For the second night in a row, the Quinnipiac women’s ice hockey team found itself in the precarious position of killing a 5-on-3 disadvantage, following a controversial call that sent a Bobcat to the box.
Just like Cornell did the night before, Colgate was able to capitalize once the advantage was 5-on-4. The Raiders’ Jessi Waters put a rebound past Victoria Vigilanti for the deciding goal in overtime, and Colgate defeated Quinnipiac, 2-1, at the TD Bank Sports Center on Saturday afternoon.
The Bobcats took the ice looking to rebound and gain a weekend split, following a disappointing 5-1 defeat at the hands of No. 2 Cornell on Friday night. Colgate controlled the game at both ends of the ice through the early stages of a penalty-free first period. The Raiders put solid pressure on Vigilanti, while shutting down the Bobcats’ offensive opportunities.
At the 11:39 mark of the first period, the Raiders struck first on a fluky goal. Amanda Kirwan’s pass toward a crowd in front of the net was redirected in midair by Jenna Klynstra, and the puck flipped end-over-end, finding its way over the left shoulder of a well-screened Vigilanti to give Colgate the lead.
Colgate killed a Heidi Peterson cross-checking penalty just before the end of the first period, and the Bobcats did the same early in the second period after Amanda Colin was called for a trip. The sin bins got crowded a few minutes later, when a shoving match broke out in front of Raiders’ netminder Lisa Plenderleith. Quinnipiac’s Kelly Babstock, along with Colgate’s Shannon Doyle and Rachel Walsh, served minors for roughing, but Quinnipiac, once again, couldn’t convert on the power play.
With just less than 13 minutes to play in regulation, the Bobcats finally bested Plenderleith and the Raiders’ defense. Kristen Eklund’s original shot on Plenderleith was rejected, with the Colgate netminder sprawling to her right to make the save. The puck bounced to Plenderleith’s left side, where freshman Elena Orlando was in position to deposit her first collegiate goal.
The two teams played a scoreless remainder of regulation, thanks in large part to a tremendous save by Vigilanti with less than three minutes to go. The sophomore goalie stretched out and reached back to her left to make the glove save. Her stop kept the scoring at bay until Waters scored the game-winner at the 1:36 mark of overtime.
Photo credit: Matt Eisenberg
