No. 7 Quinnipiac shuts out Syracuse in dominant win

Quinnipiac proved why it’s the No. 7 team in the country Friday, shutting out Syracuse women’s ice hockey 3-0 at Tennity Ice Pavilion. The Orange fell to 2-3 on the season, ending a two-game winning streak. All three losses have come against ranked teams.

After a slow start to the first period, Quinnipiac opened the scoring at 8:59. With defender Jocelyn Fiala in the box for the Orange, sophomore Taylor Brueske put one just over the left shoulder of goalie Ava Drabyk to convert the power play for the Bobcats.

Syracuse hung with the Bobcats during the first period. It won an equal number of faceoffs and held the Bobcats to just eight shots on goal. The only difference early was the power play. While Bruesky converted for the Bobcats, the Orange did not get a good shot on goal during its early opportunity.

Quinnipiac came out of the locker room to start the second period playing more aggressively, and looked far more dominant the rest of the way. 

The Bobcats capitalized early in the second period with a goal from a tough angle off the stick of junior Kahlen Lamarche. Their final goal came again on the power play, this time from senior Emerson Jarvis late in the third period.

Quinnipiac applied consistent pressure throughout the final two periods, totaling 24 shots on goal in that span. Syracuse constantly found itself defending rather than creating scoring chances of its own.

The main reason the Orange only allowed three goals was the exceptional play of Drabyk in goal. Drabyk wasn’t expected to start heading into the season, but she’s made all three starts against ranked opponents. She’s excelled thus far, keeping Syracuse in every game she’s started, even against the high-caliber competition. Her coach had high praise for her work.

“Ava’s been super steady throughout the week, leading up to the game,” Associate head coach Heather Farrell said. “She competes in practices, she works hard, and she really shows us that she’s getting better and committed to it. She keeps everything very calm for us. You can’t be happier with Ava.”

Drabyk saved 29 of the Bobcats 32 shots. 

“I think I’ve really found my place and settled in,” Drabyk said. “I was really excited, obviously that’s something everyone dreams about, and that was my dream,” she said about learning that she would be starting.

Offensively, Syracuse did have three additional power plays, but failed to take advantage of any of them. This continues a familiar trend for the Orange, who have struggled on the power play all season. Farrell believes that was a key reason in its loss Friday. 

“We had some good movement, good opportunities to take advantage on the power play, but we didn’t tonight,” Farrell said. “We were hesitant, we need to get more volume of shots. I think we gave up a couple grade A scoring opportunities on the power play today.”

The conference schedule opens next Friday against Delaware. Despite the loss tonight, Coach Farrell thinks the Orange is set up for success in AHA play. 

“If we can continue to compete this way against top-10 teams, we’re only going to get better,” she said. 

The Orange will have a shot at revenge against the Bobcats tomorrow at 3 p.m. at Tennity Ice Pavilion.