The No. 8 Yale Bulldogs handed the No. 4 Quinnipiac women’s ice hockey team their first loss of the season Friday night at Ingalls Rink in a 4-2 final. 

Quinnipiac was flying high to start the year, as the Bobcats were undefeated through their first nine contests entering Friday’s tilt. However, they could not complete a comeback against the Bulldogs, who never let up the lead.

Here are three key takeaways following the Bobcats’ first major setback of the season.

Takeaway 1:  The loss marks the first big turning point of the season  

In 2021-22, the Bobcats built their best start in program history, going 12-0-2. One year later, it looked like history was going to repeat and outdo itself. With the 4-2 loss to Yale, that dream ended in New Haven, as the record for the blue and gold now stands at nine and one. 

The Bobcats faced major adversity when playing Yale. After a string of dominant performances against ranked opponents like Colgate, Cornell, Harvard, and Boston College, the Bobcats finally met their match in their rivals from eight miles south. 

Yale played an effective game that was fast, aggressive, and disciplined. With their speed and relentlessness on attacking the puck, the Bulldogs became the first team to outshoot Quinnipiac this year, as they lead in the stat 23 to 20. 

Yale’s close-quarters forecheck also forced turnovers that turned into odd-man rushes, including Carina DiAntonio’s game-winner, who beat Logan Angers on a two-on-one. 

This is the first Battle of Whitney Avenue that Yale has won since the pandemic began, and it marks a turning point in the trajectory of the Bobcats season, especially after they blanked Colgate last week in a 3-0 upset. 

Welcome to the second chapter of the Bobcats’ 2022-23 campaign. Whether it will be as fruitful as the first remains to be foreseen. 

Takeaway 2: Peart steps up as a point producer

A bright spot for the Bobcats was the play of senior Sadie Peart, who scored both goals for her team, recording her first multi-goal game since facing Dartmouth in February.

With Lexie Adzija out of the lineup again on Friday, head coach Cass Turner continued to deploy her new look top line, centered by Peart with wingers Maya Labad and Alexa Hoskin. This seemed like the first game where this unit clicked and took the next step forward, as they kept the Bobcats in the game after an early 2-0 deficit.

In a game where the Bobcats fought to contain a team that was pressing all night long, Peart was able to pick up the right passes from her linemates and generate plays that beat Bulldogs goaltender Pia Dukaric, including a nifty wrister that flipped up into the roof of the net and beat Dukaric short side.

Peart has three goals in her last two games played and has stepped up while Quinnipiac’s leading goal scorer is sidelined. Expect this line to keep making noise as conference play continues.

Takeaway 3: Quinnipiac needs a big rebound against Brown

After dropping Friday’s decision to Yale, the Bobcats need to focus on splitting the weekend in the second half of their road trip, as they travel to Rhode Island to take on the Brown Bears.

In their last meeting, the Bears caught the Bobcats off guard, holding on for a 1-0 shutout in the regular season finale ahead of the ECAC Hockey tournament, marking the first time the Bears took down the Bobcats since 2009.

But this time around, the Bobcats have an x-factor player that their opponent is very familiar with, as former Bears captain Shay Maloney makes her return to the Meehan Auditorium for the first time since transferring.

Maloney will play a critical role on the second line with Olivia Mobley and reigning ECAC Hockey rookie of the month Madison Chantler. The trio was quieter than usual against the Bulldogs after scoring multiple goals in each of the Bobcats’ previous conference wins against Colgate, Cornell, and Harvard.

While the future will be no piece of cake for Cass Turner’s squad with tough ECAC Hockey opponents on the horizon like Clarkson and St. Lawrence, the Bobcats can learn plenty from their performance against Yale before attempting to bounce back against a talented Ivy opponent in Brown.

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