MADISON, Wis. — If fans’ lasting memory of the 2025-26 Quinnipiac women’s ice hockey team is a 6-0 loss to Wisconsin in the NCAA Tournament Regional Round Final, then they were never Bobcat fans at all. 

Because as difficult as a shutout loss is to swallow, this Bobcat team was something special. 

Losing to one of the best teams in the nation in their packed home barn doesn’t change that. 

Coming into the contest, there was no doubt the Bobcats understood the stakes. A non-conference opponent hasn’t won a game in LaBahn Arena in multiple seasons. Four Olympic gold medal winners decorate the Wisconsin roster, and 1980 men’s ice hockey gold medal winner and legendary head coach Mark Johnson stands sternly behind the bench. 

It’s daunting. 

The stands at LaBahn Arena were a sea of Badger red and white, with a single three-row section of Bobcat blue and gold. Eight national championship banners are a shadow over the ice. The fan energy in the arena rivals that of a professional team. 

It would be so easy for the Bobcats to roll over. 

But they didn’t. Far from it.

Starting from the Bobcats’ biggest strength, throughout both the regular season and their playoff run: the goaltending.

“(Sophomore goaltender Felicia Frank has been) leading us to some of our biggest wins this year,” sophomore forward Taylor Brueske said. “She put her best effort forward today, played an unreal game and kept us as close as it was.”

Frank recorded a career-high in saves against the Badgers, with 45, continuing to add to her resume as one of the top goalies in the NCAA. The Falkoping, Sweden native was getting peppered from all sides, with nine Badgers recording five or more shots on goal in the contest. 

“We were fortunate enough to get enough by her,” Johnson said. “You never know who’s going to win on any given night.” 

Her double-digit saves in each period of the contest help to add to the new Quinnipiac single-season saves record. Frank finishes the season with 1,035 saves. 

With the final score as lopsided as it was, it would be easy to dismiss the Bobcats’ defense as putting in a subpar performance. That was far from the case. Quinnipiac’s 15 blocks and countless stick checks in the defensive zone were drowned out by the final score. 

“I thought we did what we wanted to do at times, in terms of making some of their really skilled, patient players uncomfortable,” Quinnipiac head coach Cass Turner said. “But when you have four lines of that, you know at some point, it just got a little bit tough for us.”

Even with the good defensive effort, the pure volume of shots spread amongst the scorers made it next to impossible for the Bobcats to even clear the zone. Wisconsin was quick to every puck and seemed to know where the Bobcats were passing the puck before it even left their stick. 

That puck possession made all the difference for Wisconsin. The Bobcats chased the Badgers and the puck at every turn, and that started in the face-off dot. Quinnipiac only managed to win 39.2% of its faceoffs, with the majority of the draws occurring in the defensive zone. 

“It was really good, it was probably our best face-off percentage of the season,” Johnson said. “Instead of having to chase the puck, now you can make some plays…and let some of these kids do what they’re capable of doing.”

That’s exactly what Wisconsin did from nearly the opening puck drop. Each of its top six forwards recorded at least a point in the contest, with alternate captain junior forward Kelly Gorbatenko leading the way with a hat trick. Five Badger defenders also recorded a point on the afternoon. 

When the No. 2 team in the country is on and finding the back of the net, there’s only so much any defense, including the Bobcats, can do. 

“I think they put a great game on the ice, and unfortunately, we just couldn’t bounce back today,” Turner said. 

But for the Bobcats, this season was far from a failure, and the future is bright. After winning the first ECAC Championship for the squad in a decade, Turner has high hopes for the future of the program. 

“When I think back to the recruiting class that we were able to recruit when we won the last ECAC Championship, it was our strongest in program history,” Turner said. “I think, you know, coming off of this, it’s really going to put us in a position to be where we want to be, which is in the top two of the ECAC every year.”

As for the seniors, it’s a bitter goodbye for a leadership group that has meant so much for the program. 

“This group of seniors and leaders that we had, especially this year, was unmatched and definitely will go down as one of the greatest leadership groups I’ve ever played under,” sophomore defenseman Makayla Watson said. 

This team was a special one, and this final game to end the season doesn’t change that. 

“This is the most fun I’ve had coaching in my entire career,” Turner said. “This was just a really fun year, and a really special group.”