Sophomore Hannah Miller notched a power play goal 25 seconds into the third period to tie the game at 1-1, but Quinnipiac’s Randi Marcon scored with 5:10 remaining in the third period to give the No. 4 Bobcats a 2-1 lead and the win in the ECAC Hockey semifinal contest with St. Lawrence on Saturday afternoon in Hamden, Conn.
After being shut out in both regular season meetings,Miller’s goal was the first for St. Lawrence against Quinnipiac this season. The Saints finished with a 17-14-6 record, while Quinnipiac will advance to the ECAC Championship to play the winner of Colgate and Clarkson.
“I couldn’t be more proud of the way we finished the season,” Head Coach Chris Wells said. “This is an incredibly resilient group; to go down 1-0 and come back like that against this Quinnipiac team was huge. Obviously it stings now, but they played their hearts out today.”
The teams were scoreless heading into the first intermission, after a well-executed game plan by the Saints to trap the Bobcats in the neutral zone, create turnovers and limit zone time for Quinnipiac.
“I think last weekend’s series with Princeton took a lot out of us; our legs were more tired than we anticipated, so to come out of the first 0-0 gave us a lot of momentum heading into the second,” Wells added.
The Bobcats took the lead at the 7:34 mark of the second period when they caught the Saints on the change and Nicole Kosta rode Miller off the play at the blue line to open up the slot for Emma Greco. Greco put a wrister bar down over the blocker of St. Lawrence netminder Grace Harrison from the slot for a 1-0 Quinnipiac lead.
At the 19:18 mark of the middle frame, Quinnipiac’s Lindsey West was sent to the penalty box for interference when she upended Brooke Webster in the corner giving the Saints 1:18 of power play time to start the third period.
They only need 25 seconds to even the score, as Brooke Webster carried into the slot and dished to Kennedy Marchment on the right post. Marchment’s shot slipped behind Bobcats goaltender Sydney Rossman to across the crease to Miller, who roofed a shot from just outside the crease for the equalizer.
Four and a half minutes later Jenna Marks was sent off for the Saints for an interference call of her own, setting the Saints up for a big penalty kill against the Bobcats fourth-ranked power play unit. Senior Sydney Bell, who has consistently been one of the top penalty killers during her career with the Saints, won two battles on the half wall to clear the zone and force Quinnipiac to reset.
At the 14:50 mark of the third, Marcon put Quinnipiac in front for good when she converted the second rebound opportunity after two monster kick saves from Harrison in close, with Raquel Pennoyer and Meghan Turner assisting.
The Saints killed a penalty late in the third period, but couldn’t get out of their own zone after returning to full strength to get Harrison to the bench for the extra attacker in the final minute.
Coach Wells called a timeout with 32 seconds to play to set up the offense, and first-year Justine Reyes had a prime scoring opportunity from point-blank range with seven seconds remaining in regulation, but was stonewalled by Rossman; the ECAC Goaltender of the Year.
Nine seniors played their final game for the Saints on Saturday: Megan Armstrong, Sydney Bell, Amanda Boulier, Kailee Heidersbach, Dominique Korakianitis, Victoria Leimgardt, Jenna Marks, Abbey McRae and Mikaela Thompson; a group Wells said helped change the culture of the women’s hockey program at St. Lawrence.
