HAMDEN — No. 6 Quinnipiac women’s ice hockey snapped its six game losing-streak to the Colgate Raiders with a dominant 5-1 victory at home Friday evening.
Not often do all three phases of a hockey team manage to work together in perfect tandem, but the performances that come from those rare occurrences are something special.
Tonight’s women’s ice hockey game encapsulated exactly what such a game looks like.
After a difficult 2-1 overtime loss to the Raiders earlier in the season, the Bobcats succeeded in setting a dominant tone early. Before either team could get settled, junior forward Kahlen Lamarche did what she does best.
Put the puck in the back of the net.
On a bouncing puck flipped out of the Bobcats’ defensive end, Lamarche was able to stick-lift Colgate’s senior defenseman Casey Borgiel just long enough to gain control of the puck. Once she was behind Borgiel, Lamarche was in on Davis alone.
“I thought we did a really nice job of just getting pucks in behind their defenseman,” Quinnipiac head coach Cass Turner said.
The prime chances weren’t exclusive to Lamarche either. Sophomore forward Avery Bairos also had equally strong chances on net, with Davis making up for Colgate’s initial sloppy play in the first half of the initial period.
Even with the Red Deer, Alberta native keeping Quinnipiac’s lead to one, there was only so much the Colgate netminder could do against the number six goal-scoring team in the country. By the end of the contest, that offensive attack was evident on the scoresheet, with the Bobcats outshooting their opponents for the eighth straight game.
This time, Quinnipiac’s defense would make itself known on the offensive end, with sophomore defenseman Makayla Watson scoring her first of three historic goals on the evening.
“We’re excited she was really in a mindset to fire the puck today, ” Turner said. “She just keeps adding new tools to the toolbox.”
It wasn’t just the Bobcats’ offense that was shining in the opening period. The Bobcats’ defense played exceptional hockey, keeping the few Colgate chances manageable for sophomore goaltender Felicia Frank.
Sophomore defenseman Ainsley D’Ottavio especially stood out on the defensive end, getting her stick in passing lanes at even strength and on the penalty kill to keep the second period scoreless.
After a Quinnipiac goal was waved off, reviewed to be a good goal and then re-reviewed to be called for goaltender interference, the Colgate side amped up the physicality.
“It’s always a battle with them, and it goes back and forth,” sophomore defenseman Ella Sennick said.
The most refreshing part of the defensive performance was its totality. The strong defensive play by the Bobcats’ forwards helped facilitate the defensive scoring that would result in two more goals in the final period.
“I trust that someone will cover back, which is why we’re able to take so many risks and why we have so many d goals,” Sennick said.
After another Lamarche goal that put the star forward at 29 goals on the campaign, the Bobcats would get the opportunity to add to their three-goal lead on the man-advantage.
“There’s been a lot of games where they’ve created some really good chances,” Turner said. “It’s nice when they’re rewarded.”
And rewarded they were, with Watson putting her second puck of the night past the outstretched pads of Davis. The Brooks, Alberta native would score her first power play goal of the season, and the score would push Quinnipiac’s streak of power play goals to four straight games.
However, even with the four-goal cushion, late-game heroics by Quinnipiac’s netminder would definitively send the Raiders packing. After Colgate took one back from the Bobcat side to cut the lead to three and ruin Frank’s chance at her eighth shutout, the Swedish goaltender would make a beautiful glove save in the closing minutes of the contest, robbing Colgate captain and junior forward Emma Pais.
However, even with the game completely out of the Raiders’ reach, the Bobcats weren’t done yet. For the first time in 15 years, a Quinnipiac women’s ice hockey defenseman scored a hat trick. After two misses from cross ice by Lamarche kept her scoring tally to two, Watson wrote her name in the Quinnipiac record books on her only attempt at the empty net.
“A lot of credit to the coaches for having that confidence in me and wanting me to shoot the puck more,” Watson said. “The support we have on this team is unreal.”
The full team win demonstrated what this Bobcat side is capable of when every aspect of the squad is clicking. Offense and defense working together, with goaltending cleaning up whatever few loose ends were left over.
“We just have to keep it rolling,” Watson said.
Quinnipiac will have the chance to prove that this complete performance was not a fluke again tomorrow, taking on No. 12 Cornell University at home in a game with significant conference standing implications. Puck drop in Hamden is set for 3 p.m.