corniea to put Quinnipiac up a goal.
Although the strike would be called back for offsides the momentum shift was evident. The game was 0-0, and momentum had swung in favor of the No. 3 seeded Bobcats. Offensively, they were moving the puck around, and defensively skating quickly to every puck, stifling the Princeton offensive attack completely.
Everything seemed to be following the game plan. The Wunder line, which includes both of Princeton’s All-ECAC selections, was swallowed by the Bobcat defense.
Halfway through the period, the momentum shift would show up on the offensive end. After a few chances up close, defender and graduate student captain Mia Lopata found her opening. A tough turnover by Wunder at the edge of the Princeton defensive zone allowed the veteran defender to take the puck into the zone nearly unopposed.
Instead of taking the shot herself, Lopata looked cross-ice, finding sophomore forward Taylor Brueske. Brueske would bury her captain’s pass into the back of the net, returning the 1-0 lead and setting the tone for the Bobcats’ first-period dominance.
Unfortunately for Quinnipiac, this would be the team’s best period.
After leading in shots on goal, faceoffs won and blocks in the opening period, Quinnipiac’s second frame left much to be desired. The primary issue for the Bobcats was penalties.
In the middle frame, Quinnipiac awarded Princeton three chances on the power play. The final chance for the Tigers on the man advantage, awarded after a roughing call on Emerson Jarvis, carried over into the final frame of play.
However, the top-ranked penalty kill in the ECAC returned to form after a tough outing against Brown in the Quarterfinals, killing each of Princeton’s opportunities.
It signaled a shift in the Bobcats getting away from their game that would only worsen in the third period. However, Quinnipiac continued to persevere in the final third, even after playing a rough period of hockey in all facets.
“We don’t need to be perfect to win,” Turner said. “We need to be more resilient than the other team and that’s the thing that over the last few weeks we’ve shown game in and game out.”
Even when the skaters were struggling to limit the Princeton offensive onslaught, allowing 18 shots on goal in the third period alone, one facet of the Bobcats remained steadfast.
Sophomore goaltender Felicia Frank continues to prove why she was named ECAC Goaltender of the Year. After sophomore forward Angelina DiGirolamo capitalized on a Princeton two-on-one almost nine minutes into the final frame, it was the Falkoping, Sweden native’s stellar play keeping the Bobcats’ ECAC Championship dreams alive.
“Even when a team’s pushing against us that hard, we know how to play defense,” Lopata said. “It helps when you got (Frank) in net.”
Frank may have gotten the Bobcats through a disorganized third period, but it was an unexpected contributor that sent Quinnipiac to the ECAC Championship final.
Sophomore forward Avery Bairos, who began the contest on the fourth line, would make the most of her ice time in the overtime period.
A misplay by the Princeton Tigers in Quinnipiac’s defensive end was all Bairos needed to make her mark on ECAC hockey history. Taking the puck into Corniea herself, the Saskatoon, Saskatchewan native would score five-hole on her own rebound, marking the first ECAC women’s overtime goal ever scored in Lake Placid.
“To be completely honest, I kind of blacked out,” Bairos said. “But I’m just super proud of this team.”
The key for tomorrow’s rematch in the Battle of Whitney Avenue is sticking to the formula that has brought the Bobcats to the ECAC Championship.
“I think we’re just gonna lead into what we do best,” Brueske said. “We play simple and we play fast and I think if we do that again tomorrow, we’re gonna have success for sure.”
Quinnipiac returns to the ice tonight in Lake Placid, N.Y. to showcase that success against the Yale Bulldogs. Puck-drop is set for 5 p.m.
