The Quinnipiac Bobcats men's ice hockey team is a

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

(NCAA) Division I

college ice hockey College ice hockey is played principally in the United States and Canada, though leagues exist outside North America. In the United States, competitive "college hockey" refers to ice hockey played between colleges and universities within the g ...

program that represents

Quinnipiac University Quinnipiac University () is a private university in Hamden, Connecticut. The university grants undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees through its College of Arts and Sciences, School of Business, School of Engineering, School of C ...

. The Bobcats are a member of

ECAC Hockey ECAC Hockey is one of the six conferences that compete in NCAA Division I ice hockey. The conference used to be affiliated with the Eastern College Athletic Conference, a consortium of over 300 colleges in the eastern United States. This relati ...

. They play at the M&T Bank Arena in

Hamden, Connecticut Hamden is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The town's nickname is "The Land of the Sleeping Giant". The population was 61,169 at the 2020 census. History The peaceful tribe of Quinnipiacs were the first residents of the ...

History

Quinnipiac College began sponsoring men's ice hockey as a varsity sport for the 1975–76 season. The program began as an independent team before joining

ECAC 3 The ECAC Northeast was an intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division III as a hockey-only conference. For many years it was one of the three men's hockey conferences that operated under the umbrella of the Eastern Col ...

the following year. The program remained with the third-tier conference for over 20 years despite being a Division II school for much of that time. The Braves left ECAC 3 in 1997 and spent a year as a D-II independent before moving up to Division I as part of the university's transition to the top level. Quinnipiac was a founding member of the

Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC, ) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I. Of its current 11 full members, 10 are located in three states of the northeastern United States: Connecticut, New Jersey, and ...

ice hockey division, joining the conference as an affiliate member. The Braves won the MAAC Regular Season Championship in their first season in the league. The trend continued as Quinnipiac won the title the follow two seasons. In 2002 The Braves won the team's first playoff series, winning the MAAC Playoff Championship with a 6–4 win over Mercyhurst.
With the win, Quinnipiac received an automatic bid to the

2002 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament The 2002 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey tournament involved 12 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college ice hockey. The final event was played at Xcel Energy Center, Saint ...

, the first NCAA postseason appearance in program history. Quinnipiac faced off against

Cornell Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

in the first round of the East Regional, held in

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the second-List of cities i ...

. Quinnipiac's run into the NCAA Tournament ended early in a 1–6 loss to the Big Red. The game was the first NCAA Tournament appearance for the Braves. Quinnipiac finished the 2001–02 season 20–13–5, marking the team's fourth consecutive season with at least 20 wins. In 2003 the MAAC Hockey league split off from the main athletic conference to form

Atlantic Hockey The Atlantic Hockey Association (AHA) is an NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey conference which operates primarily in the northeastern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as an ice hockey-only conference. Unlike several other c ...

. After two years in Atlantic Hockey Quinnipiac left to join the ECAC, replacing

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

who left the league for

Hockey East The Hockey East Association, also known as Hockey East, is a college ice hockey conference which operates entirely in New England. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference. Hockey East came into existence in 1984 for ...

and changed their name to the Bobcats. QU was chosen over a number of applicants in large part to the university's commitment to build a new multipurpose sports arena to replace the civic-owned Northford Ice Pavilion. The Bobcats moved into the new 3,386-seat

TD Bank Sports Center M&T Bank Arena, previously known as TD Bank Sports Center and People's United Center, is a multi-purpose arena in Hamden, Connecticut. Its design is unusual in that it consists of two separate playing and seating areas, one intended for basketbal ...

(then known as TD Banknorth Sports Center) in 2007. The 2012–13 season has brought Quinnipiac to national prominence. The program reached a new high becoming the number one team in the country on February 11, 2013 in both the USCHO.com poll and USA Today College Hockey poll. Quinnipiac retained the ranking the following week despite losing their first game as the top ranked team to St. Lawrence University as the 2nd and 3rd ranked teams also fell the same weekend. The Bobcats also won their first ever Cleary Cup presented to the ECAC regular season champion. On March 24, 2013, the Bobcats received the number one overall seed in the 2013 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament. The Bobcats won the East Region with wins over Canisius (4-3) and

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

(5-1) to advance to the school's first ever

Frozen Four The annual NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament is a college ice hockey tournament held in the United States by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to determine the top men's team in Division I. Like other Division I cham ...

in Pittsburgh, Pa. In the national semifinals, Quinnipiac defeated

St. Cloud State St. Cloud State University (SCSU) is a public university in St. Cloud, Minnesota. Founded in 1869, the university is one of the largest institutions in the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system. Its enrollment in 2020 was approximate ...

(4-1) to advance to the national championship game against archrival

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

. The Bobcats fell 4–0 to Yale to end the 2012-13 as the national runner-up. In the 2013–14 season the Bobcats once again reached the NCAA tournament yet were defeated in the first round by Providence College 4–0. The team finished the season with a 24-10-6 record. Quinnipiac once again had a successful 2014–15 season when they won their second ECAC regular season title in 3 years but lost in the first round of the NCAA tournament to North Dakota 4–1. The team finished the season with a 23-12-4 record. The 2015–16 season saw Qunnipiac set a school record for wins with 32 along with winning their 3rd ECAC regular season title in 4 years and winning the ECAC tournament championship for the first time. Quinnipiac blew through the East Regional with wins over RIT 4-0 and UMass Lowell 4–1 to capture the regional championship and advance to the Frozen Four in the Tampa for the 2nd time in 4 seasons. In the national semifinals the Bobcats withheld a late charge by Boston College to win 3-2 and advance to the second national championship game in program history. Once again Quinnipiac was denied a national championship this time at the hands of North Dakota in a 5–1 defeat. The team finished the season with a record of 32-4-7.

Rivals

Since moving to the ECAC, Quinnipiac's biggest rival has been the

Yale Bulldogs The Yale Bulldogs are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Yale University, located in New Haven, Connecticut. The school sponsors 35 varsity sports. The school has won two NCAA national championships in women's fencing, four in ...

. The rivalry is dubbed the War on Whitney Avenue as the two campuses are separated by a mere 8 miles on Whitney Avenue in

, to

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...

. The rivalry has reached its highest point in 2013 as both the Bobcats and the Bulldogs rank in the top 10 nationally and are 1 and 2 in the ECAC standings. Quinnipiac holds a 9-5-2 all-time record against the Bulldogs. The winner of the final game between the two teams receives the Heroes Hat which honors those who risked their lives during the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The two teams met on April 13, 2013 for the fourth time in the 2012–13 season in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to play for the national championship. Quinnipiac won the previous three meetings by a combined score of 13–3, but was upset in the national championship game, 4–0. The Cornell Big Red have also become a rival of Quinnipiac with the teams meeting in five ECAC Hockey Playoff series since the 2007 season having won in 2007 at

Lynah Rink Lynah Rink (pronounced LIE-nuh) is a 4,267-seat hockey arena at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, that opened in 1957. Named after James Lynah, Class of 1905, who was the director of Cornell athletics from 1935 to 1943, it is home to the ...

and in 2013 and 2016 in Hamden with the latter two coming with Quinnipiac as the ECAC number one seed and seasons in which Quinnipiac reached the Frozen Four. Cornell won series in 2011 and 2018 both at

. Quinnipiac is 3–2 in those series against Cornell with three of the series going the maximum three games. Things on the ice have been heated at times with a lot of physical play and both Rand Pecknold and Cornell head coach

Mike Schafer Mike Schafer is the men's ice hockey coach at Cornell University. He graduated from Cornell in 1986 with a degree in business management after leading the team to its first conference tournament championship in six years. Schafer retired as a p ...

jawing at each other as well.

Records vs. current ECAC Hockey teams

As of the completion of 2018–19 season

Season-by-season results

Source:

All-time coaching records

As of completion of 2021–22 season

Statistical leaders

Source:

Career points leaders

Career goaltending leaders

''GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% =

Save percentage Save percentage (often known by such symbols as SV%, SVS%, SVP, PCT) is a statistic in various goal-scoring sports that track saves as a statistic. In ice hockey and lacrosse, it is a statistic that represents the percentage of shots on goal ...

; GAA =

Goals against average Goals against average (GAA) also known as "average goals against" or "AGA" is a statistic used in field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, and water polo that is the mean of goals allowed per game by a goaltender or goalkeeper (depending on s ...

'' Minimum 30 games Statistics current through the start of the 2022–23 season.

Roster

As of August 27, 2022.

Awards and honors

NCAA

Individual awards

Spencer Penrose Award The Spencer Penrose Award is awarded yearly to the top coach in NCAA Division I men's ice hockey by the American Hockey Coaches Association. The finalists for each year's award comprise the conference Coach of the Year winners from each Division ...

* Rand Pecknold: 2016 Tim Taylor Award *

Sam Anas Sam Anas ( el, Σαμ Ανας; born June 1, 1993) is an American professional ice hockey forward. He currently plays for the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League (AHL). While growing up in Potomac, Maryland, he attended Landon School. La ...

: 2014 NCAA Scoring Champion * Bryan Leitch: 2009

All-Americans

AHCA First Team All-Americans *2006–07:

Reid Cashman Reid Cashman (born March 14, 1983) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman, who currently serves as the head coach for the Dartmouth Big Green of the NCAA. Cashman attended Quinnipiac University, where he was a standout defense ...

, D *2012–13:

Eric Hartzell Eric Hartzell (born May 28, 1989) is an American former professional ice hockey goaltender. He last played abroad for HK Nitra in the Slovak Extraliga (Slovak). Playing career Prior to turning professional, Hartzell attended Quinnipiac Universit ...

, G *2015–16:

, F *2020–21: Odeen Tufto, F *2021–22: Zach Metsa, D AHCA Second Team All-Americans *2005–06:

, D *2014–15:

, F *2018–19: Andrew Shortridge, G *2021–22:

Yaniv Perets Yaniv Perets (born March 4, 2000) is a Canadian professional goaltender currently under contract with the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously played collegiate hockey for Quinnipiac University. Playing career A ...

, G

MAAC

Individual awards

Offensive Player of the Year The National Football League Offensive Player of the Year Award is an annual American football award given by various organizations to the National Football League (NFL) player who is considered the top offensive player during the regular season. Or ...

Shawn Mansoff Shawn may refer to: *Shawn (given name) *Shawn (surname) See also * Sean * Shaun Shaun is an anglicized spelling of the Irish name Seán. Alternative spellings include Shawn, Sean and Shawne. Notable persons with the given name include: Peop ...

: 2000 Defensive Player of the Year * Dan Ennis: 1999 * Wade Winkler: 2003

Defensive Rookie of the Year Various entities present a National Football League Rookie of the Year Award each season to the top rookie(s) in the National Football League (NFL). The NFL considers the (rookie) of the year awards by the Associated Press (AP) to be its official ...

* Dan Ennis: 1999 * Jamie Holden: 2002 Tournament Most Valuable Player * Matt Craig: 2002

All-Conference Teams

First Team All-MAAC *1998–99: J. C. Wells, G; Dan Ennis, D; Kris Cumming, D; Chad Poliquin, F *1999–00: Anthony DiPalma, D;

, F; Chris Cerrella, F *2000–01: Chris Cerrella, F *2002–03: Wade Winkler, D; Matt Craig, F Second Team All-MAAC *1998–99:

Neil Breen Neil Breen (born November 23, 1958) is an American filmmaker and actor. Since 2005, he has written, directed, independently produced, and starred in five films. Breen's films have garnered a cult following for their low-budget production value ...

, F *2001–02:

Brian Herbert Brian Patrick Herbert (born June 29, 1947) is an American author who lives in Washington (state), Washington state. He is the elder son of science fiction author Frank Herbert (who died in 1986). Brian Herbert's novels include ''Sidney's Comet' ...

, F *2002–03:

, F MAAC All-Rookie Team *1998–99: Dan Ennis, D;

, F *1999–00: Matt Erhart, D;

, F *2000–01: Justin Eddy, G *2001–02: Jamie Holden, G *2002–03: Conrad Martin, D; Scott Reynolds, F

Atlantic Hockey The Atlantic Hockey Association (AHA) is an NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey conference which operates primarily in the northeastern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as an ice hockey-only conference. Unlike several other c ...

Individual awards

Player of the Year Several sports leagues honour their best player with an award called Player of the Year (POY) . In the United States, this type of award is usually called a Most Valuable Player award. Association football In association football, this award is he ...

: 2005 Regular Season Goaltending Award * Jamie Holden: 2004 Regular Season Scoring Trophy *

: 2005

Coach of the Year Many sports leagues, sportswriting associations, and other organizations confer "Coach of the Year" awards. In some sports — including baseball and association football — the award is called the "Manager of the Year" award. Some of the ...

* Rand Pecknold: 2005

All-Conference Teams

First Team All-Atlantic Hockey *2003–04: Jamie Holden, G *2004–05:

, D Second Team All-Atlantic Hockey *2003–04:

, D *2004–05: Jamie Holden, G; Matt Craig, F Atlantic Hockey All-Rookie Team *2003–04:

, D *2004–05: Matt Sorteberg, D;

Ben Nelson Earl Benjamin Nelson (born May 17, 1941) is an American attorney, businessman, and politician who served as the 37th governor of Nebraska from 1991 to 1999 and as a United States Senator from Nebraska from 2001 to 2013. He is a member of the De ...

, F

ECAC Hockey

Individual awards

ECAC Hockey Player of the Year *

: 2013 * Odeen Tufto: 2021 ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Year * Bryan Leitch: 2006 * Brandon Wong: 2008 *

: 2014 * Sam Lipkin: 2023 Ken Dryden Award *

: 2013 * Andrew Shortridge: 2019 * Keith Petruzelli: 2021 *

: 2022, 2023 ECAC Hockey Student-Athlete of the Year * Derek Smith: 2017 * Bo Pieper: 2018 ECAC Hockey Best Defensive Defenseman *

Zach Davies Zachary Ryan Davies (born February 7, 1993) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Milwaukee Brewers, San Diego Padres, Chicago Cubs and Arizona Diamondba ...

: 2013 ECAC Hockey Best Defensive Forward * Skyler Brind’Amour: 2023 Tim Taylor Award * Rand Pecknold: 2013, 2016, 2021, 2023 ECAC Hockey Most Outstanding Player in Tournament *

Connor Clifton Connor Clifton (born April 28, 1995) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL). He played collegiate hockey with Quinnipiac University. Playing career Born in Long Branch, New J ...

: 2016

All-Conference

First Team All-ECAC Hockey * 2005–06:

, D * 2006–07:

, D * 2012–13:

, G * 2014–15: Matthew Peca, F * 2015–16:

, F * 2018–19: Andrew Shortridge, G;

Chase Priskie Chase Evans Priskie (born March 19, 1996) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman currently playing for the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League (AHL), as a prospect for the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League ( ...

, D * 2020–21: Keith Petruzelli, G; Zach Metsa, D; Odeen Tufto, F * 2021–22:

, G; Zach Metsa, D * 2022–23:

, G; Collin Graf, F Second Team All-ECAC Hockey * 2008–09: Bryan Leitch, F * 2013–14: Kellen Jones, F;

, F * 2014–15:

, F * 2015–16:

Devon Toews Devon Toews ( ; born February 21, 1994) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman for the Colorado Avalanche of the National Hockey League (NHL). Toews was drafted 108th overall by the New York Islanders in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft. To ...

, D; Tim Clifton, F; Travis St. Denis, F * 2017–18:

, D * 2018–19: Odeen Tufto, F * 2019–20: Odeen Tufto, F * 2022–23: Zach Metsa, D; Ethan de Jong, F Third Team All-ECAC Hockey * 2006–07: Brandon Wong, F * 2011–12: Connor Jones, F * 2012–13:

, D; Jeremy Langlois, F * 2014–15: Michael Garteig, G; Danny Federico, D * 2015–16: Michael Garteig, G * 2016–17:

, D * 2017–18: Odeen Tufto, F * 2019–20: Peter DiLiberatore, D * 2021–22: Wyatt Bongiovanni, F * 2022–23: Skyler Brind'Amour, F ECAC Hockey All-Rookie Team * 2005–06: Bryan Leitch, F * 2006–07: Brandon Wong, F * 2011–12: Matthew Peca, F * 2013–14:

, F * 2014–15: Landon Smith, F * 2015–16:

, D * 2017–18: Odeen Tufto, F * 2018–19: Peter DiLiberatore, D; Wyatt Bongiovanni, F * 2020–21: Ty Smilanic, F * 2022–23: Sam Lipkin, F

Quinnipiac Bobcats Hall of Fame

The following is a list of people associated with the Quinnipiac men's ice hockey program who were elected into the Quinnipiac Bobcats Hall of Fame (induction date in parenthesis). * Michael Barrett (1990) * Richard Buckholz (2010) * Chris Cerrella (2010) * Russell Certo (1998) * Richard Ciardiello (2003) * Jim Hanscom (1994) *

Todd Johnson Todd Edward Johnson (born December 18, 1978) is an American former college and professional football player who was a safety in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons during the 2000s. Johnson played college football for the Un ...

(2000) * Ed Muzyka (2009) * Rand Pecknold (2012) * Bob Serenson (1993) * 2001-02 Team (2012) * Bill Verneris (1986)

Bobcats in the NHL

As of July 1, 2022 File:Bryce Van Brabant 140407.png, Bryce Van Brabant Source:

References

External links

Bobcats men's ice hockey
{{Quinnipiac University Ice hockey teams in Connecticut