Photo courtesy Quinnipiac Athletics
By: Matt McAuliffe
The Quinnipiac women’s ice hockey team looked to make a statement in the ECAC against the Cornell Big Red. But, it was the Big Red that made the opening statement with three unanswered goals. The Bobcats stayed resilient and scored three of their own to force overtime.
Neither team was able to find the back of the net in the extra minutes, resulting in a 3-3 tie on Friday night in Hamden.
Sydney Rossman was pulled after letting in the third goal late in the second period, and never returned to the ice. This is the second time this season that Rossman has been pulled. Rossman was up for ECAC goaltender of the year last season.
Even with the unexpected pulls, freshman back-up Abbie Ives was ready to play in both scenarios.
“Abbie has grown so much since the start of the year,” head coach Cassandra Turner said, “We knew that she had a lot of potential, and she is further ahead than we expected her to be at this point.”
Ives has had the answer both times her number was called. She plans to take advantage of every opportunity that comes her way this season.
“I had a good talk with my coach about being prepared to play last week, so I was really prepared before the game so when they scored I knew there was a chance I was going to go in,” Ives said.
Her performances have reflected her preparations, and if this success continues Ives sees herself in net a lot more often.
“You have to earn your spot everywhere, but I am just going to work as hard as I can, and I am really confident in myself as a goalie, so I do see myself as a future starter,” Ives said.
Despite falling behind by three goals with nine minutes left in the second period, the resilience of the Quinnipiac offense shined. The Bobcats were able to pound in two goals before heading into the second intermission.
“I think for us coming back from a three-goal deficit was a huge thing for our team, and will be something that we will use going forward”, Turner said.
The goal that tied the game 3-3 had a special meaning, as freshman forward Kenzie Prater scored the goal on her 19th birthday. She was able to score it in front of her parents and brother, who she had not seen in four months.
“It’s a pretty good feeling, my teammates were joking about it before the game, ‘you got to get a birthday goal’, so it was cool to actually do that, and see how excited everyone was for me,” Prater said.
The speed and energy of Quinnipiac’s first line was a key aspect in getting back into the game. The fore check and second goal by Melissa Samoskevich set the tone for the second and third lines. The lines responded to the energy well, and were able to produce two out of three goals.
“I thought all three lines today had moments where they really worked to build, and we got energy from all of our lines today at different points,” Turner said.
Quinnipiac’s overall record is now 9-4-2, and 4-2-1 in the ECAC. The Bobcats play Saturday afternoon in Hamden against the Colgate Raiders, who only have one loss this season. A win for the Bobcats would mean a jump to third place in conference standings.
