By Khalise Harris and Cameron Levasseur
There’s a wall of white banners tucked high into the far left corner of the hockey side of M&T Bank Arena, each signifying a substantial moment in the two-decade plus rise of Quinnipiac women’s hockey.
One shows a collection of 100-point scorers, another a smattering of NCAA Tournament appearances, a third listing more Nutmeg Classic titles than you can count. It’s a constant reminder of the standard expected at a preeminent hockey school.
And then there’s a banner on the left side reading, “ECAC Hockey Women’s Ice Hockey Tournament Champions.” Below it, a single year stands alone – 2015-16. It’s a another kind of reminder: one of coming up just short.
That was the first season with head coach Cass Turner at the helm. Quinnipiac won four ECAC Tournament games in 10 days to bring home the conference title. It’s won five in the nine years since.
To contend for the ECAC crown in 2025, the Bobcats (20-10-4, 13-9-0 ECAC) will have to fight an uphill battle. Entering the tournament as the No. 5 seed, every team above them (Cornell, Colgate, St. Lawrence and Clarkson) is ranked in the top-10 nationally.
So what is going to take for Quinnipiac to get back over the hump? Just ask the Bobcats who have already done it. Except when they did it, they were not wearing Quinnipiac’s blue and gold.
Junior forward Tessa Holk joined Quinnipiac last fall for her junior season. She already has two ECAC titles to her name as a freshman and sophomore with Colgate. The Raiders followed up the latter win with a Frozen Four appearance.
“I’ve shared (that) everything we do matters,” Holk said. “Having that championship mentality through each game, knowing that in the back of your mind, that you’ve been there before.”
Junior forward Tessa Holk has 10 points in 34 games in her first season with Quinnipiac. (Quinnipiac Athletics)
Graduate forward Kathryn Stockdale made history with UConn in 2024. She helped lead the Huskies to their first Hockey East Championship, scoring the overtime winner in a semifinal bout against Boston College.
“In the back of your head, you know it’s do or die,” Stockdale said. “It’s good nerves, translating nerves to more energy … Everything is just 110% and dedication is really high.”
Quinnipiac starts its playoff journey by hosting Harvard in the ECAC Opening Round on Saturday. The Bobcats swept the Crimson (2-24-2, 1-20-1 ECAC) in the regular season, earning 1-0 and 2-1 victories and extending their dominance in the matchup to 9-1 over the last 10 meetings. That includes a 9-0 trouncing in the opening round of last year’s conference tournament.
However, past success does not guarantee future results. It’s tough to beat a team twice, even tougher to do it three times. That’s why Quinnipiac is focused on a fresh mindset as the playoffs begin.
“The term ‘new season’ has been thrown around a lot,” Stockdale said. “Just emphasizing this is a new season — it’s playoff season, and that’s an advanced season. It’s not like you can take it lightly or else you’re done.”
“It’s also acknowledging that exact same thing is happening on the other end, with other teams,” Holk said. “No matter what your record is coming into playoffs, it’s completely wiped … it’s a whole new game.”
Holk and Stockdale’s championship pedigrees bring a unique advantage to a Quinnipiac team eager to make its mark in the ECAC playoffs. Their experience on title-winning teams have given them a deep understanding of what it takes to succeed when the stakes are at their highest. Now, as leaders in the Bobcats’ locker room, they have the opportunity to instill that championship mindset in their teammates.
“This is the best time of the year,” Holk said. “Playoffs are the best … (It’s about) embracing that and being present in the moment and enjoying every step because this is why we’re athletes at this level, because we love this pressure, we love this feeling of we can get something that’s huge. We can get a championship.”
For Quinnipiac, that means embracing the details, staying disciplined in its systems, bringing energy to every shift, and trusting that the preparation put in throughout the season will pay off.
It also means ignoring all of that and embracing the moment.
“Just taking it step by step, game by game, not getting too far ahead,” Holk said. “It’s right there for us but it’s just about taking every game as it is.”
Stockdale’s UConn team entered the Hockey East Tournament as the No. 1 seed last winter, Quinnipiac will not have that luxury. But in her eyes, these Bobcats are just as good, if not better.
“One thing I noticed with my team last year is we didn’t have one all-star that just went and could score and win a game,” Stockdale said. “We had a bunch of people that were dedicated and committed to the process … So looking at my team this year, it’s kind of like a step above that. It’s like everyone does that to a higher degree. Everyone is connected more, everyone is putting in more work. So when I see winning a championship last year and we already did that, it gives me faith and hope and I believe that we can do it this year.”
As the Bobcats enter the ECAC Tournament, they believe they have the talent, depth, and leadership needed to make a run. And with Holk and Stockdale, they also have something just as valuable — championship experience. Now, it’s up to Quinnipiac to put that to use and chase a title of its own.
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