The last regular season home game in the careers of six Quinnipiac women's ice hockey seniors ended in triumph for the Bobcats over Colgate, 4-1, from the High Point Solutions Arena on Sunday.
Junior Kelly Babstock finished with two goals -- her third multi-goal game in the last four contests, while senior Regan Boulton passed Vicky Graham '05 for second place all-time in career points as her two assists, giving her 75 through 130 career games.
Quinnipiac's (17-9-3, 11-5-2 ECAC Hockey) unbeaten streak moves to six games (5-0-1) while they sweep the season series over Colgate (9-17-3, 4-11-3 ECAC Hockey) for the second consecutive season.
Before the start of today's game, seniors Breann Frykas, Felica Vieweg, Kristen Eklund, Brittany Lyons, Boulton and Victoria Vigilanti were all honored before the start of their final regular season home game. The Bobcats' core over their transcended four seasons has brought the team 77 victories, two ECAC Hockey Semifinal appearances, and several individual awards the program never earned before the start of this group's careers.
Babstock's two goals on Sunday give her 28 for the season and 52 points on the year as she currently stands just one point behind Cornell's Brianne Jenner for the ECAC Hockey lead. Boulton's two helpers give her four assists in the past two games and increases her career high assist total to 23 on the season.
Sophomore Nicole Kosta picked up two points in the victory with one goal and one assist while Vieweg scored her fourth of the season in the second period that ended up as the game-winner. Vigilanti made 21 saves in net for her fifth consecutive appearance without a loss.
Both sides played to a scoreless first period but the Bobcats clearly dominated the action with a 10-1 shots-on-goal advantage.
The Bobcats finally broke through at 4:44 in the second period with a power-play goal from Babstock. Boulton passed off to Lyons in the slot who put a shot on Colgate goalie Ashlynne Rando. The rebound was left out in front for Babstock who knocked home the goal to give Quinnipiac the lead.
Finding the game's first goal had been one the biggest keys to the Bobcats' success as they move to 13-1-1 on the year when scoring first. The energy translated into another goal less than five minutes later as Vieweg's shot from the blue line beat Rando blocker side as she couldn't locate the puck through severe traffic in front. Freshman Nicole Brown and Eklund were credited with assists on the goal.
Colgate responded in the third to apply the pressure with a goal from Brittany Phillips. The puck was shot from the blue line by Megan Wickens and deflected in front for the goal to close the gap to 2-1.
Vigilanti stepped it up as the pressure mounted in the third period with a pair of dazzling side-to-side saves including one to deny Colgate's leading scorer Jenna Klynstra on an odd-man rush. Her victory is the 68th of her stellar career as she currently sits third in the nation among active goaltenders in wins.
Despite heavy pressure from the Raiders, who finished with a 13-9 shot advantage in the third period, Quinnipiac found the insurance goal they needed off the stick of Kosta. Boulton passed over to junior Erica Uden Johansson and found the sophomore forward at the far post. Kosta lifted the shot over Rando who stretched over but couldn't stop the Bobcat's third goal of the afternoon.
With Colgate's goalie pulled for more than three minutes down the stretch, Quinnipiac finally found the empty-net goal as Kosta connected with Babstock off a Raider turnover in their defensive end. Kosta's assist is her team-leading 27th of the year while Babstock is now two goals away from matching her freshman year total of 30.
A pivotal ECAC Hockey road weekend series looms for the Bobcats as they currently sit tied with St. Lawrence in the points standings with 24. They take on the Saints on Friday in a game that will go a long way in determining home ice advantage in the ECAC Hockey Quarterfinals. The Bobcats follow with a matchup against No. 6 Clarkson on the road as crucial points will be on the line as the regular season winds down.
