This past summer, on any given morning at Quinnipiac University, the weight room buzzes with energy. Plates clang, music echoes and somewhere in the middle of it all, two players, one former and one current, pushing each other to their breaking point.
They are Kelly Babstock, a program legend turned professional veteran, and Kahlen Lamarche, the program’s new scoring face. They push each other, joke around and compete like teammates chasing the same dream.
Their relationship, now one of the defining connections within Quinnipiac women’s hockey, did not begin under bright lights. It started quietly during offseason workouts.
“We basically trained together the whole summer, and we kind of just built our relationship from there,” Lamarche said.
What followed was a routine that blurred the line between mentorship and friendship. With most of Lamarche’s teammates gone during the summer, she spent most of her time in the gym.
And prior to her 10th professional season, Babstock was there too for offseason training. The pair joked constantly with each other, but when it came down to it, neither of them allowed the other to take a rep off.
“She’ll just come over and just click the button for more weight,” Lamarche said. “And you’re not going to tell her, like, ‘no I can’t do it.’ So you’re kind of just forced to do that weight.”
Quinnipiac Director of Athletic Performance Brijesh Patel saw the competitiveness between the two almost immediately.
“It’s their best attribute. It’s off the charts,” Patel said. “They literally will not allow themselves to have a bad day.”
Patel said both players embodied one of the core messages displayed outside Quinnipiac’s weight room: being ‘responsible’ for the energy brought into the space.
“Both of them bring a positive energy,” Patel said. “Both of them bring a competitive spirit, day in and day out.”
For Babstock, that mentality was developed during her years at Quinnipiac. She credits the program for helping shape the mindset that carried her through a decade of professional hockey, including time in the Professional Women’s Hockey League.
“Urgency, attention to detail and having a great mindset,” Babstock said. “Quinnipiac has definitely helped me to be where I am today.”
That same mentality carried into her workouts with Lamarche. Patel said that despite nearly a decade separating the two players, their standards remained almost identical.
“The level of accountability,” Patel said. “Making sure they hold themselves to the highest standard possible with anything that they do.”
The similarities extended beyond the weight room and directly onto the ice and head coach Cass Turner gets to experience it first hand.
“They’re both so fun,” Turner said. “They bring energy wherever they go, whoever they’re around, and people remember that they were there.”
The two also find similarities in each other’s games with their own.
“She’s a natural scorer,” Babstock said of Lamarche. “She just does these moves like only a natural scorer does.”
“We both have a knack for going to the net and wanting to score goals,” Lamarche said. “Whether it’s pretty, it doesn’t really matter.”
Still, Babstock believes Lamarche has elevated that role in her own way.
“Marchy also has a better shot than me,” Babstock said. “She’s just a sniper.”
Patel said the shared mentality between the two separated them from others.
“They’re just not afraid to push themselves,” Patel said. “They’re not afraid to get uncomfortable.”
That combination of competitiveness and support became visible during Lamarche’s record-breaking junior season racking up 42 goals and 64 points. She broke Babstock’s single-season goals (30) and points (59) records.
The moments leading up to breaking the records could have created tension, but it actually strengthened the relationship between the two.
“I’m super excited for Marchy,” Babstock said. “To keep making the record even higher, because she deserves it.”
For Lamarche, the accomplishment never felt individual.
“It’s even cooler that she’s helped me achieve those records just by pushing me,” Lamarche said.
What made the connection more remarkable was how quickly it formed. According to Patel, Babstock and Lamarche had only truly met for the first time last summer.
“They just met each other last summer for the first time,” Patel said.
Despite that, Patel said the relationship developed naturally through shared workouts and competitiveness.
“They were excited every day they came into the gym,” Patel said. “They legitimately wanted to get better every single time they came into the gym.”
That culture of support extends far beyond the rink.
Throughout the season, Lamarche became one of the faces of Quinnipiac women’s hockey within the Connecticut community. Through youth skates, postgame interactions and community events, she developed strong relationships with young fans.
“It gives us a purpose to play this game,” Lamarche said. “It’s so special that we can inspire such little kids.”
One young fan became especially close with Lamarche, even changing her hockey number to match Lamarche’s No. 8.
“She wants everything to do with what I do,” Lamarche said. “It’s those little things.”
Babstock has witnessed that growth in women’s hockey throughout her professional career.
“We used to think that 300 fans was awesome,” Babstock said. “Now there’s like 14,000 fans in the arena for a PWHL game. It’s so cool.”
For Coach Turner, coaching extends beyond practices and games. Her players often become role models for her children.
“Whenever my kids love one of the players on the team, it puts a lot of responsibility on that player,” Turner said.
Lamarche embraced that role quickly.
“Kahlen is the first person that my son asks to go play mini sticks,” Turner said. “And he expects her to keep playing.”
Turner said moments like those reveal the deeper impact players can have beyond hockey.
“They get to see them have success,” Turner said. “They know how hard they work.”
That support system has also played a major role in Lamarche’s rise. During Quinnipiac’s ECAC Hockey championship run in Lake Placid, New York, Lamarche’s parents and brothers, Taylor and Dexter, traveled to watch her compete.
“My parents are my biggest supporters,” Lamarche said. “It was also so special having my brothers in Placid with us.”
The championship marked Quinnipiac’s first conference title since the 2015-16 season.
“It was special, the whole experience,” Taylor Lamarche said. “Especially being with our mom and dad, plus Dexter being there. It was awesome.”
For Dexter Lamarche, the trip carried even more significance because it was the first time he had seen his sister play in person.
“My brothers are awesome,” Lamarche said. “We grew up so competitive, and having them there was such a rewarding experience.”
The support extended beyond family. Throughout Quinnipiac’s postseason run, alumni across multiple generations reached out to the team with messages of encouragement.
“One cool thing is that we had some of the previous alums, and they just kind of wrote inspiring messages about, like, ‘You got this girls. Go show what Bobcat hockey is all about,’” Lamarche said. “That alone was so touching and cool to see.”
That connection between past and present remains one of the defining traits of Quinnipiac women’s hockey.
“Any Bobcat, we have this special connection,” Babstock said. “We know what it takes to be great on and off the ice.”
Back in the weight room, their partnership continues much the same way it started: through competition, humor and a shared commitment to improvement.
There are still jokes. There are still challenges. And there is still the expectation that neither will take a step back.
“I think we have that same energy,” Babstock said. “Just having fun.”
For Babstock and Lamarche, the relationship is not defined by records or accolades. It is defined by the work.
“If they’re not willing to work hard, they’re not willing to hold themselves to a high standard,” Patel said. “Then I tell them flat out, like, I’m not going to be able to help you.”
That standard has connected Babstock and Lamarche across generations of Quinnipiac hockey and helped shape not only each other, but the future of the program and the community surrounding it.