2022–23 Quinnipiac Bobcats Men's Ice Hockey Season

The 2022–23 Quinnipiac Bobcats Men's ice hockey season was the 47th season of play for the program, the 25th at the Division I level and 18th in ECAC Hockey. The Bobcats represented Quinnipiac University in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season, were coached by Rand Pecknold in his 29th season, and played their home games at the M&T Bank Arena. The team won the 2023 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey tournament for the first national championship in program history.

Season

Roster changes

Despite coming within a whisker of reaching the Frozen Four in 2022, Quinnipiac saw a great deal of turnover in its roster. Aside from the graduations, 5 undergrads transferred away, though only two (Leyh and Smilanic) had seen significant playing time. While the team also lost one of two starting goaltenders in Dylan St. Cyr, they retained All-American Yaniv Perets so their situation in the crease was presumably settled. to replace the 13 departures, coach Pecknold brought in eight freshmen and three transfers. To shore up the blue line, two graduate transfers were brought and were expected to use their years of experience to keep the defensive corps. The other transfer was sophomore Collin Graf who was coming over from a difficult situation at Union. The forward lines, which had lost three of its top 5 scorers from '22, would be a work in progress but the addition of Sam Lipkin, an Arizona Coyotes draft pick, was expected to provide some needed offense.

Early difficulties

The Bobcats started the season about as well as could be expected with a 4–0 win over Boston College. While the goals came from four different players, the defense limited the Eagles to just 16 shots on goal. Perhaps being a bit overconfident, Quinnipiac was quite as good in their second game against Long Island but it was the third match that revealed a potential problem for the club. After beginning their road series with North Dakota with a 3-goal first period, the team played what was probably its worst period all season and were outshot 7–21 in the second. They got into penalty trouble in the third and allowed UND to take a 5–4 lead with about 12 minutes to play. Quinnipiac fought back to tie the game and avoid disaster, but the lax play was something that could not be repeated by the team if it wanted to fulfill its championship aspirations. The rematch saw a much more defensively-conscious effort from the Bobcats and they cut North Dakota's shot total in half, winning by a relatively comfortable 6–2 margin.

After heading back east, Quinnipiac found itself ranked third in the national polls. The team, however, appeared to forget the lesson of the previous week and they didn't take Maine seriously. The offense was shut down by the Black Bears but the defense held up through two periods. Unfortunately, the floodgates opened in the third and Maine scored 4 times to produce a stunning upset. Things got so bad that Perets was pulled but by then it was too late to change the outcome of the game. Ad they had against North Dakota, Quinnipiac showed up for the rematch and replied with their own 4-goal period to earn a split before heading for home.

ECAC dominance

While Quinnipiac had produced a respectable non-conference record in the first month of the season, the team's play wasn't as good as it could have been. The Bobcats took lose early mistakes to heart once they began their conference schedule began to play much more consistently. They controlled each of their next four games, posting two shutouts while the offense got into its stride. The power play was a strong point for the team with Graf, Lipkin, Ethan de Jong and team captain Zach Metsa working well together. The Bobcats scored 9 goals on the man-advantage over the 6-game stretch leading up to Thanksgiving and placed themselves squarely atop the conference standings.

The Bobcats took a trip overseas and took part in the Friendship Four tournament in Belfast. It was the first edition of the series in three years with the layoff caused by COVID-19. After a relatively easy win over Dartmouth, the Bobcats were set against #17 Massachusetts for the championship. The team's power play proved key to their success as the Bobcats went two for three to finish regulation with a 2–2 tie. After a scoreless overtime, Cristophe Tellier scored the lone goal in the shootout to win the Belpot Trophy for Quinnipiac.

Once they returned across the Atlantic, the Bobcats won another squeaker thanks to their power play before utterly dominating on offense. In the final three games of the first half, Quinnipiac scored 22 goals with contributions coming from all quarters. Collin Graf led the way with 26 points but half a dozen other players were well into double-digits at the time including Lipkin and Jacob Quillan who were both sitting at 19.

Bump in the road

The offense continued to score at a high clip once the team returned from the winter break. After two more wins, the Bobcats had a showdown with the other ECAC power that season and played host to #10 Harvard. Quinnipiac dominated the first two periods and carried a 3–0 edge into the third. Harvard tried to fight back in the final 20 minutes but they were only able to get a single goal past Perets which enabled the Bobcats to run their conference record to a perfect 12–0. The outstanding record also earned Quinnipiac the #1 spot in the polls. With the Connecticut Ice tournament coming up at the end of January, the team perhaps lost a bit of focus and were shoutout by Cornell, 0–4. Their poor performance carried over into the next game and, after getting out to a 2–0 lead, they surrendered three consecutive markers and lost back-to-back games. The losses knocked Quinnipiac down to #3 but it would take a calamity for the team to lost its position in the NCAA tournament by that point in the season.

To ensure that didn't happen, Quinnipiac redoubled its efforts on the defensive end and posted four shutouts over the next six games, including one in the rematch with Harvard. The offense too was on point, averaging over 4 goals per game in the final 10 matches of the regular season. Graf had continued to lead the team in all offensive categories and was among the national leaders with 49 points at the beginning of the postseason. More importantly, Quinnipiac had finished the year as the top team not only in ECAC Hockey but the entire eastern region. The Bobcats were #2 in the polls and national rankings behind only Minnesota and were mathematically guaranteed to make the NCAA tournament no matter what happened in the conference tournament.

Conference failure

As the top seed in the conference, Quinnipiac received a bye into the quarterfinals and awaited the lowest-seeded team from the first round survivors. As it turned out, the Bobcats played host to local rival Yale for a spot in the semis. The rivalry between the two had cooled over the past few seasons and Quinnipiac throttled the Bulldogs in the first game, allowing just 5 shots on goal while Perets earned his 9th shotout of the season. Yale played far better in the rematch but it still wasn't nearly enough and Quinnipiac's strong special teams play carried it to victory.

Quinnipiac headed off to Lake Placid and sought revenge against Colgate for the loss earlier in the season. Despite their best efforts, however, Quinnipiac's offense was unable to solve Raider netminder Carter Gylander. It took until their 4th power play of the game for the Bobcats to score and that was all they could muster in regulation. Fortunately, the team's defense was just as stingy as Colgate and overtime gave Quinnipiac a chance to earn the victory. As the game dragged on, however, it was Colgate that got stronger. The Raiders outshot the Bobcats after the start of the third and continued to fire pucks on goal. Finally, about midway through the second overtime, Ross Mitton knocked a loose puck past Perets to win the game for Colgate.

While the defeat didn't change Quinnipiac's position for the NCAA tournament, the team took the loss to heart coach Pecknold tried to make sure the players remembered the feeling as they entered the national tournament.

NCAA tournament

Quinnipiac received the #2 overall seed for the tournament and was placed nearest to its campus in the Bridgeport regional. Because Colgate ended up winning the ECAC tournament and receiving the 15-seed, Quinnipiac ended up seeing #14 Merrimack in the opening round. The Bobcats didn't take any chances with the Warriors and played their stingy brand of defense all game. Merrimack ended up getting just 15 shots on goal while Jacob Quillan led the way with a pair of goals for Quinnipiac.

After the first round of the tournament, all 4 Big Ten teams had won by at least 7 goals and there was some worry that the conference was going to completely dominate the tournament. Quinnipiac got its first chance to prove otherwise in the regional final against Ohio State. Unfortunately, just 91 seconds into the game, Perets slid a bit too far back after stopping a shot and allowed the puck to creep in over the line. After that inauspicious shot, however, the Bobcats fought back and scored twice in the span of 15 seconds to take a lead into the second period. The Buckeyes went into full attack mode in the middle frame but the Quinnipiac defense held Perets stopped the final 30+ shots and, despite getting wide outshot, the Bobcats were able to pull out a 4–1 victory to reach the Frozen Four.

In the program's third trip to the national semifinal, quinnipiac took one of only two teams that had a better offense than the Bobcats; Michigan. The Wolverines boated some of the top prospects in the nation, including Hobey Baker Award-winner, Adam Fantilli. The defense would need to hold up under the pressure while the offense had to at least keep contact with the high-flying Wolverines. Michigan, however, was prone to taking penalties and gave Quinnipiac their first opportunity just 3 minutes into the game. The bobcats weren't able to score on the man-advantage, however, just after it ended, Quillan was able to fire a puck from behind the net, off of Erik Portillo's back, and into the net. Michigan did not take the flukey goal lying down and Seamus Casey tied the game just 90 seconds later. Quinnipiac continued to pressure Michigan and Quillan ended up getting on a breakaway, firing the puck between Portillo's legs for his second of the game. The game tilted back and forth for much of the next 20 minutes but eventually Fantilli broke through just past the midway point of the game for his 30th goal of the season. With the score now tied, both teams kept attacking, looking for the go-ahead marker. both Perets and Portillo were called upon to make big saves for their teams. Early in the third, however, Sam Lipkin repeated Quillan opening goal feat and scored from behind the net after deflecting the puck in off of Portillo's skate. With the lead once more, Quinnipiac was able to play their stifling defense and stop the Wolverines from getting many high-quality chances for a goal. After a solid backcheck in the middle of the period, Metsa fired a perfectly placed shot into the near corner of the net to give the Bobcats a 2-goal edge. The Wolverines desperately tried to score in the final 7 minutes, eventually being forced to pull Portillo early, but all that did was allow Ethan de Jong to get an empty-net goal and send the Bobcats to the title game for the third time.

National championship

In the final game of the season, Quinnipiac faced off against the #1 team, Minnesota. In the rare meeting between the top two teams in the nation, Quinnipiac possessed the #2 defense and a great deal of experience while the Gophers had the #1 offense and possibly the most talent of any team in the country. The game was nearly derailed just 21 seconds in when Skyler Brind'Amour was whistled for a penalty. The play was reviewed for a possible 5-minute major but the senior center was only given minor. Despite that, however, Quinnipiac had to defend one of the top power play units in the nation but they were able to escape by the skin of their teeth. After that, despite both teams averaging around 4 goals per game for the season, the two began fighting a defensive battle. While that should have suited Quinnipiac, the Bobcats were the first to make a mistake when Jayden Lee fanned on a long pass that ended up on the stick of Connor Kurth. Perets came out to challenge the shot but was caught out of position when the puck found its way to John Mittelstadt and Minnesota got an early lead. Both teams continued to counterpunch for the next 20 minutes and eventually Jaxon Nelson chopped a rebound off the back wall into the top corner of the net for the second Gopher goal. Knowing that they had to get the next goal, as a 0–3 hole was likely insurmountable, The Quinnipiac offense began to ratchet up the pressure and a brilliant play by Zach Metsa to first stop a clearing attempt with his glove, then walk down the wall before finding Cristophe Tellier in front of the net for the Bobcats' first goal of the game. The goal relieves some of the pressure, as Quinnipiac was only down by one with more than half of the game to play.

Over the next 20 minutes, Quinnipiac narrowly escaped disaster when Minnesota missed on several opportunities to score while the Bobcats were forced to press hard for the tying goal. Perets was not playing a particularly strong game but he was aided by fortune as several Gophers shots were sent wide. Despite the fortune that kept Minnesota from scoring, Quinnipiac remained short one goal and time was ticking away on their season. With about 5 minutes to play, Logan Cooley got into a tussle with one of the Bobcats and while one referee signaled that he was prepared to give a minor to both players, the other had already decided to hand Cooley a minor for high-sticking. The controversial penalty gave Quinnipiac its second power play of the game but the Minnesota players collapsed towards their cage to block several chances for the tying goal. As the penalty was getting ready to expire, Pecknold pulled Perets early, a ploy that had resulted in disaster during the 2022 tournament. Quinnipiac kept the pressure on Minnesota and, just as Cooley was skating back into the play, Collin Graf fired a shot on goal from the half wall. While he was probably looking to cause a deflection or a rebound, the puck found its way between the pads of Justen Close and skipped into the net, tying the game with less than 3 minutes left in regulation. Immediately after the goal, Quinnipiac seemed to relax and give Minnesota an opportunity to regain the lead. Luckily, the Bobcats were able to clamp down in their own end and the two teams headed into overtime.

In the first championship game to reach extra time in 12 years, Quinnipiac set up a play drawn up by assistant coach Joe Dumais. The Bobcats had been the better team in the faceoff circle and were set for what to do if they won the draw. Minnesota's Jaxon Nelson won the opening faceoff on overtime, however, the puck sailed straight into the Bobcats' bench and the puck was set back at center ice. On the second draw, Jacob Quillan barely won the faceoff and the puck sat behind him at center ice. Both Minnesota wingers went for the rubber but Collin Graf beat them to it and knocked it back to Zach Metsa, who was standing in his defensive zone. While Mason Nevers headed towards Metsa to pressure the defenseman, the other winger, Bryce Brodzinski, blew a tire and was late getting back defensively. Metsa held the puck just inside his own blueline, waiting for the play to develop; Graf went over to the near wall at the redline, apparently waiting for a pass, and drew the attention of Michael Koster. However, Graf was a decoy and when Koster skated over to the wall it opened up a spot in the middle of the ice for Sam Lipkin, who was skating from the opposite side and had a clear lane to accept Metsa's pass. With a full head of steam, Lipkin raced down the right side into the Minnesota end with Jackson LaCombe defending. Meanwhile, after taking the faceoff, Jacob Quillan had skated over to the blue line on the left side of the ice and was left alone when Lipkin made his charge. Nelson spotted Quillan and tried to chase him down but the Minnesota center was a step behind. Lipkin fired the puck under the stick of LaCombe, across the front of the cage, to an open Quillan. Quillan danced between Nelson and a sprawled-out Close before backhanding the puck into an open net and winning the first national championship in school history.

Quillan's goal just 10 seconds in was also the quickest overtime marker in championship game history, beating the previous mark of 23 seconds set by Steve Alley in 1977.

Departures

Recruiting

Roster

As of August 27, 2022.

Standings

Schedule and results

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National championship game

Scoring statistics

Goaltending statistics

Rankings

Note: USCHO did not release a poll in weeks 1, 13, or 26.

Awards and honors

Players drafted into the NHL

2023 NHL Entry Draft

† incoming freshman

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Quinnipiac Bobcats men's ice hockey season
2022-23
2022–23 ECAC Hockey men's season
2022–23 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey by team
2022 in sports in Connecticut
2023 in sports in Connecticut
NCAA men's ice hockey Frozen Four seasons
NCAA men's ice hockey championship seasons