Bobcat Connections Aplenty on Team USA Ahead of World Juniors
12/16/2022 10:01:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Moncton, N.B. — There is plenty of Quinnipiac influence on Team USA at the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship, with seven different connections to the Bobcats program representing the Red, White and Blue this winter in Moncton, New Brunswick.
There are four current connections and three from the past as Rand Pecknold gets set to lead the 2023 version of Team USA into the tournament. He is joined by his current director of hockey operations Shawn Roche and head equipment manager Rob Kennedy, as well as freshman forward Sam Lipkin.
Pecknold is on his third Team USA assignment, previously serving as an assistant coach for the Men's National Team at the 2017 IIHF Men's World Championship, as well as the US Under-18 Men's National Team that earned a silver medal at the 2018 U18 Men's World Championship.
Three former Bobcat connections are also part of the squad, with former captain and assistant coach Reid Cashman, former goaltenders coach Jared Waimon and former student-manager and operations graduate assistant Jessica Thibault all serving as part of Pecknold's staff this winter.
Cashman played 151 games for Quinnipiac from 2003-2007, totaling 148 points. He served as an assistant captain during the 2005-06 campaign before being elected captain during his senior season. He was Pecknold's assistant from 2011-2016 before joining the Hershey Bears and Washington Capitals as an assistant coach and was chosen to become Dartmouth's head man at the beginning of the 2020-21 season.
Waimon was Pecknold's goaltending coach from 2014-2019, mentoring two-time All-ECAC Hockey selection and Hobey Baker nominee Michael Garteig and the program's first-ever finalist for the Mike Richter Award in Andrew Shortridge. Garteig still stands as the program's Division I career leader in goals-against average, wins and shutouts. He currently works as a goalie scout in the NHL for the Tampa Bay Lightning and was with the organization for its 2019-20 and 2020-21 Stanley Cup Championship seasons.
Thibault is a former student manager and hockey operations graduate assistant under Pecknold, joining Sacred Heart in 2021 as their Director of Hockey Operations. She graduated from Quinnipiac with a B.S. in Management and MBA from the Bobcats.
Coach Pecknold and Team USA defeated Finland and Sweden in pre-tournament contests by a combined scoreline of 10-3. The Americans open Group B play on Dec. 26, taking on Latvia at 4 p.m. Eastern. All Team USA games will be televised live on NHL Network.
For an inside look at Team USA, be sure to follow them on social media @USAHockey. For an inside look at the Quinnipiac men's ice hockey program, be sure to follow it on social media @QU_MIH or at gobobcats.com/mih.
There are four current connections and three from the past as Rand Pecknold gets set to lead the 2023 version of Team USA into the tournament. He is joined by his current director of hockey operations Shawn Roche and head equipment manager Rob Kennedy, as well as freshman forward Sam Lipkin.
Pecknold is on his third Team USA assignment, previously serving as an assistant coach for the Men's National Team at the 2017 IIHF Men's World Championship, as well as the US Under-18 Men's National Team that earned a silver medal at the 2018 U18 Men's World Championship.
Three former Bobcat connections are also part of the squad, with former captain and assistant coach Reid Cashman, former goaltenders coach Jared Waimon and former student-manager and operations graduate assistant Jessica Thibault all serving as part of Pecknold's staff this winter.
Cashman played 151 games for Quinnipiac from 2003-2007, totaling 148 points. He served as an assistant captain during the 2005-06 campaign before being elected captain during his senior season. He was Pecknold's assistant from 2011-2016 before joining the Hershey Bears and Washington Capitals as an assistant coach and was chosen to become Dartmouth's head man at the beginning of the 2020-21 season.
Waimon was Pecknold's goaltending coach from 2014-2019, mentoring two-time All-ECAC Hockey selection and Hobey Baker nominee Michael Garteig and the program's first-ever finalist for the Mike Richter Award in Andrew Shortridge. Garteig still stands as the program's Division I career leader in goals-against average, wins and shutouts. He currently works as a goalie scout in the NHL for the Tampa Bay Lightning and was with the organization for its 2019-20 and 2020-21 Stanley Cup Championship seasons.
Thibault is a former student manager and hockey operations graduate assistant under Pecknold, joining Sacred Heart in 2021 as their Director of Hockey Operations. She graduated from Quinnipiac with a B.S. in Management and MBA from the Bobcats.
Coach Pecknold and Team USA defeated Finland and Sweden in pre-tournament contests by a combined scoreline of 10-3. The Americans open Group B play on Dec. 26, taking on Latvia at 4 p.m. Eastern. All Team USA games will be televised live on NHL Network.
For an inside look at Team USA, be sure to follow them on social media @USAHockey. For an inside look at the Quinnipiac men's ice hockey program, be sure to follow it on social media @QU_MIH or at gobobcats.com/mih.
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