HAMDEN, Conn – No. 5 Quinnipiac women’s ice hockey team improved to 11-1-0 on the season after defeating No. 10 Clarkson 4-0 Friday.
19 years and 50 matchups later, the rivalry between the Bobcats and Golden Knights has only intensified since the teams’ first meeting in 2003.
“They’re definitely a rival for us,” Quinnipiac head coach Cass Turner said. “They play hard, they always have a lot of talent, and they’re always in the game … It’s a fun rivalry.”
As the game started there was one noticeable absence. The Bobcats were without senior forward and captain Lexie Adzija for the fourth consecutive game. Adzija has not played in just under a month after being injured in the Bobcats’ Oct. 28, game vs Cornell.
Right off the initial faceoff, you could tell it was going to be a competitive game. Both teams were very high-energy and extremely physical.
Just 50 seconds in and off a pass that caught the Bobcats in the middle of a change, Golden Knights senior forward Darcie Lappan had a one-on-one opportunity, letting a wrist shot off. However, Bobcats graduate student goaltender Logan Angers smothered the shot with the glove, keeping the game scoreless.
The game turned into back-and-forth hockey with neither team maintaining offensive zone pressure.
Just over three minutes in, senior forward Alexa Hoskin tried a wrap-around shot, but Golden Knights junior goaltender Michelle Pasiechnyk stretched out, just barely getting enough of the puck.
With just under three minutes left in the period, after a post-whistle scrum in front of the Clarkson goal, Golden Knights senior forward Gabrielle David and Bobcats junior forward Olivia Mobley were both given offsetting roughing minors. This is a matchup that would continue to intensify as the game progressed.
Starting the second period, the Bobcats had all the momentum on their side, dominating puck possession and forcing the Golden Knights onto their heels.
With eleven minutes left in the period, junior defender Kendall Cooper wristed a shot up over the right shoulder of Pasiechnyk, giving the Bobcats the 1-0 lead. With an assist on the play, Mobley extended her point streak to nine games.
A little past the halfway mark in the period and Golden Knights junior defender Nicole Gosling was assessed a tripping minor.
The Bobcats’ power play, which has been stellar this season, didn’t disappoint with senior defender Kate Reilly firing a slapshot from the blue line into the back of the net.
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