ITHACA, N.Y. – Victoria Vigilanti was nearly perfect in net, making 32 saves on home ice to lead Quinnipiac to a 4-1 victory over No. 4 Cornell on Friday afternoon.
The Big Red (19-5, 14-5 ECAC Hockey) was stymied until the game’s final minute when Brianne Jennerscored an extra-attacker power-play goal that she redirected in off a Cassandra Poudrier slapshot.
The Bobcats (15-10-3, 9-6-2) scored goals in the first and second period and added two empty-netters in the game’s final two minutes.
The loss was Cornell’s first to an unranked team this season and Cornell’s first to Quinnipiac in the teams’ last eight meetings.
Lauren Slebodnick had a very good day despite the loss, making 26 saves overall.
With winter storm Nemo causing time changes and game postponements across the conference, the Big Red and Bobcats played six hours earlier than originally scheduled. The time change did not seem to impact the Bobcats’ offense, as they got out to a quick start in the first period.
Quinnipiac got on the board at the 15:34 mark, scoring just two seconds after a Cornell penalty expired. A shot from the left point by Regan Boulton was slowed down and had its direction changed by a body in front. The shot clanged off the left post and floated to the middle of the goal where it stayed on the line and Slebodnick did not see it. Erica Uden Johansson came in from the right to tap the puck over the line and give the home team its 1-0 lead.
Cornell had two power plays in the period, but both were negated almost immediately by penalties against the Big Red. Erin Barley-Maloney went into the box for tripping 20 seconds after Kelly Babstock took a boarding penalty, and Jessica Campbell was sent to the box just five seconds after Quinnipiac’s Nicole Connery was called for tripping. Those Cornell penalties turned a potential four combined minutes of power play into just 25 seconds of man-advantage combined.
Slebodnick was excellent in the period, though, turning away 14 Bobcats shots. That barrage was the third-most she faced in a period all season.
Cornell was much better in the second period but was still unable to get a puck past Vigilanti. The Big Red outshot the Bobcats 12-4 in the period and had a three-on-one opportunity at one point, but Vigilanti saved a shot by Jess Brown to keep Cornell off the scoreboard.
The third period saw fairly even play, but Cornell was again unable to best Vigilanti until it was already too late. Despite two consecutive minutes of offensive possession on a power play with about nine minutes to go, Cornell was unable to get the puck through Quinnipiac defensemen and to Vigilanti for most of the power play.
The Big Red again got the man advantage with 2:12 to go, but Kelly Babstock sealed the game with an empty-net goal from her own end line. With the score at 3-0, Cornell had an extra attacker and the man advantage, and that’s when Jenner got her 27th goal of the year. Poudrier took a shot from the right point and it deflected off Jenner and past Vigilanti.
Babstock ended the game with her second empty-net goal with just 4.8 seconds showing on the clock.
The Big Red returns to action on Saturday when it takes on Princeton at Hobey Baker Rink at 4 p.m.
