Team Notes: No.10 Quinnipiac Hosts Clarkson and St. Lawrence
Home Sweet Home
The Quinnipiac women's ice hockey team (16-8-1, 8-6-0 ECAC Hockey)
returns to home ice for the first time in almost two months when it
hosts ECAC Hockey opponents Clarkson (9-13-3, 6-6-1 ECAC Hockey) on
Friday, Jan. 28 and St. Lawrence (12-11-2, 7-6-0 ECAC Hockey) on
Saturday, Jan. 29. Friday night's game is scheduled for a 7 p.m.
start, while puck drops at 4 p.m. on Saturday afternoon.
Follow The Bobcats
Live Stats for this weekend's games can be accessed by clicking on
the appropriate links on the women's ice hockey schedule at
www.quinnipiacbobcats.com.
About Clarkson University
The Golden Knights are on a two game winning streak after
defeating both Yale and Brown on Friday, Jan., 21 and Saturday,
Jan. 22, respectively. On Friday against Yale, Clarkson pulled out
a 2-1 victory in overtime on a goal from senior forward Melissa
Waldie at the 3:25 mark into the extra frame. On Saturday against
Brown, Clarkson opened up offensively and defeated the Bulldogs,
5-3. Waldie again led the way with two goals (12 goals, six assists
on the season), while junior forward Gabrielle Kosziwka, freshman
forward Jamie-Lee Rattray (team-high 10 assists), and sophomore
forward Danielle Skirrow each netted one goal for the Golden
Knights. Freshman goaltender Erica Howe stopped 39 total shots in
the two weekend games to earn her fourth and fifth wins on the
season. Howe has accumulated a 1.78 goals against average and a
.927 save percentage while splitting time with senior netminder
Lauren Dahm. Damn has a 2.63 goals against average and a ,918
save percentage on the season.
All-Time Against The Golden Knights
Friday's game will be the 16th time Quinnipiac
faces Clarkson, with the Golden Knights leading the all-time series
3-10-2. In their last meeting earlier this month on Saturday, Jan.
8 in Potsdam, N.Y., the Bobcats came away with one of the most
exciting victories of the season, defeating Clarkson 3-2 in
overtime. Freshman forward Kelly
Babstock (Mississauga, Ontario) netted all three goals for
the Bobcats, including the game-winning goal with just 1:45
remaining in the overtime frame. The hat trick for Babstock was her
team-high third of the season, while the win for Quinnipiac was the
first this season when trailing after the first period. Sophomore
goaltender Victoria
Vigilanti (Woodbridge, Ontario) turned away 30 shots on
the afternoon.
About St. Lawrence University
The Saints come to Hamden riding a three-game winning streak,
including a weekend sweep of Brown and Yale on Friday, Jan. 21 and
Saturday, Jan. 22, respectively. On Friday against Brown, the
Saints won 4-2 and on Saturday against Yale they shutout the
Bulldogs 2-0. Leading scorers Kelly Sabatine (13 goals, 11 assists)
and Vanessa Emond (nine goals, nine assists) each netted two goals
over the weekend, while the senior-freshman duo, Maxie Weisz and
Caitlyn Lahonen, each played in one game. On the season, Weisz has
played 16 games and accumulated a 2.32 goals against average and a
.919 save percentage, while Lahonen has played in 11 games and
posted a 2.29 goals against average and a .908 save percentage.
All-Time Against The Saints
Saturday's game against St. Lawrence will be the
12th time the two sides play each other, with the
Saints owning a 2-8-1 all-time series lead. In their last meeting
on Friday, Jan. 7, 2011, Quinnipiac netted three first period goals
en route to a 3-2 victory. Sophomore forward Brittany
Lyons (Canton, Mass.) led the charge with a goal and an
assist, while freshmen forwards Erica
Uden Johansson (Sundsvall, Sweden) and Amanda
Colin (Burnsville, Minn.) each scored as well for the
Bobcats. Vigilanti made 18 saves on the evening to earn her
13th win of the season.
Last Time Out
Quinnipiac is coming off a weekend split against non-conference
opponent Wayne State. On Friday, Jan. 21, the Bobcats were
defeated, 2-1. Sophomore defender Regan
Boulton (Brandon, Manitoba) scored the lone goal for
Quinnipiac at the 18:41 mark of the first period. The following
afternoon, on Saturday, Jan. 22., Quinnipiac skated to a 3-0 win as
junior forward Kate
Wheeler (Oakville, Ontario) led the way with two goals
scored. Freshman forward Amanda
Colin (Burnsville, Minn.) netted the third goal for
Quinnipiac at the 13:56 mark into the second period, just 17
seconds after Wheeler potted her second goal of the game. Sophomore
goaltender Victoria Vigilanti (Woodbridge, Ontario) made a solid 20
saves on the afternoon and earned her sixth shutout of the
season.
No. 10 Ranking
No. 10 Quinnipiac retained its ranking in both the January, 24,
2011 USCHO.com Division I Women's Poll and in the January, 25, 2011
USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Women's College Hockey weekly polls.
Last week, Quinnipiac earned only its second top-10 ranking in
program history in each respective poll. The Bobcats are also
ranked No.10 in the PairWise poll, which is traditionally an
accurate predictor of what teams the NCAA Selection Committee will
choose when deciding which eight teams will be chosen for the
playoff brackets.
Wheels Keep on Turnin'
Junior forward Kate
Wheeler continued to improve on her career high numbers
over the weekend. With two goals scored in a 3-0 victory over Wayne
State on Saturday, Jan. 22, Wheeler took sole possession of second
on the team in both goals (10) and total points (22). She also
ranks tied for second on the team in assists with 12. In ECAC
Hockey action, the junior forward ranks second with a +26 and is
tied for seventh in total points.
Blue Line Offense
Sophomore defender Regan
Boulton netted her eighth goal of the season on Friday,
Jan. 21 in a 2-1 loss the Wayne State. Boulton leads all Quinnipiac
defenders in goals and her 14 points trails only junior
defender Bethany
Dymarczyk (Hamden, Conn.) for the team lead in points by a
defender.
Another Clean Sheet
With her sixth shutout of the season against Wayne State on
Saturday, Jan. 22, sophomore goaltender Victoria Vigilanti tied her
career-high for most shutouts in a season. Vigilanti holds a 1.74
goals against average and a .929 save percentage, which ranks her
third and fourth, respectively, among ECAC Hockey goaltenders. She
ranks second in league play in both saves (553) and win percentage
(.646).
Road Friendly
With the win on Saturday, Quinnipiac surpassed the program record
for most road wins in a season with eight. The record was set last
season when the team held a 7-5-4 road record during the 2009-10
campaign.
Colin Chips In
Freshman forward Amanda
Colin netted her fourth goal of the season on Saturday,
Jan. 22 against Wayne State. She ranks third among freshman on the
team in goals scored and eighth overall in points with eight.
Power Play Success
Quinnipiac holds a 19.6 power play conversion percentage, which
ranks third in ECAC Hockey action and eighth in NCAA Division I
Women's Ice Hockey.
Scoring Defense
The Bobcats have one of the best scoring defenses in the country,
limiting its opponents to just 1.74 goals per game. This mark ranks
fourth-best in NCAA Division I Women's Ice Hockey.
Hat Trick Hero
Kelly
Babstock tallied her third hat trick of the season on
Saturday, Jan. 8 against Clarkson in a 3-2 overtime victory.
Babstock tied the game, 2-2, with just 5:55 remaining in the game
and then notched the game-winner with just 1:35 remaining in
overtime to seal the victory. This was also the
12th time this season in which Babstock has
registered a multiple point effort.
Comeback Kids
Saturday's overtime victory over Clarkson marked the first time
this season Quinnipiac has won a game in which it found itself
behind after the first period of play. The Bobcats are now 1-5-1 in
such games, as opposed to a perfect 11-0-0 in games which it led
after the first 20 minutes.
Sports Illustrated Takes Note
Babstock was featured in the January 17, 2011 edition
of Sports Illustrated in its "Faces in the Crowd"
section. The selection was only the second time in Quinnipiac's
history that a student-athlete was honored with such an
accolade.
Top Of The Class
Babstock has 20 goals and 21 assists on the season, as she
continues to lead all ECAC Hockey scorers in goals, assists and
points. She also ranks second among all NCAA Division I Women's Ice
Hockey freshman in goals, first in assists and is tied for first in
points. She is second in the country with seven game-winning
goals.
Recipe For Success
When Babstock scores, the possibility of a Bobcats victory
improves dramatically. Quinnipiac is 12-1-0 in games that she
lights the lamp.
Hitting Their Stride
Quinnipiac has won seven of its last nine games and 11 of its last
16. Of the final eight ECAC Hockey games remaining, four of those
will be played on its home ice.
Personal Best
With a goal and an assist of Friday, Jan. 7 against St. Lawrence,
sophomore forward Brittany
Lyons (Canton, Mass.) has now scored six goals and four
assists on the season, surpassing her previous career-high nine
point total.
Remember When...
The weekend sweep of St. Lawrence and Clarkson was the first road
weekend sweep since the opening two games of the season on October
1 and 2 against Niagara.
Torching The Net
Quinnipiac's first line, consisting of freshman Erica
Uden Johansson (Sundsvall, Sweden), junior Kate Wheeler
(Oakville, Ontario) and Babstock, have collectively accounted for
84 points on the season thus far. Wheeler and Babstock rank second
and third among ECAC Hockey Skaters with a +26 and +25 mark,
respectively.
Awarding Excellence
Aside from the Sports Illustrated feature, Babstock has
been recognized on seven separate occasions for her remarkable play
during the season. Most recently, she was named Quinnipiac's Female
Athlete Of The Month for the month of December, leading the team to
two victories in the only two games played during the month. This
was the second consecutive time Babstock has been named Female
Athlete Of The Month. She received the same accolade for the month
of November after she accumulated 10 goals and five assists in nine
games played. She is a four-time ECAC Hockey/MLX Skates Rookie of
the Week award winner, as well as a one-time Player of the Week
recipient.
On The Road
Quinnipiac travels to play ECAC Hockey opponents Dartmouth and
Harvard on Friday, Feb. 4 and Saturday, Feb. 5. Friday's game
against Dartmouth is set to start at 7 p.m., while Saturday's game
against Harvard is set for a 4 p.m. start.
