HAMDEN — The No.7 Quinnipiac Bobcats took on the No. 10 Clarkson Golden Knights for the first time this season Saturday afternoon, tying the visiting Knights 0-0.
The Bobcats’ 14th game of the 2025-26 season was much more than a clash of top ECAC teams. Clarkson defeated Quinnipiac in the 2024 ECAC tournament, halting Quinnipiac’s chance at not only the conference title, but a national championship run as well.
Although the Knights roster is made up of 16 newcomers, the most Clarkson has rostered since 2003, the sting from last season’s result is on the mind of many of the returning Bobcats.
“We talked about it before going into the game. They were the ones that ended our season last year, so there was definitely that tension,” graduate student defender and captain Mia Lopata said.
That tension was palpable on the ice. These two teams are constantly at odds and the squads are unafraid to show it. Matching penalties in the first, from sophomore winger Great Brezenski and senior center Emerson Jarvis for roughing and body checking, respectively, made that abundantly clear. Neither team was taking this game lightly.
“We were on the bench joking that everyone says, ‘Oh Yale’s our rival,’ Lopata said. But that’s just because it’s the men’s rival. Clarkson’s truly our rival. Every game feels like a playoff game when we play them.”
That playoff feel is for good reason. Coming into the contest, one point separated Quinnipiac and Clarkson in ECAC standings. At the time of publication, the top five teams in the conference are separated by just one and a half points.
“This is what the ECAC brings for us,” head coach Cass Turner said. “It pushes you to a place where you really get better every single game.”
At first, that physical playoff-like style of play seemed to foil the Bobcats. Clarkson was skating circles around the home squad, with the disparity in physicality and shots leaving one to wonder if this contest was going to mirror that of the playoff exit last season.
Even with the Knights’ initial domination of puck possession, it was once again the stellar work of sophomore goalie Felicia Frank that kept Clarkson off the scoresheet.
Frank’s 32 saves in the contest only cemented her importance to Quinnipiac’s success. A top goaltender in the NCAA, Frank’s 0.951 save percentage is best in the nation among goalies with at least 10 games played, as is her 12 wins.
“She has so much poise and confidence,” Turner said.
Quinnipiac would need every ounce of that poise and confidence going into the second period. The Bobcats were able to wrestle a bit of control from the hands of Clarkson after two Knights penalties in the second gave Quinnipiac the man-advantage, but the offensive issues remained. In the offensive zone, things just weren’t clicking.
“We had some chances where (the puck) maybe bounced past us, some of those composure plays to stop and be in good positions,” Turner said. “Just dial in, and make plays you need to make.”
The third period was very similar. A few Quinnipiac chances, including a play that had Clarkson’s graduate student goaltender Holly Gruber turned almost fully around, with Clarkson being just as eager to pounce on Frank and the Bobcat defense.
What really stood out was the chippiness. A bit of extracurriculars after the whistle is normal, especially in a game as tight and low-scoring as this one. However, Clarkson and Quinnipiac took it to a new level.
It started at the end of the second, when Quinnipiac junior forward Kahlen Lamarche began grappling with a Golden Knight in front of the Bobcat bench. Lamarche’s stick was then knocked out of her hands to no whistle.
It was to no one’s surprise that the Sudbury native — Quinnipiac’s leading scorer — would be kept in check by the Clarkson defense. What wasn’t expected was how hard Lamarche would get hit in that process.
Once again in front of the Bobcat bench. Lamarche would be fully laid out by Clarkson defender Kate Manness, earning the Bobcats another power play.
But Quinnipiac wouldn’t convert, getting in penalty trouble themselves at the end of the third with two defenders, senior Zoe Uens for holding and sophomore Makayla Watson for interference, taking trips to the penalty box to end regulation time.
Even with the penalties in such a high-stakes moment, the Bobcats kept composure, fending off the Clarkson power play.
“We did a nice job getting into shooting lanes,” Turner said. “We found clears when we needed to. We won face-offs.”
The success of the penalty kill kept the Bobcats’ chances of a victory intact into overtime, but it was the most important penalty killer that kept Quinnipiac from losing its first home contest of the season. Six high-leverage saves by Frank to blank the Knights in the final frame would earn the Bobcats the extra half of a point in ECAC standings.
Even though Quinnipiac would put four shots on Gruber in the overtime period, sticks had gone cold. Nothing was working, even in the shootout. Although the final score officially stands as a tie, the subsequent shoot-out following the final whistle would only demonstrate just how quiet the Quinnipiac offense was.
Three Bobcat attempts, three shots that failed to hit the back of the net.
Even with Frank standing on her head, there was only so much she could do. Junior center Janelle Evans would score on the Golden Knights’ first penalty shot, which would prove to be enough to take the unofficial shoot-out win.
Although the result was not necessarily what the Bobcats were looking for, a 12-day break between matchups gives the squad time to get their mind and body right.
“This is an amazing opportunity, and it comes at such a good time,” Turner said. “We’re definitely going to be looking to take advantage of that and get some recovery, but also get some good work in that will help us to be ready to go against Princeton.”
Quinnipiac returns to the road on Nov. 20, travelling to Princeton, N.J., to take on the Princeton University Tigers. Puck drop is set for 6 p.m.
