Bobcats, Black Bears Set for Two-Game Series in Maine

Friday, October 9

Orono, ME

7:00 PM

Quinnipiac University

Maine

The Bobcats Celebrate a Goal Against New Hampshire (Oct. 2, 2026 in Hamden, Conn.)

Photo by: Rob Rasmussen / P8Photos.com

Bobcats, Black Bears Set for Two-Game Series in Maine

10/8/2026 9:37:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey

HAMDEN, CT — The Quinnipiac men's ice hockey program hits the road for the first time in the 2026-27 campaign, heading to Maine for a two-game set with the Black Bears.

The team is coming off an explosive offensive weekend, scoring 16 goals en route to a Hockey East sweep against New Hampshire and Merrimack at M&T Bank Arena.

OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION

The Quinnipiac offense flew out of the gates this season, scoring 16 goals across a two-game sweep of New Hampshire and Merrimack.
That number is the highest ever for a Division I Bobcat team in its first two games and the second-most by any NCAA Division I men's team, two short of Michigan who scored 18 in its opening weekend of the 2025-26 season.
The 10 goals were the most since 2013 when they scored 10 in the ECAC Quarterfinals against Cornell and the second-most ever in a season opener.

SNEAK ATTACK

Quinnipiac scored early and often in Friday night's win over New Hampshire, with an emphasis on early.
Braden Blace scored 26 seconds into the second period and Mason Marcellus scored 16 seconds into the third, marking the first time in Division I program history that the team scored inside of the first 30 seconds of two separate periods.
It was also the first time this had occured in Division I men's ice hockey since Mercyhurst did it on Jan. 31, 2025.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

Alex Kostov and Parker Alcos made their Bobcat debuts over the weekend, recording two points each in the victory. They were the first first-year players to record multi-point outings in their debut since Landon Smith on Oct. 11, 2014.
Kostov finished the weekend with three points, tying himself for first amongst first-year forwards in points.

CLEARY CHOSEN

The Bobcats were chosen again as the preseason favorites to win the Cleary Cup and finish as the ECAC's regular season champions.
The squad earned 10 of a possible 12 first-place votes, totaling 120 points. They finished 10 points ahead of second-place Dartmouth, who won the ECAC Tournament a season ago.
Ethan Wyttenbach and Elliott Groenewold, both First Team All-ECAC players a season ago, were selected to the Preseason All-League team as well.

IN A LEAGUE OF HIS OWN

Quinnipiac head coach Rand Pecknold entered his 33rd season of college hockey when the puck dropped Oct. 2, earning the spot as the longest-tenured active coach at his institution in the country.
He is one of two coaches that have coached for 30 or more seasons at their current school, joining Air Force's Frank Serratore.
Pecknold currently holds a record of 694-369-110, the most active wins by a Division I head coach and second across all of NCAA Men's Hockey behing St. Norbert's Tim Coghlin (706).
Under his leadership, Quinnipiac has recorded 20 or more wins in 13 of his last 15 seasons and has gone to the Frozen Four three times in that stretch, capturing the 2023 National Championship.
Pecknold's 620 wins in Division I games and 12 NCAA Division I Tournament appearances are both the most amongst active coaches and he is one of six active coaches to have won a national title.

MAGIC MASON

Senior forward Mason Marcellus earned the "C" for the Bobcats in the upcoming 2026-27 season, serving as the team's captain.
The Greely, Ontario native has recorded 110 total points across 117 appearances, recording 34 or more in all three seasons in Hamden.
He also enters as the nation's active career leader in points (110) and assists (76).

WYTTER WYTTER, CHICKEN DINNER

Coming off a stellar first-year campaign, sophomore Ethan Wyttenbach is back to aid the Bobcats' quest for a second national title in the last five seasons.
The 2026 Tim Taylor National Rookie of the Year and First Team East All-American tied the program record with a 59-point campaign, recording 25 goals and 34 assists on the year.
He joined Sam Anas as the only two Bobcats to earn the award since its inception and Quinnipiac joined Boston University as the only two schools in the country with multiple winners of the award.
He also earned the Bobcats' first All-American nod since the 2023 campaign, when Collin Graf was selected following his 59-point season.

FOLLOW THE LEADERS

Along with Marcellus, three assistant captains were selected for the upcoming campaign in juniors Elliott Groenewold, Chris Pelosi and senior Matthew McGroarty.
The emotional leader of the squad, McGroarty enters the campaign with 77 appearances to his credit. He has recorded four goals and 10 assists over his three-year career.
Groenewold, a Boston Bruins draft pick and 2025-26 ECAC Best Defensive Defenseman award winner, finished the year with a historic plus-39 rating and 20 points, both of which were massive career-bests. His plus-minus was the highest by any skater since the 2015-16 season and the highest by any defenseman since at least 2002-03.
Pelosi, a 2026 US Collegiate Selects member at the Spengler Cup and also a selection of the Bruins, finished fourth on the team in scoring with 34 points a season ago. He had 18 goals and 16 assists to his name.

RETURNING OF THE 'CATS (OFFENSE)

Quinnipiac returns a lot of its firepower from a season ago, welcoming back 86% of its goals and 81% of its total points from the 2025-26 campaign.
Led by Wyttenbach's 25, the Bobcats' 139 returning goals are the most in the country and three ahead of Michigan.
Its 358 returning points are tied with Michigan for the most in the country and 63 more than third-place Merrimack.
Overall, Quinnipiac returns its top nine goalscorers from a season ago and its top six and nine of its top 10 point getters from the 2025-26 season.

ADDING TO THE AWARDS

Along with its stellar offensive resume returning, Quinnipiac also welcomes back multiple award-winners from the 2025-26 campaign.
Wyttenbach returns as one of four Hobey Baker Top 10 finalists going back to their schools and is one of three First Team All-Americans going back to college, joining Dartmouth's Hayden Stavroff and Duluth's Max Plante.
Quinnipiac also rosters three First Team All-Conference selections from the 2025-26 campaign, the only school in the country with multiple athletes of that distinction.
Ethan Wyttenbach and Elliott Groenewold return as First Team All-ECAC selections, while Jack Stockfish enters the fold after a First Team All-Atlantic Hockey season with Holy Cross.

DANCING STREAK

The Bobcats enter the 2026-27 season with the longest active NCAA Tournament appearance streak in the country, earning a bid to seven consecutive dances, highlighted by a 2023 national championship.
That mark is two more than Denver and Western Michigan, who currently stand at five consecutive bids, and ECAC foe Cornell who has gone to four straight tournaments.
In the last 10 tournaments, only Denver (nine) has been to more than the Bobcats' eight.
Quinnipiac has also gone to five of the last seven NCAA Regional Finals, a mark only matched by the Pioneers.

DRAFTED

Quinnipiac enters the 2026-27 season with 10 NHL Draft Picks on their roster, the most in program history.
Five of the drafted players are new to the Bobcat roster, with Alex Kostov (LAK), Andrew Strathmann (CBJ), Jan Golicic (TBL), Parker Alcos (VAN) and Christian Kirsch (SJS) all being selected before joining the Bobcats
They join Chris Pelosi (BOS), Ethan Wyttenbach (CAL), Matthew Lansing (VAN), Graham Sward (NSH) and Elliott Groenewold (BOS) who were already rostered draft picks with Quinnipiac.