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Tag: ECAC Hockey

  • Women’s ice hockey battles for playoff positioning

    Women’s ice hockey battles for playoff positioning

    By Khalise Harris and Jake Baskin

    Quinnipiac women’s ice hockey enters the final weekend of the regular season with two crucial home games against RPI Friday Feb. 14 and Union Saturday Feb. 15.

    Before these matchups, the Bobcats sat at No. 5 in the conference standings, which makes every remaining game critical in their pursuit of a home playoff game. This past weekend, they traveled to the North Country for key conference battles against St. Lawrence and Clarkson. 

    Ice Insights

    Quinnipiac’s trip up north was filled with intense moments, as the Bobcats battled St. Lawrence and Clarkson in two pivotal matchups. With playoff positioning at stake, every play and goal mattered. The team encountered both challenges and opportunities throughout the weekend.

    Here’s a closer look at what stood out from the team’s performances against the Saints and Golden Knights.

    St. Lawrence (L, 1-2)

    In a tightly contested, low-scoring game in Canton, N.Y., St. Lawrence’s Abby Hehl netted the game’s decisive goal in the first period. Quinnipiac goalie Kaley Doyle had another strong performance with 24 saves, while the Bobcats’ penalty kill was a flawless 4-for-4. However, Quinnipiac struggled and couldn’t break through until the final minute of the game, after the Saints had already sealed the victory with an empty-net goal.

    Clarkson (L, 1-3)

    Quinnipiac came up short once again in a tightly contested defensive battle, as Clarkson’s victory pushed them ahead of the Bobcats in the race for fourth place. Sophomore forward Kahlen Lamarche provided an early answer for Quinnipiac, tying the game at one with a first-period goal, but the Golden Knights regained the lead in the second period on a goal from graduate defenseman Nicole Gosling.

    An empty-netter in the final seconds sealed the win for Clarkson, leaving the Bobcats still searching for crucial points in the standings.

    Playoff Picture

    Quinnipiac exited its North Country weekend trip tied for No. 5 in the ECAC standings, holding the tiebreaker with Yale and sitting just two points behind Clarkson for the coveted No. 4 seed and a first-round bye. As the final weekend approaches, Yale visits Colgate and Cornell this weekend, while Clarkson takes on Dartmouth and Harvard. If the Bobcats don’t secure a top-four finish, they are guaranteed to host a first-round playoff game on February 21st or 22nd.

    On the national stage, Quinnipiac enters its last two regular-season games ranked No. 9 in the PairWise rankings. With only 11 teams making the NCAA tournament — and the automatic bids for the Hockey East and NEWHA likely going to teams outside the top 11 — the Bobcats currently hold the final at-large spot. As they aim for their third NCAA tournament appearance in the previous four seasons, every game down the stretch carries significant weight.

    Award Watch

    Last week, graduate student Kaley Doyle was named one of nine semifinalists for the NCAA Goalie of the Year award. The Livonia, Michigan, native has been a standout in the net this season, posting a 12-8-3 record while ranking in the top five nationally in save percentage at an impressive .944%. The list will be narrowed to three during the conference tournament, with the winner to be announced during the Frozen Four.

  • Five takeaways from top ECAC clash between Quinnipiac, Dartmouth

    Five takeaways from top ECAC clash between Quinnipiac, Dartmouth

    By: Cameron Levasseur and Tyler Platz

    Quinnipiac men’s hockey and Dartmouth entered Friday’s matchup in Hanover, N.H. separated by just three points atop the ECAC Hockey standings, the Big Green one win away from possession of the No. 1 spot. 

    The teams left the ice with a four-point gap between them, the Bobcats winning a back-and-forth affair 5-4 in overtime thanks to a hat trick from graduate student forward Jack Ricketts.

    With just one month left in the regular season, the win gives Quinnipiac breathing room from its biggest challenger as they look for a fifth consecutive Cleary Cup as ECAC regular season champions. 

    Here’s five takeaways from the marquee battle as both sides gear up for the home stretch. 

    Dartmouth takes tie-breaker

    Because they lost in overtime instead of regulation, the Big Green took a point from Friday’s contest. That gives them four out of a possible six points from the season series with Quinnipiac after a 4-2 win over the Bobcats in November. 

    This is the first time since 2017-18 that Dartmouth has taken the season series against Quinnipiac. More importantly, it also means the Big Green hold the tiebreaker if the teams end up deadlocked in the ECAC standings at the end of the regular season. 

    –Cameron Levasseur

    The Bobcats’ penalty kill will be a strength down the stretch

    Quinnipiac’s power play might draw more attention, as the Bobcats have a 28.9% scoring percentage with the man advantage. Still, the poise Quinnipiac displayed on its penalty kill against Dartmouth could be a key strength for this team in the final month of the regular season.

    Quinnipiac already boasts the second-best penalty-killing percentage in the ECAC, quelling power plays 88% of the time. Against Dartmouth, Quinnipiac’s penalty killers showed attention to detail, consistently clearing pucks from the defensive zone. 

    During the second penalty kill following a hooking minor by Ricketts, sophomore forward Mason Marcellus made a strong hustle play, creating a breakaway opportunity in the second period. As Ricketts’ penalty expired, the Quinnipiac defense knew to clear the puck into the offensive zone, setting up Ricketts for another shorthanded opportunity.

    -Tyler Platz

    Youth in net shows again

    No team in the ECAC has a younger goaltending presence than Quinnipiac. The only program on par is Dartmouth, whose tandem of freshman Emmett Croteau and sophomore Roan Clarke matches the Bobcats’ duo of freshman Dylan Silverstein and sophomore Matej Marinov. 

    Both sides have struggled in net at times this season, but it was for Silverstein and Quinnipiac that those issues showed the most this weekend. 

    All four goals Silverstein allowed snuck through his pads after it looked like he made the initial save. And his shake in composure nearly got worse, as a likely fifth goal off a flubbed save was prevented thanks to an early whistle from an official in the third period. 

    But it’s the first lapse in a month for Silverstein, who gave up just eight goals in his previous five starts. The Bobcats must hope that this is an outlier and not a trend. 

    –Cameron Levasseur

    Dartmouth’s big guns are dangerous 

    There are few forward lines in the ECAC that compare to Dartmouth’s top unit of juniors Cooper Flinton and Luke Haymes and sophomore Nikita Nikora. There are fewer defensive pairings that can match the offensive prowess of sophomore CJ Foley and senior Ian Pierce, with the former leading the conference in points among blueliners. 

    Put all five players on the ice together and you’ve got an attacking juggernaut that utilizes every inch of the offensive zone to work the puck from low to high and create high-quality scoring chances. 

    That’s exactly how the Big Green struck first against Quinnipiac. Nikora threaded a centering pass from the right corner to Pierce, who shoveled the puck past a defender and delivered a shot for Haymes to finish the rebound. 

    In order to beat Dartmouth, those five have to be taken out of the equation. To do that, opposing teams have to limit their time and space. The Bobcats figured that out as Friday’s game went on, a piece of the puzzle that ultimately led to the win. 

    –Cameron Levasseur

    Regroup and respond

    Each time Dartmouth scored, Quinnipiac responded with energy, refusing to let the momentum swing entirely in the Big Green’s favor.

    After Dartmouth’s first goal, scored with just over two minutes remaining in the first period, Quinnipiac quickly regrouped in the defensive zone and surged up the ice on the next rush. It created  back-to-back opportunities—a shot from first-year forward Chris Pelosi that just missed wide, followed by Marcellus firing low, stick-side off a shot from the point.

    Following Dartmouth’s second goal midway through the second period, the Bobcats won the ensuing faceoff. They then dumped the puck into Dartmouth’s defensive zone and senior defenseman Davis Pennington’s forecheck forced a turnover in front of the net. Croteau barely was able to swipe the puck off Ricketts’ stick to prevent Quinnipiac from getting right back on the board.

    Dartmouth’s third goal tied the game at 3-3 with about nine minutes left in regulation. On the following shift, Quinnipiac once again dumped the puck into the offensive zone before making a line change. As Dartmouth attempted to break out, junior forward Victor Czerneckianair disrupted the play, nearly forcing a turnover behind the net before tucking the puck out front for a scoring opportunity.

    –Tyler Platz