Quinnipiac finished off a home-and-home sweep of Princeton on Saturday with a 4-0 win. Victoria Vigilanti finished with 21 saves for her first shutout of the season. With the win, Quinnipiac extends its win streak to five.
“I think Vigilanti is getting more solid in terms of positioning, and she is not scrambling as much,” Quinnipiac coach Rick Seeley said. “She is staying on her feet unless it is necessary for her to go down. I thought a lot of the weaker goals we gave up at the beginning of the year were because she was scrambling and the defense was scrambling. When [Vigilanti] is more under control, the team is more under control.”
Vigilanti agrees that her success is coupled with the defense.
“We are just getting really good chemistry in the D-zone,” Vigilanti said. “We are making simple plays and having fun out there. We are having conversations on the ice, and we are talking really well.”
Nicole Brown’s goal 3:41 into the second period proved to be the game-winner. Kelly Babstock won the faceoff at the right circle and skated through her defender. Babstock fed Brown in front, where she tipped the puck past Princeton’s Kimberly Newell.
“Babstock and I have been practicing that a lot,” Brown said. “With her being a right-handed shot, she can tip the puck forward and with me being a lefty I just to have to go to the net with my stick on the ice.”
Quinnipiac extended its lead with 1:37 left in the second period on an Erica Uden Johansson power-play goal. After Ali Pankowski went to the box for her second hooking call in four minutes, the Bobcats went on the advantage. Nicole Kosta fed Uden Johansson at the bottom of the right circle, and she ripped a top-shelf shot just inside the right post to put the Bobcats up 2-0.
The Bobcats added to their lead 1:20 later on Babstock’s 20th goal of the season. Babstock forced a turnover in the slot and quickly wristed a shot that beat Newell blocker side for the 3-0 lead.
“At this point in the season, we can fix just about everything,” Princeton coach Jeff Kampersal said. “On the power play, we had a couple of tweaks and looks that we didn’t make. Overall execution in terms of making a play or catching a pass, we didn’t do it at the critical times.”
Brittany Lyons scored one more late in the third to finish off the scoring for Quinnipiac.
Both teams have significant time off over the holiday, and do not return to the ice until after the New Year. Princeton is back on the ice at Connecticut on Jan. 2, while the Bobcats don’t play again until an exhibition against McGill on Jan. 5.
