Quinnipiac sweeps Maine behind 19-save effort from Laden

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On Saturday, Quinnipiac completed the sweep against Maine with a 5-2 win.

The Bobcats received offensive help from across the board with five different scorers, including a Kelly Babstock empty-net goal that extends her goal streak to four games.

Maine was within two late in the game, mostly due to the play of freshman goaltender Meghann Treacy, who recorded 32 saves in the loss.

“Treacy is going to be real good for us,” Maine coach Maria Lewis said. “She controlled the puck pretty well and she came up big for us a couple of times over the course of the game.”

Chelsea Laden stopped 19 for her first win of the season.

“She was solid for us today,” Seeley said of Laden. “She made some big stops for us late in the game when it was closer and right now we have total faith in both our goalies.”

Maine took the early 1-0 lead on Jennifer More’s first goal of the season. Brittany Dougherty started the play at the right circle and lost control of the puck when she moved around QU’s Lindsey West. More eventually picked up the puck in a net-front scramble and roofed it past Laden. The puck immediately shot back out, but no further review or meeting was necessary as the officials deemed it a good goal.

Quinnipiac evened the score with 1:21 left in the first period on Erica Uden Johnasson’s first goal of the season. Babstock fed Uden Johansson at the left circle, where she danced around her defender and put the puck on her backhand and lifted it just under the crossbar.

The Bobcats took the lead 4:44 into the second period on a lucky bounce in front of the net. Nicole Connery controlled the puck behind the net and tapped it in front of the net. The puck bounced off a player in front and then off Treacy’s skate and in.

Quinnipiac extended its lead two minutes later on a Breann Frykas power-play goal. Babstock started the play in the far corner and wristed the puck into the slot. Frykas streaked in and tapped the one-timer under Treacy’s pads.

Lyons added to the lead early in the third period on the Bobcats’ second power-play goal of the afternoon. Nicole Brown began the play when she wristed a shot from the point that tipped off of Lyons in front of the net. The puck bounced up and over Treacy’s glove.

“Connery’s goal was a direct result of a hard-fought battle from Anna Borgfeldt,” Seeley said. “And I think our second power-play unit has produced more goals this year than all of last year.”

At 7:11 into the third, Maine cut Quinnipiac’s lead in half on Tori Pasquariello’s first goal of the season. After Laden made the first stop, she could not cover the puck. Pasquariello kept jabbing away and eventually poked the puck past Laden.
Quinnipiac added an empty-netter with 1:15 left in the third to seal the win.

After a tough weekend against Mercyhurst last weekend, Quinnipiac’s leaders are showing that a team can learn from its own mistakes.

“We had a lot to learn from last weekend, and I am really proud the way the team played this weekend,” senior captain Regan Boulton said.