Photo Courtesy: Quinnipiac Athletics
By: Matt McAuliffe
PRINCETON, New Jersey – After gaining a 1-0 series lead in a triple overtime showdown, the Quinnipiac women’s ice hockey team looked to complete the series sweep the very next day against the Princeton Tigers and move on to the ECAC semifinals.
The first two periods looked very similar to the game the day before. The first period ended with a score of 0-0, but just like yesterday Princeton came out in the second period and scored two unanswered goals.
“They still believed they could win, I know that we have really been fighting to create bounces for ourselves and I thought we still did that in the third period, but Princeton played better today,” head coach Cass Turner said about how her team felt on history repeating itself.
The hard fought theme continued in the first period as both teams were not able to get a goal across, but the defense for both teams was on display. With seven minutes left in the first period Princeton came down the ice with a two-on-one opportunity and Rossman made a huge across the crease save to keep the game tied. The period ended with the Tigers leading in shots, 14-to-13, and in face-offs, 10-to-9.
Quinnipiac could have used an offensive spark as reigning ECAC Player of the Year, T.T. Cianfarano, was out for the second straight game today.
“If you look at the depth of our team, the adversity we’ve hit all year I think our team is ready to play regardless of who is stepping on the ice,” Turner said on whether Cianfarano’s absence affected her teams play.
The second period, similar to game one, is when the scoring started for the Tigers. With 5:51 left in the second a choppy rebound off the stick of Kimiko Marinacci squeezed through goalie Sydney Rossman’s legs which was at first called off, but later overturned and called a goal giving the Tigers a 1-0 lead.
“The playoff hockey mode is what we’re all in right now, and obviously, the game didn’t go how we wanted today, but we played hard, and we just know that it’s going to be a battle tomorrow,” senior goaltender Sydney Rossman said.
The second goal came just a few minutes later as a rocket wrist shot from Cassidy Tucker went past Rossman’s glove and gave the Tigers a 2-0 lead.
Even after numerous scoring chances and stellar saves by Rossman in the third the score would not change and the Tigers tied up the series at one. The loss means that there will be a series deciding Game 3.
“I think our teams pretty competitive, and we don’t want to lose, especially this senior class, we don’t want our season to be over, we are playing pretty solid hockey right now, need that extra drive to score,” Rossman said on what to expect from Game 3.
The third and final game of this series will be played tomorrow afternoon at Hobey Baker rink at 3 p.m.
