Photo courtesy Quinnipiac Athletics
By: Phil Akre
PRINCETON, N.J. – Game three of the ECAC Quarterfinals between Quinnipiac University (21-10-6) and Princeton University (20-9-3) featured something that hadn’t happened all series. After both teams failed to tally a score throughout the first periods of games one and two, the Tigers broke the streak with two first period goals en route to its 2-1 victory over the Bobcats.
“The first period we were just a little bit on our heels,” head coach Cass Turner said. “There were goals where they just worked to get bounces, and that happens in the playoffs.”
Just two minutes after Molly Contini scored Princeton’s goal, Sylvie Wallin tallied another score as Quinnipiac quickly fell into a 2-0 hole.
“I think you saw how they (Quinnipiac) reacted to it, which was pretty tremendous,” Turner said regarding her team’s ability to fight back. “It’s surprising that we didn’t get more pucks in the net.”
Quinnipiac had its chances. The team finished with 29 shots on goal, but it couldn’t get shots to fall due to another brilliant outing from Princeton goaltender Steph Neatby. The freshman goalie collected 28 saves with her only goal allowed coming with 13 seconds left in the third period.
“She’s a great goaltender. She’s big and she’s incredibly athletic. She has a lot of experience internationally, and I’ve had the opportunity to coach her, which has been fun,” Turner said.
There was some optimism for the Bobcats, though, as Meghan Turner scored the team’s lone goal with 13 seconds left in the game immediately following a timeout.
Neatby did face a lot of pressure from most of Quinnipiac’s top goal scorers, but T.T. Cianfarano wasn’t one of them. Cianfarano, the team’s leading scorer, didn’t dress for the series’ first two games due to an undisclosed injury. While she dressed for game three, she played less than five minutes total through the final game of the series.
While Cianfarano makes up what the team calls “the band,” the other members of the trio couldn’t find success. Senior captain Emma Woods was limited to five shots on goal, and Melissa Samoskevich also added five.
Quinnipiac rarely had the advantage, as the team found itself awarded just four power play chances throughout the game. It continued a trend of few chances on the advantage for the Bobcats, as they had only seven chances in the two first games of the series.
The Bobcats had only committed two penalties in game’s one and two of the series, but they found themselves in the box four times by the end of game three.
Even with the loss, perhaps the biggest takeaway from the game itself was what had been in front of the team all season; a talented group of senior leaders.
“This group of seniors is so impressive,” Turner said. “With who they are as people, who they are as leaders, how they’ve grown as hockey players. For the people on our team who have had the opportunity to play with them, they’ve left such a legacy. They’ve learned so much from that group, you saw it today.”
Princeton will advance to the ECAC Semifinals next weekend when they head to upstate New York to face St. Lawrence.
While Quinnipiac’s season might be over, optimism is in the air for the Bobcats. Bright, young talent will once again be readily available come next Fall, while the impact of the senior class will influence the program’s next generation.
