Excitement and Patience await the 2024-2025 Quinnipiac Men's Ice Hockey Team

Quinnipiac saluting its fan's after an overtime win over Wisconsin

Coming off the most satisfying four year stretch in Quinnipiac men's ice hockey history, excitement and patience await for the 2024-2025 squad. After 110 wins, four ECAC regular season titles, four NCAA tournament appearances, three regional finals, a Frozen Four which cumulated in the program's first ever National Championship in the 2022-2023 season, new challenges await for next years team.

Gone are the likes of Frozen Four hero Jacob Quillan who signed a two year entry level contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs. He will finish out the season on an amateur tryout with the Toronto Marlies (AHL). Joining him in the professional ranks are Collin Graf who had 108 points over two seasons after transferring in from Union College. He signed a three year entry level contract with the San Jose Sharks and was immediately brought the the NHL club. Also gone is the third member of that championship line in Sam Lipkin, who gave up his final two seasons of eligibility to sign with the Arizona Coyotes, the team that drafted him in the 7th round of the 2021 NHL Draft. Anytime you lose a combined 130 points, it is going to sting. That is the price of success. Quinnipiac benefited from the Covid shutdown which helped them win the programs first ever national title. It enabled them to bring back a bunch of their own players for extra seasons along with filling some holes via the transfer portal. Now Quinnipiac will have a mini reset as they will likely bring in the biggest first year class since the 2019-2020 season. 

Other players not returning are captain Jayden Lee, CJ McGee and Zach Tupker who used a 5th Covid season this past year. Lee was a key member of the past three teams that won 93 games and went deep into the NCAA tournament in each of those years. McGee played a ton over the past two seasons in multiple different roles and will be missed. Others not returning are senior Iivari Rasanen who could have used a 5th year due to Covid and goaltender Vinny Duplessis. I thought that Rasanen was someone that might return to give the backend more experience. Duplessis not returning is not shocking. When the team got a commitment from a talented prospect in Dylan Silverstein, it was clear they were probably moving in a different direction for 2024-2025. Duplessis gave them stability in goal for one more run at championship glory but it was not meant to be. 

The scoreboard in Tampa after winning the 2023 Title

The Sherbrooke boys are both not returning as well. One day after the overtime loss to Boston College in the regional final, Christophe Fillion entered the transfer portal and two days later committed to play at Miami (OH) under new head coach Anthony Noreen. A day after Fillion entered the portal, Cristophe Tellier also put his name in the portal as well. After back to back 20 plus point seasons, he was expected to be a key member next season but now has decided to do that elsewhere. Fillion and Tellier were always a package deal especially when they committed together years ago. It is not surprising that Tellier has moved on once Fillion left first. It is not known what went into the departures of both, but it could be that the coaching staff felt it was time to bring in the committed recruits and not push them back any longer. 

Other players that have entered the transfer portal are sophomore defensemen Jake Martin (25 games), freshman defensemen Nicky Wallace (2 games) and sophomore forward Tim Heinke (6 Games). Heinke has already announced he will transfer to Holy Cross to play under Bill Riga.

Quinnipiac got some good news when they announced that both defensemen Cooper Moore (22 points, plus 26) and Travis Treloar (24 points, plus 8) were both returning for a 5th season. The Bobcats have also added transfer Jack Ricketts (35 points in 39 games) from Holy Cross. He will have one season of eligibility remaining and is strong on the faceoff dot. 

Quinnipiac celebrating after winning the 2023 National Title

The Bobcats will have some key players returning in Mason Marcellus (36 points), Andon Cerbone (26 points), Davis Pennington (24 points), Charles-Alexis Legault (24 points). Quinnipiac will need the likes of Victor Czerneckianair (14 points), Anthony Cipollone (13 points, Alex Power (9 points) and Matthew McGroarty (6 points) to take a greater leap next season if they want to remain in the upper echelon of teams not only the ECAC but nationally.

What will make or break next season for the team will be the incoming recruiting class which has a lot of talent. The gem of the class is Christopher Pelosi, a big strong center who is averaging a point per game for Sioux Falls in the USHL. A third round draft pick of the Boston Bruins in 2023, Pelosi is expected to see immediate minutes for Quinnipiac in likely a top six role along with the power play. He has the ability to challenge for the league rookie of the year with his talent. Aaron Schwartz is another standout in this class from the Surrey Eagles of the BCHL. Schwartz put up 81 points in 51 games and is a finalist for the league MVP. He is a creative play maker who also has the ability to score goals as well as he finished second in the league for goals at 34. Two other players who should play a factor in next years team are Tyler Borgula (48 points for Sioux Falls, USHL) and Ryan Smith (23 goals, 37 points for Tri-City, USHL). Noah Eyre (Sioux Falls, USHL), Andrej Kovacevic (Cowichan Valley, BCHL) and Michael Salandra (West Kelowna, BCHL) round out the committed forwards. It remains to be seen if maybe someone like Kovacevic is held back in juniors for another season if the coaching staff gets another forward from the transfer portal. Salandra has aged out in juniors so he will head to Hamden in the fall.

The back end is where the biggest concern lies. Moore, Pennington and Legault are a good start but after that they lack any experience besides Chase Ramsay who played in two games this past season. Nathan Tobey (Madison Capitols, USHL) and Braden Blace (Alberni Valley, BCHL) are coming in next season. Two other players I have listed but I am not sure they are even committed anymore in Aaron Brown (Blackfalds Bulldogs, BCHL) and Jonah Copre (Rockets Hockey Club, NCDC) This is based on Chris Heisenberg list but elite prospects does not have them listed for Quinnipiac next season. Based on how the defense only returns three players with major experience, this is where Quinnipiac should get experience via the transfer portal. They could also bring in Lucas Sorace (Penticton, BCHL) who I have listed for 2025-2026 and that's only because he missed a good portion of  the early BCHL season this year. Filling some defensive spots via the portal would be good business especially if you are going to have a young offense that may take some time to get going. 

In goal Quinnipiac will have Matej Marinov returning along with incoming freshman Dylan Silverstein (Sioux City, USHL). A talented prospect who at one time last season was enrolled at Boston College before withdrawing early in the 2022-2023 season, Silverstein has battled some injuries with some inconsistent play but has a ton of talent as he was thought highly of to play two seasons with the United States National Team Development Program. It is likely that knowing Rand's history with goaltenders, he will alternate between the two early in the season to see which one gets into a better rhythm. Fan favorite Noah Altman will be back as the third goaltender. 

Students, alumni and fans of the program need to preach patience with this new team. While the last three seasons were exciting in its own right, this next version of Quinnipiac could be just as exciting but how quickly they get there is another story. Have faith in Rand and his coaching staff to put a good team on the ice year in and year out especially if there are early season struggles due to the youthful nature of this upcoming team. 

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Thoughts and Observations from Quinnipiac's weekend series with AIC

Zach Metsa scored the game winning goal 51 seconds into overtime

Quinnipiac this past weekend had a home and home series against AIC of Atlantic Hockey. A short drive up I-91 saw the Bobcats and Yellow Jackets skate to a 2-2 on Friday before Quinnipiac won a thrilling 2-1 game in overtime on Saturday on Zach Metsa's goal. I didn't get the chance to see the Friday game because I was not going to fork over cash to something that wasn't ESPN Plus in which all leagues should be on. So with that you will only get my thoughts on Saturday's game.

- It was a struggle this weekend for Quinnipiac against a lesser opponent. The Bobcats are fortunate to come away without a loss and that is the best part you can say about a weekend like this. AIC probably is better than their record showed as four the losses came against Boston College, Providence and UMass Amherst. AIC is also a well coached team under Eric Lang who has turned the Yellow Jackets into a respectable program that was once a laughingstock. 

- What a game winning goal that was by Zach Metsa to send the Bobcat faithful home with a win after really dominating Saturday's game on the stat sheet but not with goals. Quinnipiac out shot AIC 45-15 and won 39 face-offs to AIC's 23. It was a pretty dominant effort and the Bobcats were not rewarded for it until the Metsa rocket of a goal just 51 seconds into overtime. Metsa has heated up with four points in his last three games and has seven points in eight games this year.

- I am little concerned so far with Quinnipiac's lack of scoring this season as in five of the eight games played, the Bobcats have scored two goals or less in them. They are averaging 2.75 goals per game this season, but ten of those goals game in two games against North Dakota and Holy Cross which means they are averaging just two goals per game in games they don't score five or more goals. More is needed from the forwards and on a consistent basis if the Bobcats want to be playing deep into March and April this year. 

- Defense is clearly the strength of this game and will win them a lot of games until they can score consistently on offense. It's such a deep unit that Nick Bochen who played 24 games last season has only played in one game while graduate transfer Tony Stillwell who played 80 games at Brown has only been able to get into the lineup for three games.

- The power play is a real challenge now for Quinnipiac. This weekend they went 0 for 7 and on the season they are a measly 8.6%. That just isn't going to cut it especially for a team in the top ten. They need to figure something out fast because its not trending well for them. 

- On the flip side the penalty kill continues to be strong as they kept AIC off the board on five opportunities this weekend. At 91.7% and in the top ten in the country in this category, this is more like a Quinnipiac team on the special teams. 

- Dylan St. Cyr had to come on in relief on Friday night as Yaniv Perets didn't play in periods two or three. Its unknown if Perets suffered some sort of injury in Friday's game so that is a situation that will have to be monitored as the duo of St. Cyr and Perets has been good to start the season. 

- Quinnipiac will open ECAC play this weekend when they travel to down Whitney Avenue Friday night to play Yale and then head to Providence on Saturday to face Brown. It is the first time Quinnipiac has faced rival Yale since February 29, 2020 to conclude the regular season. The two teams were supposed to meet in the ECAC quarterfinal before the season got shut down due to COVID-19. 

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2021-2022 Quinnipiac Season Preview

Wyatt Bongiovanni will captain the Bobcats in 2021-2022

The 2021-2022 season is upon us and the Quinnipiac Bobcats are fresh off their fifth ECAC regular season title in program history and the seventh trip to the NCAA Tournament in the Division I era. After losing 4-3 in overtime to eventual Frozen Four team Minnesota State, the Bobcats suffered some big losses with the graduation of forward Odeen Tufto and goaltender Keith Petruzzelli along with the early departure of defenseman Peter Diliberatore to the Vegas Golden Knights. They also lost associate coach Bill Riga who took the head coaching position at Holy Cross. He has been replaced by former Alabama Huntsville head coach Mike Corbett. Quinnipiac returns a good amount of talent and added five graduate transfers to boost the depth of the roster.

The Bobcats open the season as the ECAC preseason favorite in the coaches poll edging out Clarkson for the top spot. However in the media poll, the Bobcats slide in at third just behind Clarkson and Harvard. They also open the season ranked 9th in the USCHO poll. With fans back in the building for the first time since the 2019-2020 season, this should give the program a boost. The Bobcats playing a challenging non-conference schedule this season with Boston College, Northeastern, North Dakota and Arizona State just some of the teams that highlight the Quinnipiac schedule. It is time to take a look at how the Quinnipiac roster shapes up for the 2021-2022 campaign.

Forward

For the first time in four years, Quinnipiac will not have Odeen Tufto suiting up for them. 168 career points is always tough to replace but there is no better player that can pick up the production than sophomore Ty Smilanic. The second year player is coming off a 14 goal, 21 point season in 29 games for the Bobcats and the expectation is that the production will increase. Newly named captain Wyatt Bongiovanni only played in nine games due to a knee injury but put up 8 points in those games. When healthy he is a double digit goal scorer and someone you can count on to have 25-30 points. Senior Ethan de Jong had 29 points a season ago and is one of the top goal scorers on the team returning. One player that will help replace Tufto's production is graduate transfer Oliver Chau who comes from National Champion UMass to Hamden. He is a play maker up front who had 84 points in 135 games with the Minutemen. Other players that are expected to pick up the load are Desi Burgart, Ethan Leyh, Skyler Brind'Amour, Guus van Nes, Christophe Fillion, Joey Cipollone and Michael Lombardi. Freshman Jacob Quillan, Christophe Tellier and Liam McLinskey should compete for game action. 

Defense

Quinnipiac lost a big defensive piece in Peter Diliberatore who left after his junior season to sign with the Vegas Golden Knights. Senior Zach Metsa will lead the defense this season as he is coming off a career year with 26 points in 29 games. However after Metsa there is not a ton of offensive production from the blue line. The Bobcats will need players like Jayden Lee, Nick Bochen and Iivari Rasanen to take bigger steps offensively to bring much needed production from the back end. Quinnipiac has a ton of depth on the blue line with Marcus Chorney, swing player TJ Friedmann who can also play forward and CJ McGee. They added to that depth with graduate transfers Griffin Mendel (Denver), Tony Stillwell (Brown) and Brandon Less (Dartmouth). Neither Stillwell or Less have played a game in over a year as the Ivy League schools didn't play last year. Skilled freshman Jack Babbage rounds out the defensive unit. Babbage is a player that might be able to give the Bobcats point production from the blue line as he had 29 points a season ago for Chicago in the USHL. This is clearly a veteran defensive group for Quinnipiac but how much offensive production they get from them is still yet an unknown.

Goaltending

For the first time in over a decade the Bobcats go into a season with some questions at the goaltender position. The only returner on the roster is sophomore Yaniv Perets who played in just two games a season ago in relief of the now departed Keith Petruzzelli. Joining Perets will be graduate transfer Dylan St. Cyr who most recently played for Notre Dame. In 22 games last season for the Fighting Irish, St. Cyr was 11-9-1 with a 2.44 goals against average and a .921 save percentage. Prior to that he had only played 11 games in three years for the Irish. The son of former Canada women's national ice hockey team goaltender Manon Rhéaume, St. Cyr is an undersized goaltender at 5'8, 170 pounds, not the prototypical Bobcats goaltender which is usually over 6'1. Rounding out the goaltender room is 6'7 freshman Noah Altman. The starting position will be a battle between Perets and St. Cyr and it would not surprise me to see head coach Rand Pecknold play both early in the season to see which one can seize the job.

2021-2022 Outlook

Expect Quinnipiac to be a team that finishes in the top three in the ECAC to compete for both the Cleary Cup and a Whitelaw Cup Championship. While the goaltender situation is probably somewhat of a question mark at this point, there is enough talent on the roster to get back to the NCAA tournament and the Bobcats should be tested more this season than they were a year ago when they played a rotation of three other ECAC teams and a pretty weak non-conference slate. This should help prepare the team in the stretch run of February and March as they look to return to the NCAA tournament for the second consecutive season.

 

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Forward Mason Marcellus commits to Quinnipiac

Mason Marcellus during his time with Drayton Valley Thunder

The Quinnipiac Bobcats picked up their third future commitment since August when 2002 born forward Mason Marcellus committed to the program via an Instagram post this week. Marcellus, a native of Greely, Ontario, Canada is a 5'9, 170 pound left shot forward who primarily plays the center position. The USHL news release goes a lot more into Marcellus commitment to the program.

A skilled offensive player, Marcellus was over a point per game player in a shortened season for the Drayton Valley Thunder of the Alberta Junior Hockey League where he had 22 points in 16 games (6 goals, 16 assists). This season, Marcellus is playing for the Lincoln Stars in the USHL before coming to Hamden likely for the 2022-2023 season. 

Links

EliteProspects Player Page

USHL Player Page

 

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Ty Smilanic drafted 74th overall by the Florida Panthers

Ty Smilanic became the highest drafted Quinnipiac player

Quinnipiac freshman forward Ty Smilanic has been selected 74th overall in the third round by the Florida Panthers. The Colorado native becomes the highest drafted NHL draft pick in the programs history surpassing senior goaltender Keith Petruzelli who was selected 88th overall in the 2017 draft. 

He finished the 2019-2020 season with 10 goals and 21 assists in 46 games played for the United States National Developmental Program. However, Smilanic was expected to go higher than the third round but injuries this past season caused his draft stock to fall. Still, the Panthers get tremendous value in the third round as they can await Smilanic's development under head coach Rand Pecknold for the next few seasons as he gets stronger and better as a hockey player.

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Defensemen Nick Bochen commits to Quinnipiac

Nick Bochen (photo by Prince George Spruce Kings, BCHL)

Quinnipiac picked up a new commit just eight days before Christmas with the news that 2001 born defensemen Nick Bochen has committed to the program for the 2020-2021 according to Jeff Cox. Bochen is a former University of Michigan commit who has played the past two seasons for the Prince George Spruce Kings in the BCHL.

Prince George Spruce Kings (BCHL) '01 RD Nick Bochen has committed to Quinnipiac for 2020-21. Former Michigan commit has 2-11--13 in 22 GP this season.

— Jeff Cox (@JeffCoxSports) December 17, 2019

Bochen, native of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada is a 5'9, 175 pound right shot defensemen who has a 2-11-13 line in 22 games with Prince George this season. Both of his goals have come via the power play. As a 17 year old last year in 58 games played put up a 8-30-38 stat line with another six points in the playoffs.

A move for a defensemen for next season was expected with the departures of Cam Boudreau and Wyatt Head back to the junior ranks. Bochen will be expected to be a contributor day one as Quinnipiac has to replace Karlis Cukste next fall and possibly Peter Diliberatore should he depart early for a pro contract.

Links


Elite Prospects Player Page
BCHL Player Page

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Quinnipiac men's hockey to play in Belfast in 2020-2021 season

Quinnipiac deputy director of athletics Sarah Fraser at the announcement

The Quinnipiac University men's ice hockey team is heading back over the pond. It was announced on Thursday in Belfast, Northern Ireland that Quinnipiac will take part in next years Friendship Four tournament along with Army, Mercyhurst and Sacred Heart all teams from Atlantic Hockey. Quinnipiac deputy director of athletics Sarah Fraser represented Quinnipiac in the announcement.

This will be the second time Quinnipiac will have played in this tournament with the first being in the 2016-2017 season when they faced St. Lawrence and then Vermont in the championship game finishing as the runner up after a 5-1 loss.

Quinnipiac has not faced Mercyhurst since the 2004-2005 season and they were the Bobcats biggest rival in the early years of Division I hockey. The last time Quinnipiac faced Army was the 2004-2005 and Sacred Heart was the 2013-2014 season but there is a chance that they could face the Pioneers in the Connecticut Ice tournament this year.

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2019-2020 Quinnipiac Bobcats Men's Ice Hockey Season Preview

Rand Pecknold's team enters as a top ten program in the pre-season polls

It has been six months since the Quinnipiac men's ice hockey team last took to the ice to play a meaningful game. The 2018-2019 ended just one game short of the program's third Frozen Four appearance of this decade when they lost 3-1 to the eventual two-time national champion Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs 3-1 in the Allentown regional final.

The program lost eight players from last years squad including five starters on the back end including the starting goaltender in Andrew Shortridge who signed with the San Jose Sharks organization foregoing his final year of eligibility. Brogan Rafferty also departed early to the Vancouver Canucks while Chase Priskie, Luke Shiplo and Brandon Fortunato all graduated. Up front the Bobcats lost only two players of note in Craig Martin and Scott Davidson. Martin's 30 points will be tough to replace and the leadership of Davidson along with Priskie will also be missed as well. Freshman Matthew Cassidy also is not returning to the program and has headed to the USHL with the Youngstown Phantoms.

Despite the losses on the back end there is a lot of optimism in Hamden this season for another good season on the ice. Quinnipiac also opened as a top ten team in both the USCHO.com and USA Today polls. The team was also picked second in the ECAC coaches poll while they were picked third in the ECAC media poll. Cornell took the top spot in both polls. Junior forward Odeen Tufto was the lone Bobcat to be picked on the ECAC pre-season all league team as he is coming off back-to-back 40 point seasons.

Odeen Tufto is expected to lead a talented Bobcats offense

The strength of the Bobcats is surely with their forwards. They return four of their top five scoring forwards from a season ago in Tufto, Ethan de Jong, Alex Whelan and Wyatt Bongiovanni. Those four combined for 52 goals and a total of 115 points last season so the expectation is they get even better this season. Senior captain Nick Jermain has always had the skill to become a good scorer but he has had trouble staying healthy. Sophomore William Fallstrom had a solid freshman year and should get better along with fellow sophomores Michael Lombardi and Desi Burgart. Quinnipiac adds some talent up front in Edmonton Oilers draft pick Skyler Brind'Amour [son of Hurricanes head coach Rod] and Ethan Leyh who both should see a lot of minutes and become good producers for the Bobcats as freshman. One sleeper to watch out for is red-shirt freshman Guus van Nes. The Netherlands born forward sat out last season and hasn't played in well over a year after aging out in juniors during his final season but he ended up attending the San Jose Sharks developmental camp over the summer.

If there is a potential weakness to this team, its probably on the back end. With Chase Priskie, Brandon Fortunato, Luke Shiplo gone to graduation and Brogan Rafferty leaving after his junior season for an NHL deal with the Vancouver Canucks, the lone upperclassmen back there is senior Karlis Cukste. Quinnipiac has ten underclassmen on the back end. Sophomores Peter Diliberatore and Zach Metsa each got significant playing time a season ago and will need to step up as leaders on the back end and log a lot of minutes along with picking up the point production of the departed Priskie, Fortunato and Rafferty. Fellow sophomores Cam Boudreau and Marcus Chorney saw 21 games and 3 games respectively last season and the hope they can crack the lineup full time this year. Rand Pecknold has moved back forward T.J. Friedmann to defense which on the surface of it doesn't bode well for the defensive corps. In this bloggers opinion that screams of desperation early especially when this team has ten other defensemen on the roster. There are likely to be four scratches a night as coach Pecknold will likely play with seven defensemen on game days. Freshman Logan Britt, Wyatt Head and C.J. McGee should expect to factor highly into the mix. Each of them had successful junior seasons in the USHL, BCHL and NAHL respectively. Britt won the Clark Cup after getting traded to Sioux Falls. Fellow freshman Jayden Lee while undersized was accelerated to Quinnipiac this season after playing in the BCHL a year ago. He was expected to be part of the 2020-2021 recruiting class. It remains to be seen if he is ready for the collegiate level or if he was rushed to Quinnipiac when he could have used another year of seasoning in junior hockey. It may take the Bobcats a half season to get the defense settled out but they have good coaches on the staff who will figure out which parts fit where on the roster.

Keith Petruzzelli will need a strong season if QU wants to reach the NCAA tournament

Goal-tending is another concern in my opinion for Quinnipiac but to a lessor degree. While I have no doubt the talent is there for the position to be very good it all depends on the continued development of junior Keith Petruzzelli. With Andrew Shortridge having departed a year early for a pro contract with the San Jose Sharks, the spotlight now falls onto the shoulders of Petruzzelli who has yet to live up to the hype as a third round pick by the Detroit Red Wings. However, I have heard from a source that Petruzzelli has made big strides this off season and in practices. We just need to see if it translates in success in game action. Freshman Evan Fear is expected to be Petruzzelli's back up and will likely push the veteran goaltender. Fear was strong down the stretch after a trade to Waterloo in the USHL. He posted a 1.99 goals against average along with a .922 save percentage in four playoff games. Josh Mayanja will likely be the third goaltender once again.

Those three goaltenders will have a new goal-tending coach as Jared Waimon has moved on to a scouting position with the Tampa Bay Lightning that was well deserved. He has been replaced by former Bobcats goaltender and goal-tending coach Justin Eddy ('04), who returns to the program for a second stint after coaching back in the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 seasons for the Bobcats.

This will be a big challenge for Rand Pecknold and the coaching staff. While the talent is there, along with expectations high being a top ten team in the country, we have to remember this team has 22 underclassmen on the roster and there are expected to be some growing pains. Quinnipiac has the benefit of great coaches who will work to figure out how to put it all together and once they do it wouldn't surprise me to see this team competing for the Cleary and Whitelaw cups this year along with another NCAA tournament berth. 


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Brogan Rafferty signs with Vancouver Canucks

Brogan Rafferty signed with the Vancouver Canucks

One day after its season came to an end in the Midwest Regional Final at the hands of the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs, the underclassmen exodus has begun in Hamden. Junior defensemen Brogan Rafferty signed a one-year entry level contract with the Vancouver Canucks per a press release by the organization.

Rafferty leaves Quinnipiac after posting a 24 point season on four goals and 20 assists in 38 games which was seventh best on the team in scoring. He assisted on Craig Martin's goal in the Midwest Regional Final loss to UMD. In 116 games played for the Bobcats, Rafferty finishes his career in Hamden with 65 points on 10 goals and 55 assists.

Congrats to Brogran on this great accomplish and best of luck with the Canucks organization. Stay with the BobcatsHockeyBlog for all news of potential underclassmen signings.


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Diliberatore & Bongiovanni named to ECAC All-League Rookie Team

Peter Diliberatore was name to the ECAC All Rookie team

Two Quinnipiac freshman were named to the ECAC All-League Rookie Team as announced by the league office on Monday. Peter Diliberatore and Wyatt Bongiovanni were honored for their outstanding freshman campaigns by being selected to the All-League Rookie Team.

Diliberatore, a native of Bedford, Nova Scotia, Canada burst on the scene directly from the prep school ranks with 19 points in 36 games with a plus 23 rating the latter which led the Bobcats this season. The sixth round draft pick of the Vegas Golden Knights, should be a staple on the Quinnipiac for the next couple of seasons in order to mature for the NHL. Diliberatore won one ECAC Rookie of the Week honors this season and was named as the ECAC Rookie of the Month for December.

Bongiovaani also was named to the ECAC All Rookie team

Bongiovanni, a native of Birmingham, Michigan finished 8th on the Bobcats in scoring with 23 points but was third on the team in goals with 14. He had six power play goals to go along with three game winning goals this season. He earned ECAC Rookie of the Week honors three times this season and was named the ECAC Rookie of the Month for February.

Quinnipiac with a record of 25-9-2 will return to action on either March 29 or 30 in the NCAA Tournament. The field will be announced on March 24 at 7 pm but Quinnipiac is currently a lock for the NCAA tournament and it is just a matter of whether they will be a #2 or #3 seed and in what region they will land in.


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Wyatt Bongiovanni named ECAC rookie of the week

Wyatt Bongiovanni picked up his third ECAC rookie of the week

After a split of the weekend with St. Lawrence and Clarkson, Quinnipiac freshman Wyatt Bongiovanni took home his third ECAC rookie of the week honors per a press release from the league office. He had a hat trick and an assist in Friday's 7-2 win over St. Lawrence. Two of the goals came by way of the power play. It is the sixth time this season that a Quinnipiac freshman has taken home the rookie of the week honors.

Bongiovanni who picked up his first collegiate hat trick previously was the rookie of the week for February 4th and November 19th. It was his first four point game at Quinnipiac and his third game this year with three or more points. Bongiovanni is tied for second on the team with 14 goals scored and is sixth in scoring with 22 points. 

Congratulations to Wyatt on another great accomplishment. Quinnipiac concludes the regular season this weekend when they travel to Brown on Friday before a short drive down Whitney Avenue on Saturday to face rival Yale at Ingalls Rink. 

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Two Bobcats take home ECAC weekly honors

Odeen Tufto has 35 points this season

After a weekend that saw Quinnipiac take four ECAC points in North Country, two players were honored as ECAC player and rookie of the week respectively as announced in a press release by the league office. For the second time this season Odeen Tufto has been named the ECAC player of the week after a two goal, four assist performance in helping Quinnipiac to a pair of wins this weekend. Both of Tufto's goals came by way of the power play. At 35 points on 13 goals and 22 assists he is closing in on back to back 40 point seasons in his first two collegiate campaigns.

Wyatt Bongiovanni is third on Quinnipiac with 10 goals

Quinnipiac freshman Wyatt Bongiovanni was also honored for the second time this season as the rookie of the week. His two goal, one assist game against St. Lawrence earned him the honors once again as he was previously the rookie of the week for the week of November 19th. Bongiovanni has 16 points this season on 10 goals and 6 assists. His 10 goals this season put him third on the team for goals scored behind Chase Priskie and Odeen Tufto. 

Congrats to both players on your ECAC weekly award honors. 

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Two Bobcats take home ECAC Hockey monthly awards

Peter Diliberatore has a 1-7-8 line his freshman season so far

Fresh off winning the ECAC rookie of the week on Monday, Peter Diliberatore was today name the ECAC rookie of the month for December. He averaged a point-per-game during the month of December, scoring a goal and adding three assists. The 2018 6th round draft pick of the Vegas Golden Knights has a 1-7-8 stat line in 18 game played this season for Quinnipiac with a plus 12 rating.

Andrew Shortridge has a .970 save percentage this season for Quinnipiac

Junior goaltender Andrew Shortridge has been named the ECAC goaltender of the month after allowing a single goal in two games in the month of December. He shut out then #1 UMass 4-0 in Hamden on December 7th with multiple spectacular saves and he gave up no goals in a 6-0 win against Colgate but was pulled for sophomore Josh Mayanja before he could record his 4th shutout of the season. This season he is 7-0 with a .72 goals against average and a .970 save percentage in seven games played with three shutouts. This is the second award for Shortridge as he was named the ECAC goaltender of the week award for the week of December 10th.


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Peter Diliberatore named ECAC Rookie of the Week

Peter Diliberatore (photo copyright BobcatsHockeyBlog)

For the fourth time this season the Quinnipiac Bobcats have had a player win the ECAC Rookie of the Week award. Peter Diliberatore finished with a goal and an assist with a plus five rating in Quinnipiac's 6-0 win over Colgate this past Saturday which gave head coach Rand Pecknold his 500th career win and Monday the league announced the him as the rookie of the week in a press release.

Diliberatore, a true freshman and a draft pick of the Vegas Golden Knights has played in all 18 games for the Bobcats this season scoring 8 points this year on a goal and seven assists. The goal Saturday against Colgate was his first NCAA goal of his career. He is also fourth on the Bobcats in plus/minus at a plus 12. He follows previous winners Wyatt Bongiovanni, Ethan de Jong and Michael Lombardi as Bobcats to have won the ECAC Rookie of the Week award this season. 

Quinnipiac returns to ECAC play next weekend with a home series against Colgate and Cornell. 

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Cam Boudreau joining Quinnipiac for second semester

Cam Boudreau will be joining Quinnipiac in the 2nd semester (photo by Junior Bruins)

The Quinnipiac Bobcats will get a jolt on the blue line as they begin the second half of the season. The program has decided to accelerate NCDC Junior Bruins defenseman Cam Boudreau for the second semester of the 2018-2019 as was announced in a press release by the USPHL.

Boudreau will give Quinnipiac depth on the blue line as they make a push for the ECAC championship in the second half of the season and a potential deep NCAA tournament run. The left shot, 6'1, 180 pound Boudreau gives the Bobcats ten true defenseman on the roster but with both Zach Metsa and Joe O'Connor, both playing forward due to injuries, it looks like the coaching staff felt additional depth was necessary and therefore the acceleration of Boudreau took place. I originally had Boudreau as part of the 2019-2020 freshman class. 

The Salem, New Hampshire native was the captain of the Junior Bruins this season and finished with 14 points (3 goals, 11 assists) in 29 games played this season. Overall in a season and a half with the Junior Bruins, Boudreau finished with 30 points (6 goals, 24 assists) in 74 games played. 

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Two more Quinnipiac players earn ECAC weekly awards

Chase Priskie has won his first ECAC player of the week

For the second consecutive week following another weekend sweep, the Quinnipiac Bobcats men's ice hockey team picked up the ECAC player and rookie of the week awards as announced in a press release by the league office. Last week it was Odeen Tufto and Ethan de Jong taking home the hardware. This week, its the captain of the Bobcats, Chase Priskie taking home the player of the week award after three goals on the weekend. Two of the goals were game winning ones while he also popped in two power play goals.

Priskie has had an excellent first half of the season elevating himself into the Hobey Baker race with 19 points (11 goals, 8 assists) in 15 games played. His 11 goals tie him for second in the country in that category and is the leader among all defenseman. His 19 points tie him for 6th in the country in scoring while he leads the nation with five game winning goals and is tied for first with six power play goals. This is the first ECAC player of the week award for Chase Priskie who had two ECAC rookie of the week awards back in the 2015-2016 season.

Michael Lombardi, left in between two Princeton players won ECAC rookie of the week

Barrington, Rhode Island native Michael Lombardi has been named the ECAC rookie of the week after a goal and an assist with a plus two rating in the weekend series against Princeton. He is the third consecutive Quinnipiac freshman to win the rookie of the week award this season following both Bongiovanni and de Jong. Lombardi has 5 points (2 goals, 3 assists) in 15 games played and is riding a four game point streak.

Congrats to both Chase and Michael on their ECAC weekly awards.


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Two Bobcats win ECAC Hockey weekly awards

Odeen Tufto is the ECAC player of the week for November 26th

After its second straight weekend sweep, Quinnipiac men's ice hockey has picked up two more weekly awards as was announced the ECAC league office in a press release. Odeen Tufto took home the ECAC player of the week after a three goal and three assist weekend against the Maine Black Bears. Tufto had a monster game on Friday when he had three goals and two assists and followed the game with an assist on Ethan de Jong's goal on Saturday night. Tufto leads Quinnipiac with 18 points on 9 goals and 9 assists after a 41 point freshman season a year ago. This is the second ECAC player of the week for Tufto who won the award last season for the week of January 16, 2018 when he was also named the rookie of the week as well.

Ethan de Jong (left) won ECAC rookie of the week

A week after Wyatt Bongiovanni took the ECAC rookie of the week award, it was another Quinnipiac freshman claiming the award this week in Ethan de Jong. The North Vancouver, B.C. native had two goals and one assist in two games over the weekend. He is riding a three game point streak (2 goals, 2 assists) and has 10 points (3 goals, 7 assists) in 13 games played on Quinnipiac's top line this season. Congrats to both Odeen and Ethan on their ECAC weekly awards.

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Wyatt Bongiovanni named ECAC Rookie of the Week

Wyatt Bongiovanni (center) has won his first ECAC award

After a three point game in a 5-0 win against the Colgate Raiders in which he had two power play goals, Quinnipiac freshman forward Wyatt Bongiovanni has been named the ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Week as announced in a press release by the league. The Michigan native has gotten off to a good start for the Bobcats with 7 points (5 goals, 2 assists) in 11 games on Quinnipiac's top line. He has two multi point games on the season along with two power play goals.

Bongiovanni came to Quinnipiac after the playing the previous season with the Muskegon Lumberjacks (USHL) in which he nearly average a point per game last season despite missing games due to injury. He finished his USHL career with 79 points (32 goals, 47 assists) in 152 games games between Muskegon, Tri-City and Des Moines.

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Quinnipiac picked 8th in media, 7th in coaches poll

The ECAC released its preseason polls today and coming off a 9th place finish in the 2017-2018 season, the love was not there for Quinnipiac in either the media or coaches poll. The Bobcats were picked to finish 8th in the media poll and 7th in the coaches poll coming off the programs first losing season since 1995-1996. This was the first year I had a ballot for the media poll and I ended up picking Quinnipiac 5th. The offense should be much better with an influx of talented freshman up front that will help support returning leading scorer Odeen Tufto (41 points) and leading goal scorer Alex Whelan (16 goals). The defense returns four upperclassmen and goaltenders Andrew Shortridge and Keith Petruzzelli should be better this season. Quinnipiac opens the season with an exhibition game against Prince Edward Island on October 6th before kicking off the regular season on October 13th at Vermont. Here is the media and coaches polls in full.

ECAC Media Poll

1. Cornell (16) 246

2. Princeton (4) 217

3. Clarkson 200

4. Union 193

5. Harvard 180

6. Dartmouth 126

7. Yale 124

8. Quinnipiac 119

9. Colgate 92

10. RPI 56

11. Brown 47

12. St. Lawrence 40

ECAC Coaches Poll

1. Cornell (8) 117

2. Princeton (4) 106

3. Union 97

4. Clarkson 92

5. Harvard 89

6. Yale 64

7. Quinnipiac 63

8. Dartmouth 54

9. Colgate 36

T-10. RPI 28

T-10. St. Lawrence 28

12. Brown 18


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John Furgele signs with ECHL Maine Mariners

John Furgele, center in game against Colgate (photo copyright BobcatsHockeyBlog)

Former Quinnipiac Bobcats defenseman John Furgele has signed with the Maine Mariners of the ECHL according to a press release announced by the team. The Mariners will begin play in the 2018-2019 season, were formally the Alaska Aces but were relocated to Maine for the upcoming season and will be an affiliate of the New York Rangers. Furgele, who played one season at Quinnipiac after transferring from the University of New Hampshire following two seasons there, played in 38 games for the Bobcats recording 14 points (1 goal, 13 assists) with 14 penalty minutes and was a minus five for the season.

A native of Glen Mills, PA, Furgele had one year of college eligibility remaining but graduated this past May. Furgele was a reliable defenseman for Quinnipiac and earned the respect of his teammates as he was an alternate captain for the team in the 2017-2018 season. In 111 NCAA games between the University of New Hampshire and Quinnipiac, Furgele recored 37 points (4 goals, 33 assists).


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