A first period four-goal outburst by the No. 4 Quinnipiac Bobcats led them to a commanding 6-0 win over the University of New Hampshire Wildcats in a nonconference game Friday night.
Senior Nicole Connery had a three-point night, posting an assist on the first goal as well as goals in the first and second period. Her second goal was in along the goal line, where she got a hard shot in and over New Hampshire’s Hilary Cashin.
“I was trying to [roof it] and I honestly thought I missed the net,” Connery laughed. “Then everyone stopped, I couldn’t even see it. I think it got stuck in the net. Honestly, it surprised myself. The puck just came at a 90-degree angle right to me. I guess I was on a good spot on the back door.”
Freshman Kyra Smith started for the Wildcats, but was pulled in favor of Cashin after giving up four goals in the first 12 minutes of play. Coming out for the second period, UNH seemed to have shifted its game.
“We made some mental mistakes and they took advantage of them,” New Hampshire coach Hilary Witt said. “I think the kids are confident that they can play with teams like that. We just gotta do it for the whole game.”
Witt still has some optimism in her team’s work so far in the season after going 7-13-1 overall, with a 5-8-0 record in Hockey East. The Wildcats play their last game of the calendar year on Sunday at Yale.
“We gotta keep getting better every day,” Witt said. “We’ve got to improve every day. I think we have to get better and our kids know we have to get better, and they work hard. If we get better every day, then we’re gonna have a lot of success.”
One large loss for the Bobcats was Taylar Cianfarano late in the third period after taking a puck to the wrist while blocking a shot high in the defensive zone. She threw her gloves off and darted straight to the locker room and did not return.
Cianfarano leads Quinnipiac with 17 goals and 30 points on the year. Quinnipiac coach Cassandra Turner could not specifically comment on what the injury was, but remained optimistic.
“I’m not sure yet; I haven’t gotten the opportunity to talk to her, but I can tell you just like anyone else on our team,” she said. “TT is a tough player. She’ll do everything she can to be healthy.”
The win gives Quinnipiac a 27-9-3 record in the 2015 calendar year, and 14-1-3 end the first half of Turner’s inaugural season as head coach. Turner is more than thrilled with the way her team has handled being put to the test thus far.
“Today is our final exam of the semester, and we want to get an A. I think there were some things today overall we could have been better at, but overall I’d give our team an A. We’ve continued to get better, we’ve continued to find ways to score goals. We’re happy to have that be the end moving into our break.”
