New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
BOBCATS ON THE HUNT
Quinnipiac tops ECAC poll, ranked ninth in nation
The polls are starting to come in as the men’s college hockey season nears, and, reloaded with some big-name transfers, Quinnipiac has picked up some early attention already.
The Bobcats rank ninth in both national preseason polls, US College Hockey Online and USA Today/USA Hockey. They topped the ECAC coaches’ poll that the conference released Monday morning before a conference call of the 12 coaches.
Quinnipiac coach Rand Pecknold said he doesn’t put much stock in polls, though he said they’re good to have. But he said he does expect his team to be good.
“I’ve never really looked at a study of it, how often it’s right and how often it’s wrong,” Pecknold said.
“I think we’re in a dogfight with some really good teams. I mean, Harvard is absolutely loaded. I voted for them (in the ECAC poll). One, I think they might be one of the most talented teams in the country, them and Michigan. Cornell is always good. Clarkson is excellent.”
Clarkson topped the ECAC media poll, with Quinnipiac and Harvard tied for second, though Harvard got one more first-place vote. In the coaches’ balloting, five teams got a first-place vote.
Only four ECAC teams played last year. The six Ivy League schools, RPI and Union sat out amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Everyone plans to return this season.
Voting for a preseason all-conference team was tricky, too, Pecknold said, to the point that he wasn’t completely sure for whom he’d voted.
“I’m going back on, like, well, who’s Cornell have? Who’s Harvard — it was difficult,” he said, “and you’re trying to project their freshmen and sophomores, who’s gonna pop, and they haven’t played in a year.”
Quinnipiac forward Ethan de Jong and defenseman Zach Metsa were voted preseason all-conference by both the coaches and media.
Hockey East’s UConn and Atlantic Hockey’s Sacred Heart were