Quinnipiac University
Vermont
#8/8 Bobcats Travel to Vermont, Face Catamounts Saturday
10/14/2021 2:30:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey
Single Road Tilt On Tap for Men's Ice Hockey
The Bobcats went unbeaten at the Ice Breaker Tournament last weekend, tying #6/8 Boston College and defeating #18 Northeastern at the DCU Center in Worcester, Mass.
#8/8 Quinnipiac at Vermont
Saturday, Oct. 17 | 7 PM
Watch | Live Stats | QU Game Notes | UVM Game Notes
Last Time Out
Quinnipiac battled back to erase a 2-0 deficit and earn a 2-2 tie against #6/8 Boston College on Friday night. Sophomore Ty Smilanic and junior Skyler Brind'Amour both scored in the season opener while sophomore goaltender Yaniv Perets made 17 saves in his first career start. On Saturday, senior TJ Friedmann scored twice and Perets earned his first career victory and shutout as Quinnipiac blanked #18 Northeastern, 3-0.
Scouting Vermont
The Catamounts opened the season with a two-game series against Colgate in Burlington. UVM dropped both games at home, 5-3 and 2-1. Robbie Stucker and Jacques Bouquot both recorded two points in Friday's game. Following the Quinnipiac game, the Catamounts will play their fourth straight ECAC contest, as RPI visits next week.
All-Time vs. Vermont
Saturday's contest will be the sixth meeting between QU and UVM, with the Bobcats holding a 4-1 all-time edge including three victories in a row. The last time the teams met in Burlington, Quinnipiac won a 3-2 game on October 13, 2018. The only UVM win in the series came in 2016 in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Breaking The Ice
Perets joined teammates Friedmann and Brind'Amour on the Ice Breaker All-Tournament team. Friedmann was named the tournament MVP after scoring twice in the win over Northeastern.
Sky(ler)'s the Limit
Brind'Amour has been named the ECAC Hockey Player of the Week for his performance this past weekend, as announced by the league on Oct. 11. Brind'Amour tallied a goal and an assist to lead the team with two points against BC. Brind'Amour then added another assist in the Bobcats' 2-0 win over No. 18 Northeastern. He also won 8-of-10 faceoffs against the Huskies.
Pecknold's Progress
Quinnipiac men's ice hockey head coach Rand Pecknold earned career victory 550 in last weekend's 3-0 win over No. 18 Northeastern. He is the 11th coach all-time to hit 550 career wins and the second active NCAA Division I coach to do so.
Preseason Accolades
Senior assistant captains Ethan De Jong and Zach Metsa both earned Preseason All-ECAC Hockey honors as voted on by the league's coaches and announced on September 27. The coaches also selected Quinnipiac men's ice hockey as the number one team in the 2021-22 preseason coaches' poll.
Respect Your Elders
The Bobcats added five graduate transfers to the roster for the 2021-22 season, after only having one previous grad transfers in the history of the program. Dylan St. Cyr (Notre Dame), Griffin Mendel (Denver), Oliver Chau (UMass), Brendan Less (Dartmouth), and Tony Stillwell (Brown) will all make their Quinnipiac debuts this season.
Welcome Aboard
Rand Pecknold and his staff have announced the addition of Mike Corbett to the Quinnipiac men's ice hockey program as an assistant coach. Corbett comes to Hamden with an extensive resume in coaching and was most recently the assistant coach at Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh, Pa. With the Colonials, he coached three AHA All-League selections, two all-rookie selections, and the league's rookie, defenseman, and co-player of the year. Corbett takes the role of Bill Riga, who left the program in the summer to become the head coach at Holy Cross.
All Smiles
Ty Smilanic (Denver, Colorado) was invited to USA Hockey's World Junior Summer Showcase. A 2020 NHL Draft third round selection of the Florida Panthers, Smilanic was one of 44 players invited by USA Hockey to the World Junior Summer Showcase. Among the 44 invitees, Smilanic is one of 17 that played college hockey in the 2020-21 season.
I'm The Captain Now
Senior Wyatt Bongiovanni was named the 48th captain in program history, succeeding Odeen Tufto '21 who served as the team captain for the Bobcats in 2020-21. Bongiovanni previously served as an assistant captain for the Bobcats as a junior during Tufto's captaincy. Ethan de Jong and Zach Metsa have been named assistant captains for the 2021-22 season.
Cleary Cup Champions
The Bobcats won the Cleary Cup as ECAC Hockey Regular Season Champions for the fifth time in the past nine seasons after going 10-4-4 in league play. Quinnipiac has clinch the Cleary Cup in two of the last three seasons.
Hobey Baker Finalists
Odeen Tufto and Keith Petruzzelli were named Top Ten Finalists for the 2021 Hobey Baker Award. Tufto and Petruzzelli are the first pair of finalists for the Hobey Baker Award in the same season for the Bobcats, and the fourth and fifth finalists in program history after Reid Cashman '07 in 2004-05, Eric Hartzell '13 in 2012-13 and Chase Priskie '19 in 2018-19.
ECAC Hockey Coach of the Year
Head coach Rand Pecknold was named the ECAC Hockey Tim Taylor Coach of the Year for the third time in his career. It was also the fourth league coach of the year award in his career after taking home the honor in Atlantic Hockey in 2004-05.
First Team All-League
The Bobcats placed three players on the ECAC Hockey First Team for the first time in program history, as Tufto, Petruzzelli and Metsa all earned first team honors. It was each of their first times named to the First Team, and for Tufto it capped off a four-year run as an All-League selection after he was named to the All-Rookie Team in 2017-18 and had back-to-back Second Team selections in 2018-19 and 2019-20.
All-Rookie Team
First year Ty Smilanic was named to the ECAC Hockey All-Rookie Team after leading the nation with 14 goals. Smilanic was one of the most dominant scorers not just in the league but in the nation. He is Quinnipiac's 10th ECAC Hockey All-Rookie Team selection, and fourth in the last four years. The Bobcats have had 21 All-Rookie Team selections since joining the Division I ranks as members of the MAAC Hockey League followed by Atlantic Hockey.
Team Rankings
Quinnipiac was one of the top teams in the nation statistically in 2020-21 as the Bobcats were fifth with 100 goals and sixth in goals allowed at 2.00 per game. Quinnipiac was also the only team in the nation to rank in the top five of both power play and penalty kill, as the Bobcats' power play went 25 percent last season while the penalty kill was 88.8 percent.
Quinnipiac in the NCAA Tournament
Quinnipiac reached the NCAA Tournament for the seventh time in program history, and sixth time in the past eight tournaments. Prior to last year, the last time Quinnipiac was in the NCAA Tournament in 2019, the Bobcats defeated Arizona State before falling to eventual national champion Minnesota Duluth in the Midwest Regional Final. Quinnipiac is 7-7 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.
Senior Class
Quinnipiac's senior class is among the best in the nation as the Class of 2022 leads the nation with 48 goals, 120 points, 4.25 points per game, 19 power-play goals, 25 power-play assists and 44 power-play points. Quinnipiac's Class of 2022 has been among the best of that class in the nation in each of their three seasons of college hockey.
de Jong and the Restless
Ethan de Jong has been one of the Bobcats most dominant players in 2020-21 as e tied for first on the team and eighth in the nation with 14 goals while his 29 points were good for 14th in the nation last year. Both were career-highs. de Jong picked up points in seven straight games prior to the NCAA Tournament and 11 of his last 12 games.
Metsa World Peace
Zach Metsa was among the nation's top defensemen last seaosn as he led the country with 21 assists and 26 points while his five goals were sixth among defensemen. He recorded points in seven of the last nine games as the blueliner reached career-highs in goals, assists and points.
No Ty-me Like the Present
Sophomore Ty Smilanic had an impressive first season in the blue and gold for the Bobcats as he tied for first on the team and eighth in the nation with 14 goals. He chipped in seven assists for the Bobcats to give him 21 points, one of eight rookies in the nation with at least 21 points.
Burgart King
Desi Burgart has provided some invaluable depth scoring for the Bobcats, tallying a career-high 10 goals and 16 points a year ago. He had more goals and points last season than his first two seasons combined.
Rollin' In My Lombo
Michael Lombardi had a red-hot February for the Bobcats as he recorded points in seven of eight games from Feb. 5-March 5 to boost his scoring to five goals and 10 assists for 15 points. Lombardi's 16 total points are more than he had in his first two seasons in the blue and gold (14).
Guus Van Goal
Guus van Nes had an impressive 2020-21 as he piled up 12 assists to go with two goals for 14 points after just five as a first year in 2019-20. van Nes played in all 29 games this season for the Bobcats.
Just Bein' Brindy
Skyler Brind'Amour had another solid season for the Bobcats as a sophomore as he tied his career-high with nine assists and was two points shy of his 2019-20 with 13 points. Brind'Amour was solid at the faceoff dot, winning 54.1 percent of his draws.
Fillin' It Up
Christophe Fillion joined the Bobcats squad a few games into last season and his made an immediate impact, chipping in six goals and adding four assists for 10 points. Fillion was one of just six rookies in ECAC Hockey to record at least 10 points.
