LAKE PLACID, N.Y. – The Quinnipiac Bobcats are the 2026 ECAC Women’s Ice Hockey Champions. 

Let that feeling sink in.

For the first time in a decade, the Bobcats finished the job. If you ask the players, victory was never a question. 

“I didn’t have a doubt the whole entire game,” graduate student defenseman and captain Mia Lopata said. “I was like oh, we’re gonna win.”

From the opening face-off, it looked like Lopata’s confidence wasn’t just because of her familiarity with Lake Placid. It had seeped into every crevice of the team. 

It started with the Bobcats’ strengths: Complete resilience under pressure. 

Within the first five minutes of the contest, sophomore defender Makayla Watson took a tough tripping penalty to put the Bulldogs on the man advantage. The back-and-forth play that characterized the opening minutes of the period could’ve abruptly ended, with the Yale Bulldogs taking full offensive advantage. 

“They are an incredible offensive team,” head coach Cass Turner said. “They pressure you so hard in the neutral zone on the forecheck.”

But the Quinnipiac penalty kill proved why it’s one of the best in the nation. Not only did the Bobcats prevent Yale from finding the back of the net, but they were dominant. Turner credits that nationally-recognized success with a man down to assistant coach Amanda Alessi.

“We’ve really killed penalties in a way that is who we are, versus being worried about the other team,” Turner said. “I can’t be more proud of (Alessi) to get our unit playing the way they did today.”

That defensive effort translated to the other side of the puck. Seconds after the Watson penalty expired, the Brooks, Alberta native would find the stick of freshman forward Ella Johnson at the edge of the Yale defensive zone. 

Rising to the opportunity, Johnson would punch the puck past Yale’s ALL-ECAC Rookie Team freshman goaltender Samson Fray, putting the Bobcats up one with her first goal of the ECAC Tournament.

From then on, there was never a doubt. 

The unsung heroes of the Bobcats side continued to shine as the period progressed. Even though the third line of forwards graduate student Laurence Frenette, senior Tesssa Holk and freshman Peyton Cormier was held off the scoresheet over the championship weekend, their presence was felt with their quickness.

“It’s a testament to our team that anyone can score,” senior defenseman Zoe Uens said. “Anyone can play big minutes, and anyone can play any role.”

Senior forward Emerson Jarvis went right along with this. Each skater was fast to every puck, preventing the Yale offense from getting set up. The threat from the quick-footed Bobcat forwards prevented the “ambitious” Bulldog side from entering the zone for extended periods.

“They’re so ambitious,” Turner said. “We got to get the puck out, we got to get the puck in.”

Defensively, the Bobcats continued to shine. The full team defensive effort that has steadily improved all season seemed to peak against Quinnipiac’s biggest rival. Unlike against Princeton, the Bobcats didn’t falter in the second period. Even with two trips to the penalty box in the second, Quinnipiac continued to stifle Yale.  

However, the battle the Bobcats alluded to after the Princeton victory was absolutely present, as Yale clawed hard to tie the contest in the middle period. 

“Our group’s special, and we know that, but I think going through different adversity…we take it forward, and we support each other,” Watson said. 

One of the team’s biggest supporters resides in Quinnipiac’s own net. 

“Frankie has been the heart and soul of our team this year,” Watson said. “She’s played every single game, and backstopped us to some incredible wins, and we’re so lucky to have her.”

Sophomore goaltender Felicia Frank had another incredible performance at Herb Brooks Arena. If there were any doubts that the Falkoping, Sweden native was deserving of the ECAC Goalie of the Year Award, look no further than her penalty killing. 

Frank’s four timely saves on the Quinnipiac penalty kill following sophomore forward Avery Bairos’s second snipe of championship weekend kept the momentum rolling for the Bobcats. 

“She’s also just so calm back there,” Watson said. “As a defender, knowing that you have (Frank) behind you, you know she’s going to have your back.”

That comfort isn’t just a product of her gameplay; it’s an innate part of Frank’s personality and her role on the team.

“She wants to do everything she can to help her team,” Turner said. “She is the most selfless person.”

Her performance wouldn’t go unnoticed. After the game, she would be awarded the Helios Hockey Most Outstanding Player Award, as she stopped 61 total shots over two games and powered the Bobcats past the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in the conference tournament. 

The Bobcat faithful who made the trip up from Hamden would also make their presence known. After every save, the crowd roared along with the Bobcat bench. 

“We’ve definitely had the most fans here cheering for us, and the little kids that came and supported us,” Lopata said. “They’re cheering definitely helps us, for sure.”

The cheering from the crowd continued after the final buzzer, with chants of “Frankie, Frankie” echoing through the rafters of the historic arena. 

The final period was all Bobcats. A Quinnipiac power play goal by Uens extended the lead to three and ended the debate of offense versus defense; just have your defenders do both. Even when Yale answered in the middle of the third period, the Bobcats didn’t panic. 

The frantic Quinnipiac squad that was present in the second and third periods of the Princeton game was long gone. Even when Yale struck back, Quinnipiac persisted. All-ECAC freshman defender Molly Boyle and senior forward Jordan Ray combined with junior forward Mariya Rauf to put a shot past Frank in the middle of the final period of play.  The Bobcats kept their cool.

For the rest of the period, the Bobcats did what they needed to, shutting down Yale’s stars once again. 

After Yale’s head coach Mark Bolding pulled freshman goaltender Samson Frey, the writing was on the wall. Johnson tallied her second of the game on the empty net. Then, when the Bulldogs pulled the Northport, N.Y. native down 4-1, Jarvis buried the dagger. 

For Jarvis, whose speed and tenacity hadn’t shown up on the score sheet this championship weekend,  it was a fitting end to the Bobcats ECAC Tournament. 

Last time Quinnipiac beat Yale in regulation on Oct. 24, junior forward Kahlen Lamarche said it best in the back halls of Ingalls Rink. 

“Winning is just so fun,” Lamarche said with a smile. 

Tonight, after winning the ECAC Championship, alternate captain Uens echoed the message.

“It’s just so fun playing with this team,” Uens said. 

Even Turner said the message going into the final period was simple. 

“We were like, ‘Let’s go have some fun,’ and that is truly what this is all about,” Turner said. 

Quinnipiac will continue its dominant campaign in the NCAA Tournament, having an automatic bid. The Bobcats will find out who they are playing on March 8 during the NCAA Women’s Ice Hockey Tournament Selection Show. The show will air on ESPNU at 11:30 a.m.