Photo courtesy Quinnipiac Athletics
By: Kirby Paulson
With Thanksgiving in the rearview mirror, the Quinnipiac women’s ice hockey team was defeated by the Merrimack Warriors 2-1 on Friday in the opening round of the Nutmeg Classic. The game would require an extra frame and a shootout before a final score could be registered, and when all is said and done it will go as a loss in the game and a tie in the standings.
This was the first time that Quinnipiac and Merrimack met in their history. Quinnipiac head coach Cassandra Turner was impressed with the play of the Warriors, who are in their second season of Division I play.
“They competed, you know they played like they were playing against a top 10 team and wanted to find a way to try to beat us and I thought they fought hard from the beginning of the game to the end of the game,” Turner said.
The first period ended scoreless, though Quinnipiac poured 14 total shots on Merrimack goaltender Samantha Ridgewell and had plenty of scoring opportunities.
The second period took a different turn as Quinnipiac was able to jump ahead fairly early. Just 1:48 in, Kenzie Lancaster followed a loose puck int0 the slot and sent it through the pads of Ridgewell and into the back of the net. The goal was Lancaster’s sixth of the season and her third in two games.
Lancaster has been pleased with her goal-scoring hot hand this season.
“It feels great, I love being able to help my team out in that way,” Lancaster said. “I think it’s just putting the puck on net and to just set up and get opportunities.”
The sophomore forward’s performance has not gone unnoticed by her head coach either.
“I’m not surprised with what she’s accomplished so far this year,” Turner said. “She works really hard and is building more and more confidence each game with the ability to shoot to score and she’s showing that.”
Merrimack was able to jump right back into the game however when the Warriors knotted the game up at one. With under seven and a half minutes remaining in the third period, Katelyn Rae shoved a pass over to Paige Voight who was wide open and streaking into the slot. Voight moved the puck from her forehand to her backhand beating Quinnipiac goaltender Sydney Rossman and picking up her eighth goal of the season.
Quinnipiac was awarded a power play opportunity in the dwindling minutes of the third but was unable to convert. Thus, an extra period of play was required. Due to the fact that the Nutmeg Classic is a tournament, overtime format consisted of a five-minute overtime period and a shootout if necessary.
Neither team was able to score during the five-minute period and the game was sent into a shootout.
After piling on 44 total shots throughout the gam, Quinnipiac was held scoreless in the shootout by Ridgewell.
Merrimack on the other hand scored twice in the format, with goals coming from the sticks of Paige Voight and Mikayla Grant-Mentis. This would be enough for the Warriors as they would skate off as victors with a spot in the Championship game to be played the day after.
Though only one of the 44 shots found the back of the net for the Bobcats, Lancaster stated that frustration was not a hindering factor and that capitalizing on loose pucks would be an adjustment for the future.
“You know I actually think we did a pretty good job of not getting frustrated tonight,” Lancaster said. “We had pretty positive energy throughout the night but I think it’s just grittiness around the net and trying to search for those loose pucks that are just sitting there and being willing to put them in the back of the net.”
In terms of moving forward, Turner spoke of a recurring theme to continue garner future success.
“Just that consistency, and for us the consistency, it really has to do with everything we’re doing without the puck; how we’re pressuring the puck, on the fore-check in our zone, how we’re coming back on the back-check and working to get the puck back as quick as we can,” Turner said. “That brings consistency for our team.
Quinnipiac will play in the consolation game of the Nutmeg tomorrow afternoon at 3 p.m. It’s opponent will be the University of Connecticut.
