Forwards Kate Wheeler and Kelly Babstock helped the Bobcats make a comeback after a two-goal deficit in the women’s ice hockey team’s 3-3 tie with No. 7 Boston College. Wheeler picked up two goals, while Babstock tallied three assists.
Wheeler scored the Bobcats’ first goal of the game at 15:06 of the first period. Babstock took the puck up the far side before passing to Wheeler in front of the net. Wheeler put the puck past Eagles’ goalie Molly Schaus, leaving the Bobcats down by one.
Wheeler and Babstock registered their second points of the game at the end of the third period. At 17:34, Babstock passed to Felicia Vieweg, who sent it to Wheeler. Wheeler then pushed it past Schaus for a power-play goal. The Bobcats (5-1-1) and the Eagles (4-0-1) were tied at three before going into a scoreless overtime.
Babstock’s third and final point of the game came in the second period when forward Erica Uden Johansson scored on the power-play. With less than four minutes remaining in the period, Babstock passed to Bethany Dymarczyk who took a shot at Boston College’s goal. Uden Johansson picked up the deflection and sent it into the space between Schaus and the net.
“I think at the beginning we were so impressed with how good they were, we weren’t playing our game,” Quinnipiac head coach Rick Seeley said. “I just told the young kids to relax and go out and work hard and good things will happen. And that’s what did. Once those good shifts started happening, it started snowballing. I think they felt a lot more confident, and they realized they were going to get good results with effort.”
The Eagles scored their first two goals in the first period. Less than one minute into the game, Kelli Stack sent the puck past Bobcat goalie Victoria Vigilanti, putting the Eagles up one. Their second goal came more than 11 minutes later at 11:59 when Danielle Welch scored. Before Uden Johansson’s goal in the second period, Taylor Wasylk gave the Eagles a 3-1 lead.
The Bobcats face Cornell on Friday at 7 p.m. in their first conference game of the season.
“Cornell is one of the best, if not the best team in the country,” Seeley said. “So it’s more hard work, more paying attention to detail and getting everyone to have a good week of practice.”
Photo credit: Anna Brundage
