The 2024–25 Quinnipiac Bobcats Men's ice hockey season was the 49th season of play for the program, the 27th at the Division I level and 20th in ECAC Hockey. The Bobcats represented Quinnipiac University in the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season, played their home games at the M&T Bank Arena and were coached by Rand Pecknold in his 31st season.
Season As Quinnipiac entered the season, the team was having to deal with significant changes to its roster. While the number of new players was typical of the transfer portal era, the Bobcats had lost five of their top seven scorers from a year before. While the team brought in several experienced players, the Bobcats would be hard-pressed to replicate the performance that had given them the nation's #4 offense in '24. Quinnipiac's defense was an even bigger unknown as the team lost four of its top six blueliners, returning only Cooper Moore and Davis Pennington. Rand Pecknold's answer here was to swap in several NHL draft picks and a graduate transfer to try an insulate an inexperienced goaltending tandem. Dylan Silverstein transferred in from Boston College but had yet to see any action at the college level. On the other hand, Matej Marinov had looked good in the few games he played as a freshman but had yet to be tested against a formidable opponent.
The uncertainty in the lineup manifested in a rough start to the season. Quinnipiac was up and down through their first eight games and appeared like their run at the top of ECAC Hockey might finally come to an end. However, by mid-November the Bobcats were able to right the ship and began stringing wins together. Silverstein had taken possession of the Bobcat crease and was being well insulated by a solid defensive effort. Also, after struggling through some inconsistency early, the offense had rounded into a formidable force. Quinnipiac was able to call upon three lines for scoring contributions with eight forwards managing to post at least 10 goals during the campaign.
Over a two-month span, the team compiled an 11–2–2 record. The extended stretch of good performances enabled the Bobcats to place themselves firmly atop the conference standings. However, due to the relative weakness of the ECAC this season, the Bobcats were struggling to gain any ground in the PairWise rankings. After being dethroned in the Connecticut Ice tournament for the first time in four years, Quinnipiac was hovering around the tournament bubble and was in jeopardy of falling short of an at-large bid. Over the final month of the regular season, Quinnipiac managed to keep its head above water with an acceptable 6–2 run that saw it lose two overtime games to one of the few quality conference opponents (Clarkson) . During this time Marinov had begun to get more time in goal and, when the team began the postseason, he was tabbed as the starter.
Postseason Quinnipiac's fifth consecutive Cleary Cup gave the team a bye into the quarterfinal round where they met Brown. The Bears were hopelessly outgunned and, despite equaling the Bobcats in shots, were outscored 8–1 in the two games. Quinnipiac was able to pad its scoring totals with two empty-net goals thanks to the exemplary performance in goal by Marinov. In the semifinal round, the Bobcats faced off against Cornell who were in the middle of a tremendous run of games. Quinnipiac's offense struggled to get shots on goal through the oppressive Big Red defense but were able to get their first lead of the match during the latter half of the third period. The situation began to look well in hand when Cornell was handed a penalty with 1:50 left in the game, however, Cornell won the ensuing faceoff, raced down the ice and tied the game. Quinnipiac was stunned by the turn of events and failed to convert on the power play, forcing the match into overtime. Defense continued to be the main feature of the game with scoring chances few and far between. In the back half of the period, Moore was given his second minor penalty of the match and Cornell made full use of their opportunity, scoring the winning goal about a minute later.
While the Bobcats were again stymied in the conference semifinals, the Bobcats had won just enough games to lift them up to #12 in the PairWise rankings. A few days later, when all of the automatic bids had been handed out, the Bobcats were still above the cutoff and were able to return to the NCAA tournament. The Bobcats were placed in the Allentown Regional opposite to Connecticut. Eager to avenge their earlier loss to the Huskies in Connecticut Ice, The team made a rather surprising move by starting Silverstein who hadn't seen any game action in a month. The move did not pay off as the Bobcats found themselves down by 2 goals at the end of the first period. Jeremy Wilmer cut the lead in half in the middle of the second, giving Quinnipiac a brief hope that they could mount a comeback, however, UConn was able to reestablish their 2-goal lead before the start of the third. The final 20 minutes saw a furious attack come from Bobcats but no matter how hard they tried they could not solve the Connecticut goaltender. After several near-misses, the team pulled Silverstein for an extra attacker. A lucky break saw the puck roll on edge after being cleared down the ice and curl into the Bobcat cage, effectively ending their season.
Departures Vinny Duplessis Goaltender Graduation (signed with Utah Grizzlies) Christophe Fillion Forward Graduate transfer to Miami Collin Graf Forward Signed professional contract (San Jose Sharks) Timothy Heinke Forward Transferred to Holy Cross Jayden Lee Defenseman Graduation (signed with Hershey Bears) Charles-Alexis Legault Defenseman Signed professional contract (Carolina Hurricanes) Sam Lipkin Forward Signed professional contract (Utah Hockey Club) Jake Martin Defenseman Left program (retired) C. J. McGee Defenseman Graduation (signed with Savannah Ghost Pirates) Jacob Quillan Forward Signed professional contract (Toronto Maple Leafs) Iivari Räsänen Defenseman Graduation (signed with KalPa) Cristophe Tellier Forward Transferred to Northeastern Zach Tupker Forward Graduation (signed with Greenville Swamp Rabbits) Nicky Wallace Defenseman Transferred to American International
Recruiting Nate Benoit Defenseman 21 Bow, NH; transfer from North Dakota; selected 182nd overall in 2021 Braden Blace Defenseman 21 Duncan, BC Aaron Bohlinger Defenseman 24 Newburgh, NY; graduate transfer from Massachusetts Tyler Borgula Forward 18 Livonia, MI Noah Eyre Forward 20 Vienna, VA Elliott Groenewold Defenseman 18 Bellows Falls, VT; selected 110th overall in 2024 Drew Hockley Defenseman 19 Kentville, NS; joined mid-season Charlie Leddy Defenseman 20 Fairfield, CT; transfer from Boston College; selected 126th overall in 2022 Christopher Pelosi Forward 19 Sewell, NJ; selected 92nd overall in 2023 Jack Ricketts Forward 25 Oakville, ON; graduate transfer from Holy Cross Michael Salandra Forward 21 Pleasantville, NY Aaron Schwartz Forward 20 Parkland, FL Dylan Silverstein Goaltender 20 Calabasas, CA; transfer from Boston College Ryan Smith Forward 18 Pendleton, NY Jeremy Wilmer Forward 21 Rockville Centre, NY; transfer from Boston University
Roster As of September 10, 2024.
Standings
Schedule and results
!colspan=12 style=";" | Exhibition
!colspan=12 style=";" | Regular Season
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NCAA tournament
Game summaryThe start of the game saw Cooper Moore get crosschecked to the ice and then slide into his goal post but he was able to skate away without injury. The two teams were skating fast to start but both seemed to be trying to force the play a bit on offense and failed to connect on their opportunities. The first good chance came then Quinnipiac coughed up the puck behind their net but Dylan Silverstein was able to make the save on Tristan Fraser. The two teams skated up and down the ice for the next several minutes but produced very few shots on goal. Near the middle of the period, the Bobcats turned the puck over at their blueline and UConn was able to set up in the zone. After missing on their first chance, Hugh Larkin fired the puck top corner for Connecticut's first ever NCAA tournament goal. On the following attack, UConn was nearly able to double the lead but did end up forcing Travis Treloar into taking a slashing penalty. Quinnipiac's remade penalty kill was effective in keeping the Huskies to the outside and didn't give up a scoring chance on the disadvantage. Connecticut was able to get better chances once they were back at even strength but Silverstein was able to keep the puck out of the net. In the back half of the period, the Bobcat offense began to show signs of life but couldn't get much of a chance on the goal. Near the 5-minute mark, Quinnipiac made another mistake at its own blueline. Ethan Gardula was able to skate in alone and backhand the puck over the outstretched leg of Silverstein for the second goal of the match. After Quinnipiac was able to work the puck down low in the final minutes, Jake Richard was called for crosschecking to give the Bobcats their first power play of the game. With the #1 power play in the nation, Quinnipiac took the chance to get their first real scoring opportunity of the game but UConn's defense was able to prevent any further shots from getting on goal. Though they failed to score, the Bobcats' offense looked far better in the remaining few seconds and headed into the first intermission with momentum if nothing else.
The Huskies took control at the start of the second and Hudson Schandor had an open look right in front of the goal but Silverstein made the glove save. Kaden Shahan had another solo rush about a minute later but the puck rolled and he could only get a weak shot on goal. Quinnipiac tried to counter but they were unable to break through the UConn defense. Poor passing by the Bobcats did not help their efforts but Quinnipiac did eventually settle down and start to generate zone time in the Husky end. Connecticut battled back and kept the play mostly even until Jeremy Wilmer gloved the puck off of the faceoff and was handed a minor for the violation. It didn't take long for UConn to get a good chance at a goal but Silverstein's left toe made the stop on Richard. Just after the power play expired, UConn made a mistake just inside the Quinnipiac zone and gave up a 2-on-1 to the Bobcats Mason Marcellus made a brilliant backhand pass to Wilmer who lifted the puck over a sprawling Callum Tung to cut the lead in half. After a rush up the ice by Victor Czerneckianair, the two teams began to show some genuine dislike with some post-whistle roughhousing. While Quinnipiac looked like they had rediscovered their game, the team made a critical mistake when they turned over the puck down low. UConn fired the puck in from the point and it eventually found Fraser right in front of the goal who fired it past a helpless Silverstein to restore their lead. After the following faceoff, Quinnipiac went back on the attack and drew a penalty when John Spetz chopped down Elliott Groenewold's stick. UConn's penalty kill gave Quinnipiac fits, not only stopping the Bobcats from getting a good shot on goal but threatening to the Quinnipiac cage on more than one occasion. The Bobcats had better chances after their power play ended but they were unable to score again and ended the second still needing two goals.