ITHACA, N.Y. — Quinnipiac women's ice hockey appeared to have turned a corner. The Bobcats won three straight games against subpar opponents and were playing their best hockey since early January heading into their ECAC hockey quarterfinal series against Cornell University.
As it turned out, those three wins turned out to be nothing more than a sham, as the Big Red fooled Quinnipiac and swept them out of the conference tournament.
“Cornell is a great hockey team,” Turner said. “For two days they continued to gain momentum.”
The Bobcats were never really in it. Cornell was too fast, too physical and too skilled for them to catch up. That's not to say Quinnipiac didn't show some mettle.
In the first game, which was even, the Bobcats fought back from an early 2-0 lead to force overtime. However, a misplay of the puck by graduate student goaltender Logan Anges early in the extra frame allowed Cornell freshman forward Karel Prefontaine to take advantage, putting Quinnipiac in danger of elimination.
“I saw her coming back, but I knew that taking the shot was probably going to be harder for her than just sliding in,” Prefontaine told the Cornell Daily Sun. Told. “She was further away from the net, so she had the perfect angle.”
Game 2 was a different story.
Cornell slowed the Bobcats' pace early, but was unable to match. Unlike the first game, Quinnipiac was never competitive and the team fell apart at the seams. He had no offensive power at all, taking just 11 shots on goal and was unable to make a presence in the offensive zone.
“We didn’t get the same kind of sustained Ozone pressure,” Turner said. “It helped (Big Red) gain some momentum because we were making them uncomfortable (on Friday).”
The Bobcats' playoff discipline also disappeared in Saturday's game, as they stuffed the penalty box five times. In their last two games against Harvard in the ECAC Tournament, they played clean hockey with their backs against the wall, but that discipline simply didn't apply. Although it didn't lead to Cornell's goal, it was clear that Quinnipiac was succumbing to the pressure.
“It was different than hosting the night before,” Turner said. “Cornell University made us uncomfortable.”
What was most impressive on the ice last weekend was the Big Red's offensive onslaught. The Bobcats, whose dynamic forwards include senior Izzy Daniel, junior Lily Deriandeis, and sophomores Avi Adam and Georgia Schiff, couldn't keep up. In the first game, the offense stalled due to penalty trouble, but when the offense started to move in the second and third periods of the second game, it only added fuel to the fire.
“We played against an opponent that was really on their game,” Turner said. “It’s hard to bounce back.”
So where does Quinnipiac stand now?
As time expired in Ithaca, an emotional senior forward Kendall Cooper hugged Angier. The sixth-year netminder had a good chance of playing his final game as a Bobcat last weekend.
Quinnipiac was eliminated from the conference tournament, but for now, their hopes of making it to the NCAA Tournament remain.
“That hope and potential opportunity is going to keep (the team) going forward,” Turner said.
Only 11 teams qualify for the NCAA Division I Women's Tournament. Five teams will receive an automatic bid to win the conference tournament, and the remaining six teams will receive an at-large bid. Currently, the two conferences, NEWHA and CHA, are outside of the top 11, and two teams currently participating will be eliminated next weekend. As of this article's publication, the Bobcats are no longer in the league.
After the sweep, Quinnipiac fell to ninth place pairwise, but needs to finish ahead of eighth-place Minnesota Duluth to earn the final at-large bid. The Bulldogs will play at least one more conference tournament game next weekend thanks to their dominant win over St. Cloud State.
Currently sitting 0.568 points behind Minnesota vs. Duluth, Quinnipiac will need some serious help to revive its season. The Bobcats will have to sit through the remainder of the conference tournament until their fate is revealed on March 10 at the selection show at 12 p.m.
“This is not where you want to be,” Turner said.
No, it's not.
