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Losses in conference openers extend women's hockey's skid

Bruno totals just 19 shots on goal in weekend contests against No. 5 Quinnipiac, Princeton


The women’s ice hockey team was scoreless this weekend, losing 4-0 to No. 5 Quinnipiac Friday night and 3-0 to Princeton Saturday at Meehan Auditorium.


Friday night was the home opener for Bruno (0-4-0, 0-2-0 ECAC), which looked to bounce back from a pair of road losses against Maine last weekend. The Bobcats (5-1-1, 1-1-0) rolled into Providence riding a four-game winning streak and showed why they are regarded as one of the top teams in the country.


Melissa Samoskevich got the scoring started for Quinnipiac eight minutes in, capitalizing on a Brown turnover to put the puck past goalie Monica Elvin ’17. Elvin held off the remainder of Quinnipiac’s 14 shots in the period, keeping the deficit at one after the first 20 minutes.


Head Coach Bob Kenneally ’90 said he was pleased with Elvin’s effort, praising her for keeping Brown in the game. “To have it be a 1-0 game after the first period was really all due to her,” he said.


Elvin “did awesome, — she is the backbone of the team,” said co-captain Alison Rolandelli ’16.


The Bears managed only two shots on goal in the first period and would not put another one on net until there were just two minutes left in the second period. During this drought, Quinnipiac kept the puck in the offensive zone and peppered Elvin with shots. Taylar Cianfarano blasted home a slap shot, and Nicole Brown added another goal four minutes later to give the Bobcats a comfortable 3-0 lead after two periods. Cianfarano added the final goal with 1:43 left in the game.


Without a single shot on net in the third, Brown never truly tested Quinnipiac goalie Sydney Rossman. The Bobcats used their speed and passing to keep constant pressure on Elvin and the rest of the Brown defense. In addition to the 33 saves from Elvin, Brown skaters blocked 28 shots.


Kenneally put the loss in perspective against a top-tier team like Quinnipiac.


“They just have so much talent. That team could win the national championship when it’s all said and done,” he said. The Bears “really hung in there and didn’t give up, and I’m proud of them,” he added.


The team faced a quick turnaround for its second game against Princeton, which has gained some national attention as well. Julianne Landry ’18 was between the pipes for Brown, splitting the weekend with Elvin like against Maine.


Princeton got off to a quick start, grabbing the lead three minutes in on a goal from Cassidy Tucker. In the first 20 minutes alone, six penalties were called, four of which went against Princeton. Brown had several opportunities on the power-play, including a 5-on-3 advantage for 1:03, but the Bears could not find the back of the net. Bruno went 0-for-6 on the power-play in the game. The Tigers had more success with the man advantage, as Kelsey Koelzer snuck a backhand past Landry at the 13-minute mark of the first period after Cynthia Kyin ’18 was sent away for holding.


Despite being outshot again, Bruno looked capable of hanging with the Tigers, as the lead held steady at 2-0 for the rest of the second period.


But the prospects for a comeback looked bleak after Princeton took control with a goal from Morgan Sly two minutes into the third period.


“We gave up an early goal and you could see the air come out of the balloon a little bit,” Kenneally said.


The Bears put up 16 shots, a significant improvement after registering only three on Friday night. Sam Donovan ’18 led the team with five shots on net, several of which came on the multiple power-plays that Brown received.


Kenneally again was pleased with the effort of his goalie. Landry “played really well, and she kept us in the game,” he said.


Kenneally added that Landry and Elvin will likely continue to split time.


“They’re both playing so well right now,” he said. “This is a process, and we need them both. It’s a long year.”


Brown will continue conference play next weekend with two more games against nationally-ranked teams. Bruno will play Friday against No. 10 Dartmouth and Saturday against No. 8 Harvard at Meehan Auditorium.

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