Lake Placid Bobcats

The Quinnipiac Bobcats welcomed in the Brown Bears today for a late matinee at the M&T Bank Arena. This was the rubber match in their ECAC quarterfinal matchup and the winner would advance to Lake Placid next weekend.

This game had it all: A hatty, a shorthanded penalty shot and even some Teletubbies; but what it featured most was some excellent back and forth hockey between 2 teams that matchup very closely. At the end of regulation it was the Bobcats that got the W and punched their ticket to upstate NY next weekend with a 5-4 win over the Bears.

In net for Brown was Anya Zupkofska (10-5-0 with a 1.71GAA and a .937%SV) who set a career high with 49 saves the previous game. At the other end of the sheet stood Felicia Frank (25-8-3 with a 1.47GAA and a .941%SV), who looks like she’s ready for a long run this postseason.

It was Quinnipiac who got on the board first just 32 seconds into the opening period. Emerson Jarvis showed that she has hands to go along with her wheels when she took the handoff from Kahlen Lamarche at the Brown blue line at full speed. Jarvis drove the Brown net and tucked home the backhand to open up the scoring on the day.

Holy smokes! Half the crowd was still getting their popcorn and the Bobcats were on the board. The pace was fast out of the gate and the early score only added fuel to the gas that Quinnipiac was cooking with. Brown was right there with them, making every loose puck in the neutral zone a battle.

With just under 3mins played the Bobcats doubled up their score. Laurence Frenette took a slew foot with no call (and no complaint) but got the puck to Zoe Uens at the Brown blue line. Uens dragged the puck backwards for a few strides before letting go a heavy wrister that picked the top corner through a number of players screening in front. Quinnipiac 2-0 and I can only hope that Frenette has finally gotten her burritos.

The pace of play after the Uens goal favored the Bobcats, but you got the feeling that the Bears were just waiting for their opportunity. And that opportunity came in the form of a power play just before midway of the period. The Bears kept the pressure on for the opening of the advantage, but Frank stoned them on their early attempts. It was Monique Lyons who finally beat Frank and put the Bears on the board. The puck came to Lyons at the RW circle and the Williston product made no mistake stashing the puck under the bar. Quinnipiac 2-1

In the latter half of the first, the Bobcats continued to push the pace while the Bears looked to counter punch. It made for entertaining hockey, but it didn’t affect the scoreboard as the Bobcats carried the one-goal lead into the first intermission.

In the middle frame the pace picked up another tick and the zone time evened out. With about 9mins played, Brown went back to the power play and could this be when the Bears finally tie this up?

Nope. Lamarche put one home on the PK. That’s right, she kills penalties too. This sequence only happened due to the great play in her own end by Aynsley D’Ottavio. The sophomore took the puck behind her own net and used her body to shield it from the Brown forechecker. That bought her enough time to find Lamarche at the opposite blue line. D’Ottavio put enough air under her floater to drop it into a bucket for Lamarche to dig out and drive the Brown zone. Lamarche outwaited Zupkofska and put it far side. The Bobcats were back up by a pair..

Come for the goals, stay for the cellies.

It looked like Quinnipiac was going to run away with this one, but Brown refused to lay down and got back within a goal a few minutes later. Isabella Gratzl carried deep into the Bobcat zone and fed Olivia Fantino in front of the net from the LW corner. Fantino didn’t panic and moved the puck across the goalmouth on her backhand to Sam Broz at the right post for the tuck. Quinnipiac 3-2

But of course, Quinnipiac answered back. It was only 39 seconds that Brown was able to enjoy being down by a goal before the Bobcats opened it back up. It was another great outlet from D’Ottavio that sent Lamarche into the Brown zone, Lamarche slowed down enough to let her teammates and the back checkers flood Zupkofska’s view before stashing the puck far side.

Like I said, stay for the cellies. And I ask, are you not entertained?

In the 3rd it was Brown that was pushing the pace as they tried to get back into this one. But it was Quinnipiac that struck next because you know she was getting the hatty.

A clean pick at the red line sent Lamarche in to the Brown zone. She carried laterally to her right and split the D before shooting back across the grain to beat Zupkofska 5-hole. That was Lamarche’s 42nd goal of the season and her 4th hat trick of the campaign.

Lamarche is Inevitable…

So we’re good right? Just run the clock down and start packing for Lake Placid. See you guys after the game. Wait, what’s that? Brown doesn’t give up you say? Yeah no kidding. Well all the Bobcats have to do is stay out of the box and chip pucks off the glass and out and they’ll be fine. Easy enough plan.

Unfortunately, the team decided to go another route. With Brown already on the advantage, Quinnipiac put themselves down another player. That gave the Bears a 5:3 with 29 seconds. Luckily for the Bears, they only needed half that time to cash in.

Brown possessed the puck and worked their cycle in the Quinnipiac zone being patient and moved the puck with purpose. Lyons had the puck at the top of the umbrella and found Jade Iginla just off the blue paint for the re-direct. Brown is only down by a pair and still on the power play! Just great subtle moves by both Lyons and Iginla as you watch the sequence below. Lyons feeds Iginla and the 2 change spots with Iginla dropping to Lyons as they switch. Lyons continues laterally at the top of the zone and Iginla sets up in front with her blade open and facing Lyons. You have to be so skilled to make it look that easy. Quinnipiac 5-3.

Brown didn’t score on the rest of the power play, but they continued to battle and limit the Quinnipiac chances to long range. With Zupkofska on the bench for the extra attacker, and just over 4mins on the clock the Bears got back within a goal.

Brown carried into the Quinnipiac zone and worked the puck down behind the Bobcat’s net. The puck tumbled to the front of the cage and India McDadi tucked it home on the backhand. Stick taps to McDadi for having the patience to put this exactly where she wanted it and not rushing her shot. Quinnipiac 5-4.

That was as close as Brown could get as Frank kept them off the board for the rest of regulation. The Bears go home empty-handed, but what a weekend of games! You’ll see Brown back here next year as even though they are losing some key players, the squad is young and stacked. Also losing Margot Norehad in the first certainly hurt the team’s chances in this one.

Quinnipiac moves on to face Princeton at Lake Placid while the other side of the bracket features Yale vs. Cornell. What a weekend of games waiting at Herb Brooks Arena.

Hope to see you there!

And if you’re looking for something to keep you occupied as you hit the road for Lake Placid: Lamarche was on the podcast recently and it’s an enjoyable listen while driving (or watching if you’re on a team bus).

If you’ve read this far you’re clearly a fan of the women’s game. Please like, share, subscribe and follow us on all socials @BTGHockeyPod and give the podcast a try. Thanks!

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