HAMDEN, Conn. — Six different Bobcats scored for Quinnipiac as it shut out the Colgate Raiders 6-0 on Friday night at the High Point Solutions Arena.
Kelly Babstock led the way for Quinnipiac (7-1-1, 2-1-1 ECAC) with four points (one goal, three assists) and Nicole Connery had three points (one goal, two assists) in the six goal win.
“The depth has been there all year where in the past, we’ve basically relied on one line,” Quinnipiac coach Rick Seeley said. “It’s been spread out amongst the three lines and the [defense] is chipping in, too.”
Quinnipiac enjoyed success on the special teams as it went 2-for-4 on the power play, while Colgate (2-7-0, 0-3-0 ECAC) went 0-for-5 in man-advantage opportunities, including just one shot on goal.
“Our power play early on looked good and I thought was going to give us a chance to get on the board and as the score got away from us, the power play got away from us,” said Colgate coach Greg Fargo.
Early on, the Raiders were staying even with the Bobcats in the shot column and Fargo said the team was playing really well into the third period.
“I thought for the first 45 minutes we did some good things [and] for the most part, we limited their quality chances, they got a couple sticks on loose pucks,” Fargo said. “Overall, it certainly wasn’t our best effort. We didn’t play a full 60 minutes and we didn’t compete hard enough.”
The offense started off slow for Quinnipiac with just one goal in the first period, but it picked up steam as the game continued.
“I thought the first period was okay,” Seeley said. “We started the game well, but I don’t think the intensity was really there and I thought that broke our game. I was proud of how hard they played in the third when we were up by a few.”
Babstock gave the Bobcats a 1-0 lead early in the first period when she received a drop pass from Connery, skated in front of the net and ripped a shot past Brittney Brooks’ glove side.
In the second period, Emma Woods added her fifth goal of the season when she tipped home a rebound off of Brooks to give Quinnipiac the 2-0 lead. Babstock had the initial shot that Woods sent home.
The Bobcats took a 3-0 lead just three minutes later when a Colgate defender hit the puck into their own net after Shiann Darkangelo had a breakaway that came off of Brooks.
After Quinnipiac’s third goal, the Raiders brought in Susan Allen to replace Brooks in goal.
“I thought both [Brooks and Allen] had some good times and times where it wasn’t their best and I think they’d be the first ones to tell you that,” Fargo said. “We also have to do a better job of helping our goaltenders out around the net. There were a lot of loose pucks in the slot that we didn’t get sticks on and that’s an area we’ve got to get better at.”
Quinnipiac didn’t score again until 5:19 into the third period when they took a 4-0 lead as Connery tipped another rebound goal five-hole for the Bobcats after Cydney Roesler’s initial came loose in the slot.
Roesler got a goal of her own six minutes later when she scored the Bobcats’ second power-play goal after her initial shot was blocked and the puck came right back to her.
Six minutes after the Roesler goal, Kristen Tamberg wristed a shot from the point past Allen in goal to give Quinnipiac its final goal and a 6-0 lead.
Chelsea Laden was solid in net for the Bobcats by stopping all 20 shots she faced for her fourth shutout of the season.
“[Laden] was solid [and] I thought she had a couple of instances where she looked a little shaky, but she’s been solid all year for us like that,” Seeley said. “In a couple of desperate situations when we were shorthanded, she just kind of shut the door and made it look difficult for them to come back in any way.”
