The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Fortunato trying to take injury in stride
HAMDEN — Not only did Brandon Fortunato feel like he was playing the best hockey of his life, but he was proud to be a major contributor in Quinnipiac’s return to national prominence.
No player in Division I hockey had improved his scoring total from last year as dramatically as Fortunato. And the Bobcats, ranked fourth in the national polls, are on track to receive a high seed when the NCAA tournament field is announced next month.
So his season-ending injury, suffered earlier this week during practice, is an especially tough blow.
Fortunato will undergo surgery Tuesday to repair a fractured fibula and ruptured ankle ligaments. He expects to spend at least four months recovering.
“It’s a setback,” Fortunato said Saturday. “But I plan to rehab it hard. The toughest thing so far for me has been not being able to get out there with my team as we head for the playoffs. Not being able to contribute to that will be tough.”
Quinnipiac, which entered Saturday’s game against Brown with the second-highest team winning percentage in the country, has enough talent and depth to remain a contender for the Frozen Four in Buffalo this April.
But there’s no doubt Fortunato, a senior leader and gifted player, will be sorely missed.
Fortunato established himself as one of the country’s top defenseman this winter. Prior to the injury he was leading Quinnipiac with 23 assists. He was fourth in the nation in scoring by a defenseman with 28 points. And his 20-point improvement from last season was the highest by any Division I player, forward or defenseman.
Scouts from the NHL have been regulars at Quinnipiac games all season, due in large part to goalie Andrew Shortridge and Fortunato, considered two of the top undrafted free agents in college hockey.
Quinnipiac relied heavily on Fortunato’s puck-moving ability and vision in the offensive zone, especially on the power play. He’d taken only one penalty and was plus-15 for the season.
His most dominant performance
came last month at Boston University, when he scored two goals, including the winner in overtime. It was the first time Quinnipiac ever beat the Terriers, a particularly satisfying game for Fortunato.
He’d been a regular his first two years there, playing in the 2015 national championship game loss to Providence as a freshman. But Boston University continued to recruit highprofile defenseman, squeezing Fortunato out in the process.
He transferred to Quinnipiac in the fall of 2016, sitting out a season per NCAA rules before becoming eligible for games last winter. Fortunato scored eight points in 37 games for the Bobcats, well below the 20 points he’d averaged in two years at BU.
“He still had a good season for us,” Quinnipiac coach Rand Pecknold said. “The points were low, but I can’t tell you how many times he’d make a play to spring someone on a breakaway and they wouldn’t score, or a guy would miss a half-empty net or hit a post. Or he’d make a whole play but be the third assist so he wouldn’t get a point. It was unbelievable.”
His dramatic scoring turnaround put him with the nation’s elite scorers. Prior to the injury, only three defensemen in the nation had more points: Joe Duszak of Mercyhurst, Cale Makar of UMass and Quinnipiac’s Chase Priskie.
“I was definitely playing the best hockey of my life,” Fortunato said. “I’ve matured on and off the ice, really trying to take care of my body and get better every day, a lot of that goes to the guys around me, teammates, weight trainers and the coaching staff, Everyone contributed to my great season. I can’t be thankful enough.”