On Saturday afternoon, the Quinnipiac Bobcats completed a weekend home-and-home sweep of the Princeton Tigers with a 3-0 win. The shutout is the second straight for Victoria Vigilanti, and moves her into sole position of first in the nation with six on the season.
“I like to call these wins ‘D-wins,’ because really I can’t do this without my defense,” Vigilanti said. “They did a great job all weekend making sure that I see all the shots.”
Quinnipiac coach Rick Seeley agreed with Vigilanti’s praise.
[Princeton] didn’t have a shot in the first half that was inside the circles, so I thought we did a great job that way. We haven’t played a great second game the past couple of weekends, but I thought they were motivated to have a great game tonight.”
The Bobcats never looked back after the first puck drop, as they outshot the Tigers 17-5 in the first period.
Princeton coach Jeff Kampersal put it simply.
“Quinnipiac showed up to play again. We were clearly outplayed and outcoached.”
The Bobcats took the 1-0 lead 5:24 into the second period on a power-play goal from Regan Boulton. QU’s Erica Uden Johansson fed Boulton at the point, where Boulton took her time and space to bury her drive past the glove of Rachel Weber.
Quinnipiac extended its lead three and a half minutes later on Brittany Lyons’ fifth goal of the season. Kate Wheeler gained the line on the right wing with Lyons streaking through the slot. Wheeler forced a shot that was blocked down by Weber. Wheeler took the rebound from the near corner and threw the puck at the net, and Lyons stuffed the rebound from Wheeler through Weber’s pads.
The Bobcats added one more 8:52 into the third period on Breann Frykas’ sixth goal of the season. Wheeler once again started the play when she threaded the needle to Frykas in the neutral zone. Frykas broke in all alone through the slot and beat Weber five-hole for the 3-0 lead.
Coach Kampersal preached one major point after the game.
“We are trying to be a team that plays consistently all the time, whether it be a Monday practice, a Wednesday practice or a Friday or Saturday game.”
Despite the second straight loss, Weber continues to play well for the Tigers, stopping 26 shots, including 17 in the first period.
“She was the one bright star for us today,” Kampersal said.
Now both teams get to enjoy some time off with finals around the corner and a much need holiday break. Princeton doesn’t return to the ice until it travels to Ohio State for games December 30-31.
The Bobcats aren’t back in action until Jan. 6-7, when they host Dartmouth and Harvard.
“Since I’ve been here, we’ve had a weak first couple of games in January,” said Seeley. “But I think they are really committed to staying in shape during finals week and then when they are home.”
“We plan to skate every day when we are on break,” added Vigilanti. “It’s easy though going back home home to Canada where there are plenty of hockey rinks available.”
