November 7, 2022
A Frozen Four Contender, Bobcats Come Out Strong as ECAC Play Starts
by Cameron Levasseur/CHN Reporter
5-1-2.
That’s where Quinnipiac stands at the quarter-way mark of the regular season. A respectable record by all standards, but in those eight games lie a number of storylines to keep an eye on moving forward, for a team expected to be a Frozen Four contender.
A shutout loss at Maine and a tie with LIU are certainly blemishes on the Bobcats schedule. But in the same breath, walking into North Dakota and leaving with a win and a tie showcased this team’s ability to compete with the nation’s best.
That hot-and-cold play has been a theme for the Bobcats all season long, something that head coach Rand Pecknold acknowledges.
“Six games in, it’s been a rollercoaster,” Pecknold said after a split with Maine on Oct. 23. “We’re up, we’re down. We’ve got to grow up a little bit and mature and bring it every night if we’re going to win a championship.”
Quinnipiac’s stout defense, which allowed the fewest goals per game in the nation last season (1.3) took a step back in the opening stretch of the 2022-23 campaign. The Bobcats did not allow more than three goals in a game until the NCAA Tournament last year, but have already done so twice through eight games this season.
However, a positive opening weekend of ECAC Hockey play suggests they’re trending in the right direction. Quinnipiac stifled Colgate in the first period of Friday’s game, allowing only six shots and preventing all quality scoring opportunities. And while it fell back on their heels defensively through the middle frame against the Raiders, the Bobcats came out Saturday against Cornell even stronger in their own zone.
It took the Big Red nearly 24 minutes to put a shot on net, as Quinnipiac sticks and bodies clogged up the middle of the ice and stopped every puck that dared enter. That was the theme all night long, as the Bobcats blocked more shots (15) than were saved by sophomore goaltender Yaniv Perets (9).
“That’s a part of our culture,” Pecknold said after the 2-0 win on Nov. 5. “If you’re going to win at this level, you’ve got to block shots.”
The fashion in which those blocks came says a lot about Quinnipiac’s tight defensive structure. Cornell players had success gaining separation from their trailing defender around the…
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