Photo Courtesy Quinnipiac Athletics
By: Phil Akre
Coming off a weekend where it was swept by St. Lawrence and Clarkson, the Quinnipiac women’s ice hockey team was determined not to let it happen again the next weekend. After defeating Dartmouth College 2-1 on the road Friday night, the Bobcats took down Harvard University by the same score Saturday in route to a weekend ECAC sweep.
It was an evenly matched game both offensively and defensively throughout the first two periods. After going 0-7 on the power play against Dartmouth the night before, the Bobcats got their first chance just 55 seconds into the game. Unable to capitalize on the opportunity, the Bobcats still went on to fire 10 shots on goal by the end of the first.
The play of Harvard goaltender Brianna Lang was both unexpected and impressive. In the midst of an ongoing battle with Molly Tissenbaum for the spot between the pipes, Laing had started two of her teams four games this season, surrendering five goals in that span.
“I was impressed by her play today,” Quinnipiac head coach Cassandra Turner said. “They have a really good goaltending battle going on right now. Laing wants the job and today she was trying to prove that. She did a good job.”
At the end of the second, the Bobcats had tallied 23 shots on goals, compared to eight shots on goal from the Crimson. Despite the lopsided totals, the score remained tied at zero heading into the third period.
“Consistency is something we’ve been pushing. We needed to be in a position where we could score goals. We just wanted to throw everything at (Laing),” Turner said.”
Going into the weekend against two teams with a combined record of 1-8, the Bobcats went into the third period against Harvard knowing they had to breakthrough. They did just that when Kati Tabin scored the first goal of the contest after she found an open lane, giving the Bobcats a 1-0 lead.
Just a few moments later on Quinnipiac’s second power play opportunity of the game, Bobcats’ leading scorer T.T Cianfarano sniped one into the top left corner of the net, as Quinnipiac took a 2-1 lead. Captain Emma Woods knew the goals would come after two periods of missed opportunities.
“Just keep at them,” Woods said. “This is a team that regardless of what the record is, they have confidence in this league. We had to keep piling on shots and we knew goals would eventually come. It’s just keeping that mental focus, wearing down the goalie.”
After the team finished Friday’s game against Dartmouth with two goals on 35 shots, the Bobcats finished with the exact same numbers against Harvard. Quinnipiac’s defense played strong as a whole, limiting Harvard to just 12 shots on goals throughout the contest.
After dropping two tough losses to ECAC powerhouses Clarkson and St. Lawrence, this weekend was certainly a bounce back.
“I think yesterday started off great,” T.T Cianfarano said. “Another close game, but we’ve focused on physically and mentally preparing ourselves for these teams. We capitalized on both games.”
Quinnipiac will next face Cornell University, another ECAC opponent, at home on Nov. 18 in Hamden, CT.
