‘Culture’ makes this Quinnipiac team feel familiar to Pecknold
Down the stretch of another fine season in Hamden, Quinnipiac will be trying to defend its crown in the state’s tournament of Division I men’s hockey teams this weekend.
And while some programs reach similar results in different ways, this Quinnipiac team (183-3), ranked third in one national poll and fourth in the other, reminds coach Rand Pecknold of some other recent Bobcats teams.
“I think in a lot of ways it’s very similar,” Pecknold said. “We’ve got goaltending, good special teams. In the end our big strength is our culture. We’ve got a number of character kids who are willing to play selfless hockey.”
Quinnipiac welcomes Yale, Sacred Heart and UConn to M&T Bank Arena on Friday and Saturday for the tournament that, when played in Bridgeport in 2020 and 2022, was known as Connecticut Ice.
A turning point toward this moment came early, when Quinnipiac repaid a visit from North Dakota last year and went out to Grand Forks for two games in mid-October. The teams tied the first night in a see-saw game in which Quinnipiac led 3-0 and trailed 5-4, and Pecknold thought then-No. 3 North Dakota outplayed his team.
“The next night (the Bobcats) focused right in on our identity, buy-in,” Pecknold said, and they won 6-2.
After a loss in their next game at Maine, the Bobcats went on a 17-game unbeaten streak, which finished
with eight wins in a row, propelling the Bobcats to the top spot in both polls.
The streaks ended last weekend: Quinnipiac lost 4-0 at Cornell on Jan. 20 and 3-2 at Colgate the next night.
“First of all, Cornell and Colgate both played very well,” Pecknold said, and he said the feel in the rinks was a “Super Bowl” atmosphere.
“I just felt we weren’t prepared for that kind of playoff atmosphere. That’s on me; I thought we were, but we weren’t,” Pecknold said. “It’s not what we wanted, but it’s a teachable moment.”
The Bobcats will get another weekend of playoff feel at their home rink in a two-day tournament with all four state Division I teams. Quinnipiac will face Sacred Heart (12-9-2) on Friday at 7 p.m. Yale (312-4) and No. 12 UConn (157-3, 12th in both national polls) play the early game at 4 p.m.
Saturday’s consolation and championship are at the same times.
While Quinnipiac’s roster
has a bunch of familiar names from the team that made the NCAA playoffs in 2021 and won a playoff game last year, some younger players and newcomers have made a difference, Pecknold said.
Collin Graf transferred from Union as a sophomore; his 34 points lead the ECAC by five points. Sophomore Jacob Quillan (who had nine points all last season) and freshman Sam Lipkin have 23 points, tied for third on the team, one point behind graduate student Ethan de Jong. Graduate student Jake Johnson arrived from RPI and has been a good addition on defense.
And in goal, sophomore Yaniv Perets, whose numbers were otherworldly as a freshman, has been good again, with a .917 save percentage and 1.80 goalsagainst average.
“We haven’t been as good in front of him as last year,” Pecknold said. “In 24 games, there’ve been a couple of bad bounces here and there.”