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No. 9 Quinnipiac women’s ice hockey bounced back Friday afternoon, shutting out No. 8 Cornell 3-0 on the road.
After a disappointing Nutmeg Classic, the Bobcats were looking to take a definitive victory on the first leg of their weekend trip to upstate New York.
For Quinnipiac, this contest was especially crucial. After dropping its last two ECAC matchups to Princeton, the Bobcats fell to 4-3-1 in conference play. With two high profile conference games preceding the squad’s month-long break, it was pivotal for the Bobcats to maximize each and every point of the weekend.
In the first period, it seemed the team took this message to heart. In a complete team effort, the Bobcats limited Cornell’s offensive production, holding the Big Red to a measly two shots on goal for the entire frame. Although neither team was able to maintain significant puck control in the offensive end, Quinnipiac’s strong forecheck proved to overpower Cornell.
Although silent on the scoresheet, the burst of offensive pressure was refreshing for the Bobcat side.
After stacking the top forward line with graduate student Laurence Frenette, senior Tessa Holk and junior Kahlen Lamarche for most of the season, Quinnipiac head coach Cass Turner decided to scramble the lines.
Separating three of the top five highest scoring Bobcats of the season turned out to be a fruitful decision for Turner’s squad. Elevating freshman forward Jade Barbirati to a top line role was what led to the Bobcats first goal. After winning the faceoff, Barbirati would tip sophomore defender Aynsley D’Ottavio’s shot past junior goaltender Annelies Bergmann to put the Bobcats up.
The next Bobcat shot would harbor the same result. Sophomore defender Makayla Watson’s dekes were enough to squeeze the puck behind the Cornell defense. Drawing a trip right at the goal line, Watson was able to hold onto the puck just long enough to tuck it behind Bergmann and light the lamp for the Bobcats second goal of the evening.
The easy scoring would conclude on the Bobcats’ third straight shot of the second. This time senior forward Emerson Jarvis would do the honors, bouncing the puck off the skate of Cornell forward London McDavid to give the Bobcats three goals on three consecutive shots on goal.
Despite the impressive scoring feat, the Bobcats’ new focus needed to be on keeping Cornell on the ropes. The score told a much different offensive story than the shot count in the second, with the Big Red outshooting the Bobcats 9-4.
This offensive discrepancy would only worsen once the third period began.
Coming into the contest, one of the primary concerns for the Bobcats was keeping the penalty minutes to a minimum. Discipline is key in any game, but in this matchup especially. Cornell’s power play is top-ranked nationally, with the Big Red converting on 37.7 % of their chances on the man-advantage at the time of publication.
To make matters worse, Cornell had finally seemed to find its groove moving the puck. For the first time all night, sophomore goaltender Felicia Frank was making some serious saves to keep the shutout alive.
Three consecutive power plays for the Big Red only added fuel to the fire of the Cornell attack, and the increased pressure tested Quinnipiac’s composure as well as its penalty kill. Although the Bobcats were able to get some good clears, the penalty killing stand-out was by far Frank, whose five saves would be the difference maker to keep the Big Red off the scoreboard.
However, even after the final power play was killed, Quinnipiac still wasn’t awarded even-strength hockey. Cornell pulled Bergmann with over five minutes left in the contest for the extra skater, aiming for one final push to put the home squad on the board.
However, the Falkoping, Sweden native would hold strong in net for the Bobcats.
Twelve saves in the final 5:47 of play would earn Frank her sixth shutout of the season, capping off the 34 save win for Frank and the Bobcats. That victory would put their total on the season to 14, as well as boosting the squad up to fourth in the ECAC standings.
Quinnipiac returns to the ice Saturday, Dec. 6 in Hamilton N.Y. to take on its second ECAC opponent of the weekend, the Colgate Raiders. Puck drop is set for 3 p.m.
The Student News Site of Quinnipiac University
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