The Quinnipiac women’s ice hockey team toppled their in-state rival, the Connecticut Huskies, with a 3-0 victory on Saturday led by an emerging young core, and showing plenty of promise for the new season.
“It’s just figuring out how we can get faster each year? And that’s [done] individually, and that’s [done by] bringing in faster players,” said Quinnipiac head coach Cassandra Turner postgame.
It was in fact the Bobcats’ speed that was on display in the first period as they struck first in the opening 30 seconds of the contest. Quinnipiac entered UConn’s zone on the rush with graduate forward Laurance Frenette firing a shot in on goal that left a rebound right on the doorstep for a crashing Kahlen Lamarche, who buried the second chance on the backhand to put the Bobcats up 1-0
The Bobcats ran a strong rush attack focused on carrying the puck into the zone, as opposed to the more dump-and-chase style of the Huskies. The Quinnipiac forecheck also proved troublesome for UConn and the Bobcats found themselves with a five-on-three advantage for almost a full two minutes in the middle of the first period.
However, after a few strong defensive stands from the Huskies and the Bobcats hitting two posts, UConn fought off the penalties.
Yet just under two minutes after the last penalty had expired the Huskies again could not clear the puck out from the zone. This time it was Kahlen Lamarche assisting on a goal from Laurence Frenette to give Quinnipiac a 2-0 advantage. Both sides seemed to even out in the dying minutes of the first period, and by the second, things were much more balanced.
The second period of this game was reminiscent of many matches between these two squads in the past. Quinnipiac has now started the last three seasons with an exhibition against UConn, with both games being decided in overtime. The Bobcats took home the first win in the 2023-2024 season with a 4-3 overtime win in Hamden. The Huskies would go on to claim last year’s season opener by a score of 2-1 in Storrs.
Needless to say this game was expected to be a close match, and the second period was much more true to that. Neither side had established possession for long. UConn had managed to draw a penalty but couldn’t muster up enough on the power play to cut the lead in half.
Quinnipiac had a chance to tack on one more before the end of the period, but senior forward Tessa Holk hit the post, the Bobcats’ third time in the game.
The third period saw the appearance of Quinnipiac’s third goalie of the game. Sophomore goalie Felicia Frank started the day and stopped all 11 shots she faced. Senior Tatum Blacker stepped in for the second period and denied all seven chances she saw before senior transfer Calli Hogarth stopped 14 shots in the third period as UConn made a late push to close the gap.
Junior defenseman Zoe Uens tallied the Bobcats third goal of the game, and their first unofficial powerplay goal of the season, midway through the second with a shot from the slot that went in low blocker side on Huskies goaltender Shannon Moran.
Despite late efforts, and an extra attacker in the final two minutes, UConn could not claw its way back into this one, and Quinnipiac held onto the lead for a 3-0 final score.
The Bobcats will kick off the regular season next weekend when they host the University of Maine Bears for two games. As for the Huskies, they’ll head back for regular season action before both squads meet again at the Nutmeg Classic in November, and potentially one last time in the spring.
