HAMDEN, Conn. – Entering Friday afternoon, Northeastern took an undefeated record into M&T Bank Arena to face the Quinnipiac Bobcats, with the Huskies in high spirits after a high-octane start to their season.
But the Bobcats had a lossless record of their own to protect, and if not for the efforts of junior forward Kahlen Lamarche, just might have fallen to the visitors. Lamarche, however, carried Quinnipiac on her shoulders, scoring four goals and tacking on an assist for good measure to secure Northeastern’s 5-3 loss.
It marks Northeastern’s first game – and loss – this season against a nationally-ranked opponent.
Right out the gate, it seemed as if the momentum was in the Huskies’ hands. Their top two offensive lines, who have been the primary driving force of the team’s success in this young season, attacked Quinnipiac sophomore netminder Felicia Frank with pace and precision. But Frank, who has been handed the Bobcats’ keys after starting just 10 games last season, continued to slam the door shut.
Offensively, Northeastern has fared well, scoring over three goals in every game they’ve played, but it was a defensive breakdown that kicked things off for Quinnipiac. 13 minutes into the first period, after a near score on a breakaway from the Huskies’ captain Lily Shannon, the Bobcats jetted on an odd-skater-rush of their own, catching freshman defender Ella Lloyd off guard in the neutral zone.
And though Lloyd’s partner, senior Kristina Allard, did what she could to stymie the 2-on-1, a cross-ice feed from Quinnipiac graduate student forward Laurence Frenette found the stick of a charging Emerson Jarvis — a senior playing her third season with the Bobcats after beginning her collegiate career with Ohio State.
With time and space, there was nothing that Lisa Jönsson, the sophomore goaltender for Northeastern, could do as she watched the puck sail past her left shoulder.
Jarvis’ goal opened the floodgates for Quinnipiac. While the first period came to a close with the Bobcats maintaining a one-goal lead, they started the second period instantly hot.
Less than a minute into the second frame, Lamarche picked up a loose puck at center ice and drove solo towards Jönsson down the left wing, barely sparing a second glance before ripping a shot off the back post — the sound ringing through the arena as she scored her first of the game and Quinnipiac’s second.
Lamarche’s success in the second period did not stop there, though. 13 minutes later, in a near-déjà vu scenario to her first goal, Lamarche collected the puck in the neutral zone and once again found space in the offensive zone all by herself, this time on the right wing. Mirrored nearly exactly from her first shot, she opted to again fire over Jönsson’s blocker side, finding the back of the net once more on her own accord.
Earlier in the period, Northeastern sophomore forward Éloïse Caron had taken a heavy hit into the boards from Quinnipiac’s captain, senior defender Mia Lopata, that caused her to take some time in the tunnel to recover.
Recover, she did.
After being held scoreless for nearly 37 minutes, with chance after chance in the crease turned away by Frank, the Bobcats’ netminder finally spilled a rebound off a wrist shot sent in from the blue line by freshman forward Stryker Zablocki. The puck landed at the stick of Quinnipiac sophomore defender Ella Sennick, who attempted to backhand it out of danger, but mishandled the pass and left the puck drifting in the crease. Caron spotted the error and capitalized, finally breaking through for Northeastern and cutting the deficit to two before the end of the second period.
Heading into the third, Quinnipiac had already struggled to stay out of the penalty box, taking four of the five total that had been issued by the officials. The Bobcats’ penalty kill had held strong, managing to kill off a five-on-three earlier in the second period.
The third period proved to be no different in terms of physicality, kicking off with back-to-back cross-checking penalties issued within the first three minutes — one for each team.
Less than two minutes after the Bobcats killed off their fifth penalty of the game, senior defender Zoe Uens was called for a bodychecking penalty that put Northeastern back on the advantage. And with plenty of opportunities thus far to see how Quinnipiac’s penalty kill worked, Northeastern finally managed to connect.
In typical fashion, senior defender Jules Constantinople rifled a low shot from the point that snuck past the outstretched pad of Frank, bringing Northeastern to within one with just over 14 minutes left to play.
Constantinople was not done yet, though.
Lopata took her third penalty of the game, this time for boarding, less than a minute after the Huskies had just scored on the power play. And it took even less time for Constantinople to find success, scoring on yet another wrist shot from the blue line 10 seconds into the five-on-four, bringing the game back to a level playing field.
The remainder of the game was marked by special teams, with Northeastern taking four penalties and Quinnipiac with their eighth of the game in the last nine minutes of play.
As the clock ticked down, Lamarche reminded Northeastern how dangerous she was with space, generating a two-on-one that was reminiscent of Jarvis’ first goal. Allard was once again the last Husky standing, but Lamarche’s shot was as true as her other goals, finding the exact same spot as her last two scores to give her the hat trick and Quinnipiac the lead with under four minutes remaining.
And with the Huskies unable to get the puck out of their own defensive end due to the penalties they racked up in the final minutes of play, Lamarche connected for her fourth goal, Quinnipiac’s fifth, on a five-on-three to seal the game with a minute and a half left and hand Northeastern their first loss of the young season.
There are many things that Northeastern must take away from this loss.
Some positives? Their power play looked strong, and Éloïse Caron looks to be blossoming in her sophomore season. They generated some fiery offensive chances and looked dangerous for the majority of the game. It’s a strong sign that the team was able to come back from a three-goal deficit, regardless of the overall game outcome.
The negatives, though, need to be fine-tuned. While Northeastern’s offense generated chances, they were still stifled down low, and whether that can be more attributed to Frank’s fantastic play or an inability to finish today by the Huskies remains to be seen. Northeastern was caught in transition far too many times, giving Quinnipiac’s most dangerous goal scorer in Lamarche miles of space on countless breakaways. And even an inch is enough for Lamarche to create a dangerous opportunity.
By no means should Northeastern be counted out, though. A little film review and a chip on their shoulder may be enough to come out on top in Game Two.
The Huskies will try to rebound in the second game of this away series against the Bobcats, Saturday October 17, at 3 p.m. Daisy Roberts, Jacob Phillips, and Mike Kaminsky will have the call live on air for WRBB Sports.
Daisy Roberts is a hockey, basketball, and baseball broadcaster and writer for WRBB Sports. She has been covering Northeastern Athletics for five years. You can read her content here and follow her on X here.