New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Bobcats prepare
Eager to hit the ice, Quinnipiac appreciates each minute together
Even with a lot of familiar faces, there’s still teambuilding to do.
“A lot of Zooms,” said Quinnipiac men’s hockey junior forward Wyatt Bongiovanni, whose team has yet to play a game. “We’re remaining safe. We had to take a few steps away. Being around the guys is something we know now we can’t take for granted.”
The Bobcats have skated in small pods, had their early-season schedule rearranged, suffered a couple of positive COVID-19 tests of their own and postponed the start of their season.
The group is still tightknit, Bongiovanni said.
“The freshmen have come in and gotten acclimated. I think they’re ready to step up in college hockey,” he said. “All the returning players are very excited and positive about the group. We all believe we have the potential to have a great year.”
Heck, the Bobcats were
ranked 14th in one preseason poll and 13th in the other. They’re 11th in both now. Imagine what they could do if they play games.
Quinnipiac had a schoolwide pause in early November. The men’s hockey team announced Nov. 22 that two players had confirmed COVID-19 cases.
“What we’ve done is kind of compartmentalized players into pods based on who lives with who,” coach Rand Pecknold said. “We were still able to skate in small groups of one or two or three. It’s not ideal. It’s mostly skill development.”
The school had already juggled to bring in AIC on Nov. 24 for a season-opener, then had to cancel. The Bobcats now open Dec. 14-15 at home against Sacred Heart.
Schedules are in a seemingly steady flux. On Tuesday, Hockey East set a Boston University visit to UConn for Saturday afternoon. On Thursday morning, BU canceled that game after a positive test in its program.
And that’s not even considering the pandemic pushed the start of the season from its normal early October to the end of November.
“Probably a third of the season would be done by now. My philosophy is control what you can control, what’s in front of you,” Pecknold said. “It’s disappointing that it’s happening, but it’s where the world is right now. You have some adversity, you have to fight through and make the best of it.”
Trying to minimize contact, coaches have moved their video sessions with players online, too.
“It’s not ideal. It’s not as good as sitting down at a desk with the laptop and going over clips,” Pecknold said.
Bongiovanni said he doesn’t mind it, though.
“(The coaches) have been teaching us good lessons over Zoom,” he said. “The coaching staff has done a good job jumping through hoops.”
The staff helped assure the players they would actually get to play this year, Bongiovanni said. The players had their doubts, but the coaches kept their mindsets positive as they prepared for a moving target.
“It’s been a lot of discipline. I think that’s the best word,” Bongiovanni said.
“Maintaining the ability to perform, whenever the start date comes, is a challenging task, but it’s one that I think we’ve all done well with.”
Getting a feel for the group is tough, Pecknold said, without seeing it in a game, but he said he has been impressed with how some of his top players look in practice.
“(Goalie Keith) Petruzzelli looks great,” Pecknold said. “(Captain Odeen) Tufto had a great summer (of training). (Defenseman Peter) DiLiberatore is shooting the puck better than he was last year. A lot of guys are looking great.”
And even as they wait it out, they’re finding ways to come together.
“Every time we do get to see each other,” Bongiovanni said, “we appreciate it.”