Rose Carotta ,Women’s Ice Hockey Beat Writer

Quinnipiac women’s ice hockey sophomore goaltender Felicia Frank’s second season with the Bobcats featured broken records and an ECAC Championship.

Frank hails from Falköping, Sweden, and last played for Brynäs IF in the Swedish Women’s Hockey League before her time at Quinnipiac University. She was named best goaltender of the 2023 World Championships after she posted a .895 save percentage and led the Sweden U18 team to a silver medal.

The transition from playing professionally in her home country to the collegiate level in the United States wasn’t easy.

“I had a hard time my first year, especially first semester. It was really hard and I couldn’t like feel like I was myself,” Frank said. “I was just like scared to actually like speak to someone because I was like scared of the language.”

In 2024, the goaltender joined the roster alongside seven other first-years, including her now-roommate, sophomore defenseman Ella Sennick. Frank identified Sennick as a significant support system when it came to adjusting to life in the United States.

“I’ve become way more confident in myself because she is like understanding how I feel. Like if I can’t like explain something, I’m like, ‘OK, wait, I need to think about how to explain this.’ She was like, ‘OK, just take your time,’” said Frank.

Sennick agreed that her relationship with “Frankie” has been a highlight of her time at Quinnipiac.

“With Frankie, like, especially this year, we’ve done, like, every single little thing together,” Sennick said. “It’s just nice to have someone that when we go back to the dorm, like, we kind of take a break from hockey.”

A strong connection built by players can be crucial to building an even stronger team. Members of the current sophomore class haven’t been the only ones supporting Frank since she left Sweden. Athletic trainer Carrie Gaydos saw firsthand the way that the upperclassmen were able to make Frank feel at home.

“When she came to Q, she was . . . for sure homesick . . . that’s where some of the older athletes will step in,” said Gaydos. “They took her to IKEA a lot for like the meatballs and just to have her in a place where she could see some of the words that she recognized.”

Player accountability is prevalent in the program, and the student-athletes go above and beyond to make sure every person feels supported.

“They wanna try and make everybody feel welcome. I feel like they reach out, they do what they can to really make everybody, no matter their background or what they’re facing, as a family,” said Gaydos.

Off-the-ice support is just as important as on-the-ice support. Frank and Sennick must work closely during games since they’re both a part of the team’s defensive line.

Sennick is an integral part of the team’s defensive effort in front of the net. She led the team with 78 blocks this past season in her effort to support Frank.

“I like to hear her side of the things, like her games, like what she saw, because obviously, like, you know, we’re both on the D side of things, but she sees things differently as me,” said Sennick. “It’s like mutual feedback that like, you know, we both take into consideration to kind of, you know, help each other be better.”

The personal relationships and commitments to getting better are major pillars in what the women’s ice hockey team lives by: the team culture.

The time and care that the team invests in its athletes is why Quinnipiac can become a second home for international players like Felicia Frank.

“The type of athlete we recruit is super important. And I think the girls have been fantastic . . . by the time they leave as seniors . . .  it’s incredible to see the rate of growth, how beautiful they are, just inside and out,” said Gaydos. “And we really, I think, provide, obviously, a D1 athlete model, but we’re also making them better people.”

Putting students first in collegiate competition gives all athletes the chance to succeed, regardless of the struggles they face.

“I think I’ve grown so much as a person because of the team culture we have. And I’ve become way more confident with the language and academics here. But also, how I play as a hockey player,” said Frank. “I can be myself on the ice and play my own game. And have my team support me.”