TROY, N.Y. – Senior captain Emma Woods scored four goals to lead the eighth-ranked Quinnipiac University women’s hockey team to a 6-1 victory over Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) on Saturday afternoon at the Houston Field House. With the win, the Bobcats improve to 13-4-3 (7-2-1 ECAC Hockey), while the Engineers drop to 5-14-1 (2-6-0 ECAC Hockey).
After a scoreless first period in which the Rensselaer held a 5-4 edge in shots, Woods (Burford, ON/Team Ontario Red) broke the deadlock at 7:23 of the second. Freshman Abby Cleary (Buffalo, NY/NJ Colonials) and junior Alicia Barry (Hanson, MA/Assabet Valley) picked up the helpers.
Freshman Kenzie Prater (Hudson, WI/Hill Murray School) doubled the Quinnipiac lead at 11:57 of the frame, firing past RPI sophomore goaltender Lovisa Selander (Sollentuna, Sweden/SDE Riksserien) for her fifth goal of the year. Sophomore Melissa Samoskevich (Sandy Hook, CT/U-18 USA National Team) earned the lone assist.
A Woods power play goal at 6:43 of the third gave the visitors a 3-0 lead. Senior Taryn Baumgardt (Innisfail, AB/Warner Warriors) found junior T.T. Cianfarano (Oswego, NY/U-18 USA National Team) at the bottom of the right circle. She then slipped a pass across the front of the net for Woods to tap in on the back door.
Woods made it a hat trick at 10 minutes even, catching the Engineers in a goaltender return after Selander had been pulled for an extra attacker. Just 1:38 later, Woods scored her fourth of the game and eighth of the year, with assists to Cianfarano and Baumgardt. The power play tally made it a 5-0 lead for the Bobcats.
Junior Shayna Tomlinson (Gilford, NH/Assabet Valley) got the Engineers on the board at 13:55 of the third, sneaking a shot inside the right post for her first of the season. Senior captain Laura Horwood (Belleville, ON/Durham West Lightning) earned the lone assist.
Cianfarano completed the scoring right before the final horn, as she buried a man advantage tally at 19:59. Samoskevich and Baumgardt had the helpers on Cianfarano’s 11th of the season.
Bobcats senior netminder Sydney Rossman (Excelsior, MN/Minnetonka High School) picked up the win, turning in 17 saves, while Selander finished with 22.
RPI is now idle until January 6 and 7, when it hosts Brown and Yale at the Houston Field House. Quinnipiac welcomes Penn State to Hamden, Conn. on December 30.
