Quinnipiac University
Rensselaer
Chelsea Laden Breaks Single Season Program Record with 10th Shutout With 1-0 Blanking of Rensselaer
1/3/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Ice Hockey
TROY, New York – Just one day after tying the program record for shutouts in a season, goaltender Chelsea Laden (Lakeville, Minnesota) broke the record with her 10th shutout of the season in a 1-0 shutout of Rensselaer Saturday afternoon at Houston Field House.
Laden needed just eight saves to record her second straight shutout to start the 2015 calendar season. Laden broke the previous program of shutouts in a season of 9, set by former goaltender Victoria Vigilanti during the 2010-11 season.
The weekend shutout sweep of Union and Rensselaer was the Bobcats first weekend shutout sweep since Oct. 17-18, 2014 when they achieved the feat against the Maine Black Bears with 4-0 and 2-0 shutouts.
Taylar Cianfarano (Oswego, New York) scored her team leading ninth goal of the season, which also stood as the game-winner. It was Cianfarano's fifth game-winning of the season as she moves into a first place tie for the national lead with Minnesota's Dani Cameranesi. Cianfarano also moved into a first place tie for the national lead in goals scored by a rookie with Wisconsin's Annie Pankowski.
Nicole Connery (Newmarket, Ontario) recorded her seventh assist of the season on Cianfarano's game-winning goal while Morgan Fritz-Ward (Mason City, Iowa) tallied her eighth assist.
Rensselaer goaltender Kelly O'Brien kept the Engineers right in the game, allowing just the game-winner scored by Cianfarano. O'Brien made several difficult saves to hold the Bobcats to just one goal.
Quinnipiac outshot Rensselaer 34-8 in the contest, including an incredible 15-1 in the first period. The Engineers recorded five shots in the third period but a last minute extra attacker effort could not produce a goal.
Neither team was successful on the power play as the Bobcats went 0-3 with the man advantage while the Engineers were 0-1 in their only opportunity.
Cianfarano put the Bobcats on top 1-0 with 4:48 remaining in the second period and they didn't look back. Morgan Fritz-Ward sent the puck down the boards from the neutral zone to behind the RPI goal. Connery chased the puck down, spun and found Cianfarano in the slot where she ripped a shot high glove side that Rensselaer goaltender Kelly O'Brien couldn't save.
The Bobcats return to action with their second mid-week game of the season on Tuesday when they face the Princeton Tigers at High Point Solutions Arena with puck drop set for 7 P.M.
