HAMPDEN — It's hard to get to the top, especially in a sport where the powerhouses are entrenched. But Quinnipiac has risen to the pinnacle of men's college hockey, and their fancy new players' hideout is adorned with trophies and memorabilia from the national championship season.
Now the potentially more difficult tasks will stay there. The Bobcats will return to the NCAA Field of 16 and begin their quest to repeat with a first-round game against Wisconsin at Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence on Friday at 5:30 p.m.
Is it difficult to repeat?
“I don't think we can answer that yet, because we haven't tried it yet,” coach Rand Pecknold said. “It's definitely changed a little bit. We've been in the top 10 for a while now, so we know teams are gunning for us. But it's a little more important in terms of defending the national championship.”
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The Bobcats (26-9-2) lost to St. Lawrence in the ECAC semifinals and finished ninth in the pairwise rating, but after losing again in last year's conference tournament, they won back-to-back thrilling NCAA games to defeat the University of Michigan. broke. Minnesota won the title in the Frozen Four, the latter in overtime.
To get out of this regional tournament and advance to the 2024 Frozen Four in St. Paul, Quinnipiac will once again have to pass hockey's historic hotbed of Wisconsin, No. 2 in the Big Ten and likely top seed Boston College. There is a need. On the field he has four Hockey East teams. (Sunday 4pm). The defending champion may have a target on his back, but he still plays with an underdog advantage.
“You can take that loss (against St. Lawrence) as an indication of how much other teams want to beat you,” forward Sam Lipkin said. “If I take that and apply it to my game, it’s going to be really big for Wisconsin.”
The Bobcats have a dynamic top line back in action. Colin Graf (22 goals, 26 assists) was named his ECAC Player of the Year and is expected to be a popular college free agent. Lipkin had 15 goals and 20 assists, Jacob Killian, who scored the title-clinching goal last April, had 15 goals and 29 assists, and Mason Marcellus had 14 goals and 22 assists.
To get excited for the announcement of the men's hockey slots, I watched the highlights from last year's national championship.Very exciting ending for Quinnipiac pic.twitter.com/yOB8E11rUW
— Ryan Stieg (@RyanStieg) March 24, 2024
But Pecknold's team revolved around defense, and the Bobcats made 409 more shots than they allowed, outscoring their opponents 153-72.
“You can't win games just by attacking,” said Quillan, who was named the ECAC's top defensive forward. “You have to be responsible on the back end as well. That's just some of the areas you have to strive for.”
Goaltender Vinny Duplessis, who transferred from Boston College and replaced pro Yaniv Perez, played a big role, averaging 1.93 points in 28 starts.
“We're good at both. We're top five on offense and defense,” Pecknold said. “That's what we're good at and that's why we win. We've got to make sure we get the puck, have possession of it and take good care of the puck.”
Wisconsin (26-11-2), ranked No. 8 in pairwise, has won six national championships, the last time coming in 2006. The Badgers are making their first tournament appearance since 2021, with coach Mike Hastings in his first season on the job. Thirteen players, half of the roster, have been drafted into the NHL.
“We have three,” Pecknold said. “So I think we still have that scar on our shoulders.”
Dom Amore: Rand Pecknold's long coaching journey led to bold decisions that helped Quinnipiac win a national hockey championship.
