Photo courtesy Quinnipiac Athletics
By: Matt McAuliffe
On the eve of her senior night, Sydney Rossman tied the franchise record in shutouts with 25 in a 5-0 win over the Rensselaer Polytechnical Institute Engineers.
“We just want to win games, we aren’t really looking at the records, it is cool for our program and for the team because a shout outs is not just an individual record, it is definitely a team thing,” Rossman, reigning ECAC Goalie of the Year, said.
Head coach Cass Turner knows that this tying of the record is not where Rossman stops her dominance.
“She didn’t want the tying puck, she is ready to try and get another shut out, she wants to win that record”, Turner said about Rossman’s motivation.
The offense was the other highlight of the game as the Bobcats outshot the Engineers 23-5 in the first period. Two goals also came in the first frame. One was off a juicy rebound that Melissa Samoskeich pounced on, and the other came on the power play as T.T. Cianfarano fired a wrist shot and sniped the top left corner of the net.
“Today was exactly what we wanted, our goal today was to out-work and out-battle, for our team today they expected a tough game, and I think what our kids set out to do they really accomplished,” Turner said.
The offensive display continued in the second period as the Bobcats added two more goals and and didn’t hold back from firing away at the net. The shot total by the end of the second period was 45-11.
Turner fought hard in front of the net and buried the off a rebound to start the scoring in the second frame. The next goal involved the Kenzie’s. It was an explosive one timer slap shot off the stick of Lancaster assisted by Prater.
“Today was a huge confidence boost for myself and the whole team, and I think we couldn’t be in a better position right now,” Lancaster said.
The Bobcats seem to be playing their best hockey at the right time. There’s only one game left in the regular season and heading into the conference playoffs with momentum is huge.
Turner believes that her team against RPI played a hard 60 minutes of hockey, and are in a great position to compete in the postseason.
“The energy on our bench, the way people were ready to make plays for one another when someone did make a mistake, and just that grit defensively I thought that was good for us,” Turner said.
Up next for the Bobcats is the last regular season game against the Union Dutchwomen at 3 p.m. on Saturday. If the Bobcats win and RPI beats Princeton, the Bobcats will have the opportunity to host a quarterfinal game in the ECAC tournament.