2021–22 Quinnipiac Bobcats
men's ice hockey season
ECAC Hockey, Champion
NCAA Tournament, Midwest Regional final
Conference1st ECAC Hockey
Home icePeople's United Center
Rankings
USCHO#7
USA Today#7
Record
Overall28–5–3
Conference17–4–1
Home14–2–1
Road12–3–1
Neutral2–0–1
Coaches and captains
Head coachRand Pecknold
Assistant coachesJoe Dumais
Mike Corbett
Justin Eddy
Captain(s)Wyatt Bongiovanni
Alternate captain(s)Ethan de Jong
Zach Metsa
Quinnipiac Bobcats men's ice hockey seasons
« 2020–21 2022–23 »

The 2021–22 Quinnipiac Bobcats Men's ice hockey season was the 46th season of play for the program. They represented Quinnipiac University in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season and for the 17th season in the ECAC Hockey conference. The Bobcats were coached by Rand Pecknold, in his 28th season, and played their home games at the People's United Center.

Season

Regular season

Quinnipiac began the season with high hopes of building on their recent success. The biggest question early in the year was how the team would replace the now-departed Keith Petruzzelli in goal. Graduate transfer Dylan St. Cyr was the obvious choice for the Bobcats however, he was injured in the first game of the season.[1] Backup Yaniv Perets, a sophomore who had played just 32 minutes all of the year before, finished the game and then posted his first career shutout in the Ice Breaker Tournament consolation match. St. Cyr returned the following game, earning a shutout of his own, but head coach Rand Pecknold had seen something special with his young goalie. Buoyed by a suffocating defensive system, both goaltenders performed well and led the Bobcats to an enviable record early in the season.

Though the team was hampered by a weak schedule, that didn't stop Quinnipiac from earning the #2 ranking on the strength of an astounding 14–1–3 record when they paused for their winter break. By that time the team was already the top defensive club in the nation with 8 shutouts shared between their two starters. The start to their second half was delayed by COVID-19 positives but that didn't slow down the Bobcats. The team continued winning and was the top-ranked team in the nation in mid-January. A narrow loss to Cornell dropped Quinnipiac down to #2 but the team responded by winning their next seven games.

As the regular season wound down, it was apparent that the team's biggest weakness was its offense. Though they were one of the top scoring teams in ECAC Hockey, the Bobcats' offense had not been consistent during the course of the season. The team went through stretches where they couldn't score with their impenetrable goaltending being the only reason the Bobcats would win. Over the final three weeks of the season, the lack of scoring punch cost Quinnipiac three games against good teams. While the losses didn't harm their NCAA tournament hopes, they did prevent the Bobcats from earning a top seed for the tournament.

Postseason

Even with the subpar end, Quinnipiac earned their second consecutive regular season title. As they entered the postseason, Quinnipiac had already set the record for most shutouts by a team in one season with 16. They had broken the record held by 1999–2000 Niagara (12) with Perets just one behind Greg Gardner for the individual single-season mark. Despite facing rather weak opposition in the quarterfinals, Quinnipiac struggled against St. Lawrence and had to come back from a 2-goal deficit to win the second game in overtime. After downing the Cindarella-hopes of Colgate in the semifinal, Quinnipiac was challenged by a rising Harvard squad who were playing for the season. The Bobcats widely outshot the Crimson, 49–17, but were never able to gain a lead in the match. Harvard's defense held and Perets was unable to stop the winning goal from getting by his glove in overtime.[2]

As they entered the NCAA tournament, Quinnipiac received a #2 seed, however, they were set against the defending national runners-up, St. Cloud State. Before the game began, the scales were tilted in the Bobcats' favor due to the opposing starter being unable to play due to pneumonia.[3] As it turned out, the Bobcats needed all the luck they could get. The team played its worst game all season, getting outshot 16–34 with Perets allowing a season-high 4 goals. It was only though the ineffective netminding in the St. Cloud end that Quinnipiac managed to squeak by with a 5–4 victory.

For their second game, Quinnipiac knew they were facing a tougher fight in top-seeded Michigan and they would have to play much better if they had any chance at victory. Early on, nothing seemed to go right for the Bobcats. They weren't able to get any traction in the game and found themselves down 0–4 after two periods. Needing to wake his team up, Pecknold replaced Perets with St. Cyr in goal for the start of third and the Bobcats rose to the occasion. Quinnipiac completely took over the game in the final frame, peppering the Wolverine cage with shot after shot until Jayden Lee finally broke through. The score remained unchanged for about five minutes but the assault continued. Around the mid-way point of the period, Quinnipiac netted 2 goals in the span of 2 minutes, cutting the lead to 1 with just under nine minutes to play. With Michigan reeling, it appeared that the Bobcats may have had a shot at upsetting the championship favorites. While the Wolverines shored up their defense, they could not keep the puck away from Quinnipiac and the bobcats attacked relentlessly. Despite the constant threat of scoring, Pecknold pulled St. Cyr for an extra attacker with 4 minutes to play, much earlier than 1-goal deficit typically required. The gambit failed almost immediately as a bad pass in the Michigan zone ended up being skated down the ice into a vacated cage. Two successive goals put the game out of reach and Quinnipiac's season was over.

Departures

Player Position Nationality Cause
Logan BrittDefenseman United StatesTransferred to Sacred Heart
Corey CliftonForward United StatesTransferred to Massachusetts–Boston
Peter DiliberatoreDefenseman CanadaSigned professional contract (Vegas Golden Knights)
Matt FawcettForward United StatesTransferred to Maine
Evan FearGoaltender United StatesTransferred to Northeastern
Tyler GhirardosiForward CanadaTransferred to Holy Cross
Josh MayanjaGoaltender United StatesGraduation (signed with Pensacola Ice Flyers)
Joe O'ConnorDefenseman United StatesGraduation (retired)
Keith PetruzzelliGoaltender United StatesGraduation (signed with Toronto Marlies)
Odeen TuftoForward United StatesGraduation (signed with Tampa Bay Lightning)
Daniel WinslowForward United StatesTransferred to New England

Recruiting

Player Position Nationality Age Notes
Noah AltmanGoaltender United States21Los Angeles, CA
Jack BabbageDefenseman United States21Tully, NY
Oliver ChauForward Canada24Oakville, ON; graduate transfer from Massachusetts
Brendan LessDefenseman United States23Kinnelon, NJ; graduate transfer from Dartmouth
Liam McLinskeyForward United States20Pearl River, NY
Griffin MendelDefenseman Canada22Kelowna, BC; graduate transfer from Denver
Jacob QuillanForward Canada19Dartmouth, NS
Dylan St. CyrGoaltender United States22Las Vegas, NV; graduate transfer from Notre Dame
Tony StillwellDefenseman United States24Green Bay, WI; graduate transfer from Brown
Cristophe TellierForward Canada21Sherbrooke, QC

Roster

As of August 19, 2021.[4]

No. S/P/C Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team NHL rights
1 Quebec Yaniv Perets Sophomore G 6' 1" (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2000-03-04 Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Quebec Penticton (BCHL)
2 Finland Iivari Räsänen Sophomore D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 2001-05-23 Tampere, Finland Muskegon (USHL)
3 New York (state) Jack Babbage Freshman D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 192 lb (87 kg) 2000-08-30 Tully, New York Chicago (USHL)
4 Rhode Island Michael Lombardi Senior D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1998-08-20 Barrington, Rhode Island West Kelowna (BCHL)
5 New York (state) C. J. McGee Junior D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1999-03-12 Pearl River, New York Shreveport (NAHL)
6 British Columbia Griffin Mendel Graduate D 6' 6" (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1999-02-18 Kelowna, British Columbia Denver (NCHC)
7 Minnesota Marcus Chorney Senior D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1997-09-16 Hastings, Minnesota Amarillo (NAHL)
8 British Columbia Nick Bochen Sophomore D 5' 9" (1.75 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 2001-08-29 North Vancouver, British Columbia Prince George (BCHL)
10 British Columbia Ethan de Jong (A) Senior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1999-07-12 North Vancouver, British Columbia Prince George (BCHL)
11 Michigan Wyatt Bongiovanni (C) Senior F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1999-07-24 Birmingham, Michigan Muskegon (USHL)
12 Ontario Oliver Chau Graduate F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 164 lb (74 kg) 1997-08-21 Oakville, Ontario UMass (HEA)
13 Quebec Christophe Fillion Sophomore F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 2000-06-18 Sherbrooke, Quebec Muskegon (USHL)
14 British Columbia Ethan Leyh Junior F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2001-06-07 Anmore, British Columbia Langley (BCHL)
15 British Columbia Jayden Lee Junior D 5' 9" (1.75 m) 155 lb (70 kg) 2001-01-10 North Vancouver, British Columbia Powell River (BCHL)
16 Nova Scotia Jacob Quillan Freshman F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 201 lb (91 kg) 2002-02-02 Dartmouth, Nova Scotia Penticton (BCHL)
17 New York (state) Joey Cipollone Junior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1999-07-12 Purchase, New York Tri-City (USHL)
18 Wisconsin Tony Stillwell Senior D 5' 9" (1.75 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1997-04-18 Green Bay, Wisconsin Brown (ECAC)
19 Missouri T. J. Friedmann Senior F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1998-02-27 St. Louis, Missouri Victoria (BCHL)
22 North Carolina Skyler Brind'Amour Junior F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1999-07-27 Raleigh, North Carolina Chilliwack (BCHL) EDM, 177th overall 2017
23 Wisconsin Zach Metsa (A) Senior D 5' 9" (1.75 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1998-10-19 Delafield, Wisconsin Central Illinois (USHL)
24 New Jersey Brendan Less Graduate D 5' 11" (1.8 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1998-04-24 Kinnelon, New Jersey Dartmouth (ECAC)
26 Netherlands Guus van Nes Junior (RS) F 6' 3" (1.91 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1997-02-14 Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht, Netherlands Boston Jr. Bruins (NCDC)
27 British Columbia Desi Burgart Senior F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1998-09-28 North Vancouver, British Columbia Surrey (BCHL)
28 New York (state) Liam McLinskey Freshman F 6' 3" (1.91 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 2001-02-20 Pearl River, New York Jersey (NCDC)
29 Quebec Cristophe Tellier Freshman F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 172 lb (78 kg) 2000-05-23 Sherbrooke, Quebec Muskegon (USHL)
30 Michigan Dylan St. Cyr Graduate G 5' 8" (1.73 m) 167 lb (76 kg) 1999-05-23 Northville, Michigan Notre Dame (Big Ten)
31 California Noah Altman Freshman G 6' 7" (2.01 m) 209 lb (95 kg) 2000-08-16 Los Angeles, California Bismarck (NAHL)
96 Colorado Ty Smilanic Sophomore F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 178 lb (81 kg) 2002-01-20 Denver, Colorado USNTDP (USHL) FLA, 74th overall 2020

Standings

Conference record Overall record
GP W L T OTW OTL 3/SW PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
#8 Quinnipiac22174101154711442327313953
#17 Clarkson221444023518647372110612385
#15 Harvard *221462002466946352111311682
Cornell221264210397347321810410072
Colgate229941033355574018184111112
Rensselaer22101200003058634418233114119
Union229112310275266371419489110
St. Lawrence227105202264460371119772110
Brown22612401225366131720450100
Princeton22714101023548931821270122
Yale2271413112138603082115590
Dartmouth22515203121457132722369110
Championship: March 19, 2022
† indicates conference regular season champion (Cleary Cup)
* indicates conference tournament champion (Whitelaw Cup)
Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll

Schedule and results

DateTimeOpponent#Rank#SiteTVDecisionResultAttendanceRecord
Exhibition
October 2   vs. Maine* #9 Phillips Exeter Academy Rink • Exeter, New Hampshire (Exhibition)    W 7–0   
Ice Breaker Tournament
October 8 4:30 PM vs. #6 Boston College* #9 DCU CenterWorcester, Massachusetts (Ice Breaker Game 1)NESN+ Perets T 2–2 SOL 0 0–0–1
October 9 4:30 PM vs. #18 Northeastern* #9 DCU Center • Worcester, Massachusetts (Ice Breaker Game 2)  Perets W 3–0  872 1–0–1
Regular season
October 16 7:00 PM at Vermont* #8 Gutterson FieldhouseBurlington, Vermont  St. Cyr W 2–0  3,037 2–0–1
October 22 7:00 PM #6 North Dakota* #7 People's United CenterHamden, Connecticut  Perets W 5–2  3,498 3–0–1
October 23 7:00 PM #6 North Dakota* #7 People's United Center • Hamden, Connecticut  St. Cyr L 1–3  3,512 3–1–1
October 26 7:00 PM Holy Cross* #5 People's United Center • Hamden, Connecticut  St. Cyr W 5–2  2,502 4–1–1
October 29 7:05 PM at American International* #5 MassMutual CenterSpringfield, Massachusetts  St. Cyr T 2–2 OT 487 4–1–2
October 30 7:00 PM American International* #5 People's United Center • Hamden, Connecticut  St. Cyr W 2–1 OT 3,426 5–1–2
November 5 7:00 PM at Yale #6 Ingalls RinkNew Haven, Connecticut  Perets W 3–0  1,200 6–1–2 (1–0–0)
November 6 7:00 PM at Brown #6 Meehan AuditoriumProvidence, Rhode Island  Perets W 1–0  383 7–1–2 (2–0–0)
November 12 7:00 PM Arizona State* #5 People's United Center • Hamden, Connecticut  Perets W 5–3  3,050 8–1–2
November 13 7:00 PM Arizona State* #5 People's United Center • Hamden, Connecticut  St. Cyr W 5–2  2,928 9–1–2
November 19 7:00 PM Clarkson #5 People's United Center • Hamden, Connecticut  Perets T 2–2 SOW 2,521 9–1–3 (2–0–1)
November 20 7:00 PM St. Lawrence #5 People's United Center • Hamden, Connecticut  Perets W 8–0  2,217 10–1–3 (3–0–1)
December 3 7:00 PM at Rensselaer #4 Houston Field HouseTroy, New York  Perets W 2–0  252 11–1–3 (4–0–1)
December 4 7:00 PM at Union #4 Achilles RinkSchenectady, New York  Perets W 4–0  1,723 12–1–3 (5–0–1)
December 10 7:00 PM at Long Island* #2 Northwell Health Ice CenterEast Meadow, New York  Perets W 4–1  672 13–1–3
December 11 7:00 PM at Long Island* #2 People's United Center • Hamden, Connecticut  St. Cyr W 5–0  2,890 14–1–3
January 14 7:00 PM #18 Harvard #2 People's United Center • Hamden, Connecticut  Perets W 3–0  0 15–1–3 (6–0–1)
January 16 7:00 PM Dartmouth #2 People's United Center • Hamden, Connecticut  St. Cyr W 3–1  2,108 16–1–3 (7–0–1)
January 18 4:00 PM Princeton #1 People's United Center • Hamden, Connecticut  Perets W 9–0  1,897 17–1–3 (8–0–1)
January 21 7:00 PM at Colgate #1 Class of 1965 ArenaHamilton, New York  Perets W 5–1  607 18–1–3 (9–0–1)
January 22 7:00 PM at #8 Cornell #1 Lynah RinkIthaca, New York  Perets L 1–2 OT 2,133 18–2–3 (9–1–1)
January 26 7:00 PM at Princeton #2 Hobey Baker Memorial RinkPrinceton, New Jersey  St. Cyr W 6–0  0 19–2–3 (10–1–1)
Connecticut Ice
January 29 7:00 PM at Sacred Heart* #2 Webster Bank ArenaBridgeport, Connecticut (Connecticut Ice semifinal)SNY St. Cyr W 3–2 OT 0 20–2–3
January 30 4:30 PM vs. Connecticut* #2 Webster Bank ArenaBridgeport, Connecticut (Connecticut Ice championship)SNY Perets W 2–0  0 21–2–3
Regular season
February 4 7:00 PM Union #2 People's United Center • Hamden, Connecticut  Perets W 2–1  2,939 22–2–3 (11–1–1)
February 5 7:00 PM Rensselaer #2 People's United Center • Hamden, Connecticut  Perets W 1–0  0 23–2–3 (12–1–1)
February 8 7:00 PM Brown #2 People's United Center • Hamden, Connecticut  Perets W 3–1  1,813 24–2–3 (13–1–1)
February 11 7:00 PM at St. Lawrence #2 Appleton ArenaCanton, New York  Perets W 3–1  651 25–2–3 (14–1–1)
February 12 7:00 PM at #19 Clarkson #2 Cheel ArenaPotsdam, New York  Perets L 1–3  2,654 25–3–3 (14–2–1)
February 18 7:00 PM at Dartmouth #4 Thompson ArenaHanover, New Hampshire  St. Cyr W 5–0  978 26–3–3 (15–2–1)
February 19 7:00 PM at Harvard #4 Bright-Landry Hockey CenterBoston, Massachusetts  Perets L 0–1  1,823 26–4–3 (15–3–1)
February 22 7:00 PM Yale #5 People's United Center • Hamden, Connecticut  Perets W 4–0  3,625 27–4–3 (16–3–1)
February 25 7:00 PM #18 Cornell #5 People's United Center • Hamden, Connecticut  Perets L 0–1  3,027 27–5–3 (16–4–1)
February 26 7:00 PM Colgate #5 People's United Center • Hamden, Connecticut  St. Cyr W 4–0  3,061 28–5–3 (17–4–1)
ECAC Hockey Tournament
March 11 7:00 PM St. Lawrence* #6 People's United Center • Hamden, Connecticut (Quarterfinal game 1)  Perets W 4–1  2,739 29–5–3
March 12 7:00 PM St. Lawrence* #6 People's United Center • Hamden, Connecticut (Quarterfinal game 2)  Perets W 4–3 OT 2,401 30–5–3
Quinnipiac Won Series 2–0
March 18 4:00 PM vs. Colgate* #6 Herb Brooks ArenaLake Placid, New York (Semifinal)  Perets W 3–1  4,256 31–5–3
March 19 7:30 PM vs. #17 Harvard* #6 Herb Brooks ArenaLake Placid, New York (Championship)  Perets L 2–3 OT 4,478 31–6–3
NCAA Tournament
March 25 8:00 PM vs. #11 St. Cloud State* #8 PPL CenterAllentown, Pennsylvania (Midwest Regional semifinal)ESPNews Perets W 5–4  2,155 32–6–3
March 27 6:30 PM vs. #2 Michigan* #8 PPL CenterAllentown, Pennsylvania (Midwest Regional final)ESPN2 Perets L 4–7  3,256 32–7–3
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Eastern Time.
Source:[5]

Scoring statistics

Name Position Games Goals Assists Points PIM
Zach MetsaD421027378
Wyatt BongiovanniC4216183445
Oliver ChauC4213203324
Ethan de JongRW4211213224
Michael LombardiF4214132710
Ty SmilanicC4113102334
T. J. FriedmannF4110132314
Brendan LessD394162012
Skyler Brind'AmourC413172018
Joey CipolloneC41108188
Desi BurgartF4289176
Guus van NesLW/RW376111726
Jayden LeeD42610162
Griffin MendelD425101514
Ethan LeyhF31371024
Jacob QuillanC3627924
Marcus ChorneyD4235812
Ilvari RäsänenD4005516
Christophe FillionF190446
Cristophe TellierLW1303321
C. J. McGeeD151126
Tony StillwellD140222
Nick BochenD91010
Dylan St. CyrG130110
Yaniv PeretsG310110
Liam McLinskeyF20000
Bench-----2
Total139239378358

[6]

Goaltending statistics

Name Games Minutes Wins Losses Ties Goals Against Saves Shut Outs SV % GAA
Dylan St. Cyr137221021142045.9361.16
Yaniv Perets31184222523655911.9391.17
Empty Net-19---3----
Total42258332735377416.9361.23

Rankings

Poll Week
Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 (Final)
USCHO.com 9 9 8 7 5 6 5 5 3 (6) 4 (6) 2 (15) 2 (12) 2 (7) 2 (5) 1 (30) 2 (18) 2 (14) 2 (12) 4 5 6 6 6 8 - 7
USA Today 9 9 8 7 5 6 5 5 4 (2) 4 (4) 2 (13) 2 (12) 2 (5) 2 (6) 1 (19) 2 (5) 2 (5) 2 (8) 4 5 6 6 6 7 7 7

Note: USCHO did not release a poll in week 24.[7]

Awards and honors

Player Award Ref
Zach Metsa AHCA All-American East First Team [8]
Yaniv Perets AHCA All-American East Second Team [8]
Yaniv Perets ECAC Hockey Player of the Year [9]
Zach Metsa ECAC Hockey Best Defensive Defenseman [10]
Yaniv Perets Ken Dryden Award [11]
Rand Pecknold Tim Taylor Award [12]
Yaniv Perets ECAC Hockey First Team [13]
Zach Metsa
Wyatt Bongiovanni ECAC Hockey Third Team [14]

References

  1. "Yaniv Perets secures first collegiate shutout in Quinnipiac men's hockey victory". The Quinnipiac Chronicle. October 9, 2021. Retrieved July 3, 2022.
  2. "Harvard Crowned ECAC Hockey Champions After Defeating Quinnipiac, 3-2 in Overtime". YouTube. March 19, 2022. Retrieved July 3, 2022.
  3. "SCSU goalie David Hrenak signs with the Los Angeles Kings". The Rink Live. March 29, 2022. Retrieved June 18, 2022.
  4. "2020–21 Men's Ice Hockey Roster". Quinnipiac Athletics. Retrieved January 16, 2016.
  5. "Quinnipiac 2021-22 Team Schedule". College Hockey Inc. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
  6. "Quinnipiac Univ. 2021-2022 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
  7. "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  8. 1 2 "Four players return to 2021-22 Division I men's All-American teams, led by three-time pick Dryden McKay". USCHO.com. April 8, 2022. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  9. "Yaniv Perets Named ECAC Hockey Player of the Year". ECAC Hockey. March 16, 2022. Retrieved March 18, 2022.
  10. "MSU's Smith named CCHA Forward of the Year". ECAC Hockey. March 16, 2022. Retrieved March 18, 2022.
  11. "Perets Named Ken Dryden Goaltender of the Year". ECAC Hockey. March 15, 2022. Retrieved March 18, 2022.
  12. "Pecknold Named Tim Taylor Coach of the Year for Second Consecutive Season". ECAC Hockey (Press release). March 16, 2022. Retrieved March 18, 2022.
  13. "ECAC Hockey Announces 2022 First-Team All-League". ECAC Hockey. March 10, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
  14. "ECAC Hockey Announces 2022 Third-Team All-League". ECAC Hockey. March 9, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
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