Bobcats Women’s Ice Hockey Looking to Rebound From Weekend Sweep

Connor Ullathorne
January 11, 2021

Follow @connorully5
Follow @Q30Sports
The last time the Quinnipiac women’s ice hockey team allowed eight goals in a weekend was in February of 2019, against Clarkson and St. Lawrence. The Colgate Red Raiders swept the Bobcats this weekend in Hamilton, New York, winning 4-0 and 4-1.

The last time the Bobcats allowed eight goals, they managed to score six of their own, instead of this weekend’s -7 goal differential.

Here are some changes that have been made to the Bobcats, and some suggestions for a strong set-up that can lead to success in the future for the team.

Consistent lines and pairings

In the past, head coach Cass Turner has done some rotation and mixing and matching of forwards throughout multiple lines, just like any head coach would.

Defensively, on the other hand, she’s had three consistent pairs throughout a season, without possible injuries or rest for players factoring in.

That changed this year because the Bobcats have been without two defensemen for most of the short season. Senior captain Olivia Konigson hasn’t played since the first game against Sacred Heart, and junior Zoe Boyd hasn’t stepped on the ice during a game this year. Between them, they’ve played over 160 games at the NCAA level for the Bobcats.

Losing the two most-experienced defensemen on any team hurts, but Turner had to replace them with forwards. Sophomore Alexa Hoskin and first-year Sophie Urban were slotted into the blue-line for the Colgate series, but getting the two upperclassmen back on the ice would be a boost in confidence for the young Bobcat team.

Connor’s future defensive pairings:

Konigson and Reilly
Boyd and Vorster
Samoskevich and Cooper

Who’s the go-to?

Quinnipiac has really seen the lack of a true, number-one goal scorer and point producer. Someone capable of scoring from wherever and wherever on the ice. A player who can be a threat to the defense so much they open up their teammates more.

On the Bobcats’ first line, junior Lexie Adzija acts like a playmaker, and senior Taylor Girard is always around the net. What the first line needs is someone who has an eye for the goal.

The three options from the second line who might fit are first-year Olivia Mobley, senior Taylor House, and sophomore Sadie Peart.

House has first-line experience and has played with Adzija and Girard in the past, however, she is one of the better faceoff takers on the team with 30 wins and 22 losses this season. So, keeping her on the second line to be the center would make sense.

Peart plays a similar role to Girard, where she is always around the net, and you don’t want that space to be too cramped.

Mobley could ignite her season if she gets more ice time from playing on the first line. The first-year has no points and nine shots through three games played.

Senior Laura Lundblad has played on the second and third line before, so making a small move switching the two wingers could have both players producing this season.

Connor’s future first and second lines:

Girard-Adzija-Mobley
Lundblad-House-Peart

Rainy-day powerplay

The Quinnipiac power-play struggled against the number five team in the nation. The Bobcats went 1-7 through the weekend with an extra player on the ice, but maybe that’s because Turner is using something different than in previous years — an umbrella formation.

The one power-play goal had Adzija, senior Grace Markey, Peart, House, and Vorster on the ice, in an umbrella shape. Adzijia, Vorster, and House stretched across the blue line, with Peart and Markey in the slot and screening the goalie.

This is probably due to not having Konigson and Boyd, but why not have Kate Reilly on the ice as the powerplay “quarterback.”

Sticking with the four forwards and one defenseman has become a more common powerplay set up throughout the hockey world, but, if the second unit wants to go with four forwards, having Hoskin act as either the pivot blue-liner in the umbrella shape or as one of the defensemen could allow for a very offensive, second unit.

Connor’s future power-play lines one and two: