2020–21 Quinnipiac Bobcats men's ice hockey season

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2020–21 Quinnipiac Bobcats
men's ice hockey season
QU wordmark.png
ECAC Hockey, Champion
NCAA Tournament, Regional Semifinals
Conference1st ECAC Hockey
Home icePeople's United Center
Rankings
USCHO.com12
USA Today/
US Hockey Magazine		11
Record
Overall17–8–4
Conference10–4–4–1–1–3
Home11–6–0
Road6–1–4
Neutral0–1–0
Coaches and Captains
Head CoachRand Pecknold
Assistant CoachesBill Riga

Captain(s)Odeen Tufto
Alternate captain(s)Wyatt Bongiovanni
Peter DiLiberatore
Quinnipiac Bobcats men's ice hockey seasons
« 2019–20 2021–22 »

The 2020–21 Quinnipiac Bobcats Men's ice hockey season was the 45th season of play for the program, the 23rd at the Division I level and the 16th season in the ECAC Hockey conference. The Bobcats represented the Quinnipiac University and played their home games at the Frank Perrotti, Jr. Arena in the People's United Center, and were coached by Rand Pecknold, in his 27th season.

Season[]

As a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic the entire college ice hockey season was delayed. Because the NCAA had previously announced that all winter sports athletes would retain whatever eligibility they possessed through at least the following year, none of Quinnipiac's players would lose a season of play.[1] However, the NCAA also approved a change in its transfer regulations that would allow players to transfer and play immediately rather than having to sit out a season, as the rules previously required.[2]

Quinnipiac was one of the few teams to play a decent amount of non-conference games during the 20–21 season. The Bobcats played their first 8 games against teams not in ECAC Hockey and performed well, going 6–2. The team continued that level of play throughout the season, consistently being ranked near the middle of the top-20. The stars of the season were team captain Odeen Tufto and starting goaltender Keith Petruzzelli, both seniors. Tufto led the team in scoring by a wide margin, finishing the year with 47 points and was second in the nation. Petruzzelli backstopped the team to a league title and was named as the best goaltender in the conference, allowing less than 2 goals per game on the year.[3]

With their stellar record, the Bobcats were all but guaranteed a spot in the NCAA Tournament but the team still wanted to earn capture the ECAC championship. Due to 8 of the 12 ECAC teams cancelling their seasons, Quinnipiac would only have to win two games to win the crown. However, due to Clarkson cancelling its season after COVID protocol violations,[4] Quinnipiac received a bye into the title game, becoming the first team at the Division I level to play a one-off game for an automatic bid since 1960. In the title game the Bobcats started slow, recording just 4 shots in the first period, but took over in the middle frame. After taking a 2–1 lead into the third, Quinnipiac tried to win a 1-goal game but St. Lawrence fought back and tied the score with less than 5 minutes to play. The game went into overtime and, after less than 4 minutes, Quinnipiac found themselves on the wrong side of the winning goal, losing the title to the Larries.

A day after the conference tournament, St. Lawrence's head coach tested positive for COVID and the team was forced to withdraw from the NCAA tournament.[5] As a result, Quinnipiac was given the ECAC automatic bid instead, though it was likely that the team would have been selected as an at-large bid anyway. In their opening game of the tournament, Quinnipiac showed none of the hesitancy that they had the game before and roared out to a 2-goal lead after 20 minutes. Once they had their advantage, however, the team slowed in the middle and allowed Minnesota State to cut their lead in half. A more even third period saw the Bobcats restore their 2-goal edge but the Mavericks wouldn't go away and, over the course of the final 11 minutes, Quinnipiac's lead was eroded and MSU tied the game with just over a minute to play. With the team having once again blown a lead, the Bobcats were overwhelmed in the extra session and were outshot 7–2 before Minnesota State ended their season.

Departures[]

Player Position Nationality Cause
Kārlis Čukste Defenseman  Latvia Graduation (signed with San Jose Barracuda)
William Fällström Forward  Sweden Signed professional contract (Tingsryds AIF)
P. J. Fletcher Forward  United States Returned to juniors (transferred to Miami)
Nick Jermain Forward  United States Graduation (signed with Coventry Blaze)
Jeremy Smith Defenseman  Canada Transferred to Hamilton
Alex Whelan Forward  United States Graduation (signed with Hartford Wolf Pack)

Recruiting[]

Player Position Nationality Age Notes
Nick Bochen Defenseman  Canada 19 North Vancouver, BC
Joey Cipollone Forward  United States 21 Purchase, NY; transfer from Vermont
Corey Clifton Forward  United States 21 Matawan, NJ
Christophe Fillion Forward  Canada 20 Sherbrooke, QC
Tyler Ghirardosi Forward  Canada 20 Trail, BC
Yaniv Perets Goaltender  Canada 20 Dollard-des-Ormeaux, QC
Iivari Räsänen Defenseman  Finland 19 Tampere, FIN
Ty Smilanic Forward  United States 18 Denver, CO; Selected 74th overall in 2020

Roster[]

As of March 17, 2021.[6]

No. S/P/C Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team NHL rights
1 Quebec Yaniv Perets Freshman G 6' 1" (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2000-03-04 Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Quebec Penticton (BCHL) —
2 Finland Iivari Räsänen Freshman D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 2001-05-23 Tampere, Finland Muskegon (USHL) —
3 Nova Scotia Peter DiLiberatore (A) Junior D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2000-03-31 Bedford, Nova Scotia Salisbury (USHS–CT) VGK, 180th overall 2018
4 Rhode Island Michael Lombardi Junior 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 Sophomore D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1999-03-12 Pearl River, New York Shreveport (NAHL) —
7 Minnesota Marcus Chorney Sophomore D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1997-09-16 Hastings, Minnesota Amarillo (NAHL) —
8 British Columbia Nick Bochen Freshman 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 Junior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1999-07-12 North Vancouver, British Columbia Prince George (BCHL) —
11 Michigan Wyatt Bongiovanni (A) Junior F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1999-07-24 Birmingham, Michigan Muskegon (USHL) —
12 Connecticut Daniel Winslow Junior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1997-09-26 Fairfield, Connecticut Jersey (NCDC) —
13 Quebec Christophe Fillion Freshman F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 2000-06-18 Sherbrooke, Quebec Muskegon (USHL) —
14 British Columbia Ethan Leyh Sophomore F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2001-06-07 Anmore, British Columbia Langley (BCHL) —
15 British Columbia Jayden Lee Sophomore D 5' 9" (1.75 m) 155 lb (70 kg) 2001-01-10 North Vancouver, British Columbia Powell River (BCHL) —
17 New York (state) Joey Cipollone Sophomore F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1999-07-12 Purchase, New York Tri-City (USHL) —
18 New Jersey Corey Clifton Freshman F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1999-02-03 Matawan, New Jersey Austin (NAHL) —
19 Missouri T. J. Friedmann Junior F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1998-02-27 St. Louis, Missouri Victoria (BCHL) —
20 Rhode Island Matthew Fawcett Sophomore F 5' 6" (1.68 m) 148 lb (67 kg) 1999-04-22 Lincoln, Rhode Island Powell River (BCHL) —
22 North Carolina Skyler Brind'Amour Sophomore 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 Junior D 5' 9" (1.75 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1998-10-19 Delafield, Wisconsin Central Illinois (USHL) —
24 Illinois Logan Britt Sophomore D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1999-02-10 Crystal Lake, Illinois Sioux Falls (USHL) —
25 British Columbia Tyler Ghirardosi Freshman F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 188 lb (85 kg) 1999-10-01 Montrose, British Columbia Trail (BCHL) —
26 Netherlands Guus van Nes Sophomore (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 Junior F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1998-09-28 North Vancouver, British Columbia Surrey (BCHL) —
28 Connecticut Joe O'Connor Senior D 6' 3" (1.91 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1996-03-16 Hamden, Connecticut Brooks (AJHL) —
29 Minnesota Odeen Tufto (C) Senior F 5' 7" (1.7 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1997-01-09 Chaska, Minnesota Sioux City (USHL) —
31 Massachusetts Keith Petruzzelli Senior G 6' 5" (1.96 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1999-02-09 Wilbraham, Massachusetts Muskegon (USHL) DET, 88th overall 2017
33 Massachusetts Josh Mayanja Senior G 6' 0" (1.83 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 1997-08-16 Framingham, Massachusetts South Shore (USPHL) —
35 Illinois Evan Fear Sophomore G 6' 2" (1.88 m) 188 lb (85 kg) 1999-07-05 Winnetka, Illinois Waterloo (USHL) —
96 Colorado Ty Smilanic Freshman F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 178 lb (81 kg) 2002-01-20 Denver, Colorado USNTDP (USHL) FLA, 74th overall 2020

Standings[]

2020–21 ECAC Hockey Standings
Conference record Overall record
GP W L T OTW OTL 3/SW PTS PT% GF GA GP W L T GF GA
#11 Quinnipiac † 18 10 4 4 1 1 3 37 .685 54 34 29 17 8 4 100 59
#20 Clarkson 14 6 4 4 1 2 2 25 .595 29 25 22 11 7 4 62 52
St. Lawrence * 14 4 8 2 1 1 1 15 .357 30 37 17 6 8 3 40 45
Colgate 18 5 9 4 1 0 1 16 .352 34 51 22 6 11 5 48 66
Brown 0 - - - - - - - - - - 0 - - - - -
Cornell 0 - - - - - - - - - - 0 - - - - -
Dartmouth 0 - - - - - - - - - - 0 - - - - -
Harvard 0 - - - - - - - - - - 0 - - - - -
Princeton 0 - - - - - - - - - - 0 - - - - -
Rensselaer 0 - - - - - - - - - - 0 - - - - -
Union 0 - - - - - - - - - - 0 - - - - -
Yale 0 - - - - - - - - - - 0 - - - - -
Championship: March 20, 2021
dagger indicates conference regular season champion (Cleary Cup)
* indicates conference tournament champion (Whitelaw Cup)
Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll

Schedule and Results[]

Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Decision Result Attendance Record
Regular Season
December 14 7:00 PM vs. Sacred Heart* #11 People's United Center • Hamden, Connecticut   Petruzzelli W 9–2  0 1–0–0
December 15 7:00 PM vs. Sacred Heart* #11 People's United Center • Hamden, Connecticut   Petruzzelli W 2–1 OT 0 2–0–0
December 18 7:00 PM vs. #13 Bowling Green* #11 People's United Center • Hamden, Connecticut   Petruzzelli L 1–4  0 2–1–0
December 19 7:00 PM vs. #13 Bowling Green* #11 People's United Center • Hamden, Connecticut   Petruzzelli L 2–4  0 2–2–0
December 22 7:00 PM vs. Holy Cross* #16 People's United Center • Hamden, Connecticut   Petruzzelli W 6–1  0 3–2–0
December 23 5:05 PM at Holy Cross* #16 Hart Center • Worcester, Massachusetts   Petruzzelli W 3–0  0 4–2–0
December 26 7:00 PM vs. #19 American International* #16 People's United Center • Hamden, Connecticut   Petruzzelli W 8–3  0 5–2–0
December 27 3:05 PM at #19 American International* #16 MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts   Petruzzelli W 3–2  0 6–2–0
December 31 4:00 PM at St. Lawrence #12 Appleton Arena • Canton, New York   Petruzzelli T 2–2 SOW 0 6–2–1 (0–0–1)
January 3 1:00 PM vs. St. Lawrence #12 People's United Center • Hamden, Connecticut   Petruzzelli L 2–4  0 6–3–1 (0–1–1)
January 8 7:00 PM vs. #10 Clarkson #13 People's United Center • Hamden, Connecticut   Petruzzelli L 4–5 OT 0 6–4–1 (0–2–1)
January 9 7:00 PM vs. #10 Clarkson #13 People's United Center • Hamden, Connecticut   Petruzzelli W 4–3 OT 0 7–4–1 (1–2–1)
January 10 4:00 PM vs. #10 Clarkson #13 People's United Center • Hamden, Connecticut   Petruzzelli W 1–0  0 8–4–1 (2–2–1)
January 15 5:00 PM at Colgate #11 Class of 1965 Arena • Hamilton, New York   Petruzzelli W 3–0  0 9–4–1 (3–2–1)
January 17 4:00 PM vs. Colgate #11 People's United Center • Hamden, Connecticut   Petruzzelli W 3–0  0 10–4–1 (4–2–1)
January 22 5:00 PM at #14 Clarkson #10 Cheel Arena • Potsdam, New York   Petruzzelli T 1–1 SOW 0 10–4–2 (4–2–2)
January 23 4:00 PM at #14 Clarkson #10 Cheel Arena • Potsdam, New York   Petruzzelli T 1–1 SOL 0 10–4–3 (4–2–3)
January 24 4:00 PM at #14 Clarkson #10 Cheel Arena • Potsdam, New York   Petruzzelli L 2–4  0 10–5–3 (4–3–3)
February 5 4:00 PM vs. St. Lawrence #12 People's United Center • Hamden, Connecticut   Petruzzelli W 4–1  0 11–5–3 (5–3–3)
February 6 4:00 PM vs. St. Lawrence #12 People's United Center • Hamden, Connecticut   Petruzzelli W 2–1  0 12–5–3 (6–3–3)
February 12 5:00 PM at Colgate #11 Class of 1965 Arena • Hamilton, New York   Petruzzelli T 2–2 SOW 0 12–5–4 (6–3–4)
February 13 4:00 PM at Colgate #11 Class of 1965 Arena • Hamilton, New York   Petruzzelli W 9–0  0 13–5–4 (7–3–4)
February 22 6:00 PM vs. Long Island* #12 People's United Center • Hamden, Connecticut   Petruzzelli W 7–1  0 14–5–4
February 26 4:00 PM at St. Lawrence #12 Appleton Arena • Canton, New York   Petruzzelli W 4–2  0 15–5–4 (8–3–4)
February 27 4:00 PM at St. Lawrence #12 Appleton Arena • Canton, New York   Petruzzelli W 3–2  0 16–5–4 (9–3–4)
March 5 6:00 PM vs. Colgate #11 People's United Center • Hamden, Connecticut   Petruzzelli W 4–2  0 17–5–4 (10–3–4)
March 6 4:00 PM at Colgate #11 Class of 1965 Arena • Hamilton, New York   Petruzzelli L 3–4  0 17–6–4 (10–4–4)
ECAC Hockey Tournament
March 20 4:00 PM vs. St. Lawrence* #10 People's United Center • Hamden, Connecticut   Petruzzelli L 2–3 OT 0 17–7–4
NCAA Tournament
March 27 2:00 PM vs. #5 Minnesota State* #11 Budweiser Events Center • Loveland, Colorado ESPN3 Petruzzelli L 3–4 OT 0 17–8–4
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Eastern Time.

[7]

Scoring Statistics[]

Name Position Games Goals Assists Points PIM
Odeen Tufto C 29 8 39 47 22
Ethan de Jong RW 29 14 15 29 22
Zach Metsa D 29 5 21 26 8
Ty Smilanic C 29 14 7 21 10
Peter DiLiberatore D 29 6 14 20 36
Desi Burgart F 29 10 16 16 16
Michael Lombardi F 26 5 11 16 0
Guus van Nes LW/RW 29 2 13 15 12
Christophe Fillion F 25 6 5 11 4
Skyler Brind'Amour C 29 2 9 11 23
Ethan Leyh F 25 3 7 10 10
Matthew Fawcett F 21 4 5 9 0
Wyatt Bongiovanni C 9 5 3 8 12
Ilvari Räsänen D 25 1 7 8 19
Jayden Lee D 23 2 5 7 6
Joey Cipollone C 25 2 5 7 6
Nick Bochen D 24 3 3 6 10
Logan Britt D 27 2 3 5 14
T. J. Friedmann F 25 3 0 3 35
Joe O'Connor D 14 1 2 3 17
Marcus Chorney D 28 1 2 3 32
C. J. McGee D 19 1 0 1 12
Evan Fear G 2 0 0 0 0
Yaniv Perets G 2 0 0 0 0
Daniel Winslow F 3 0 0 0 2
Josh Mayanja G 4 0 0 0 0
Keith Petruzzelli G 29 0 0 0 0
Bench - - - - - 4
Total 100 182 282 338

[8]

Goaltending statistics[]

Name Games Minutes Wins Losses Ties Goals Against Saves Shut Outs SV % GAA
Yaniv Perets 2 32 0 0 0 0 12 0 1.000 0.00
Josh Mayanja 4 15 0 0 0 0 12 0 1.000 0.00
Evan Fear 2 7:35 0 0 0 0 2 0 1.000 0.00
Keith Petruzzelli 29 1715 17 8 4 54 671 4 .926 1.89
Empty Net - 12 - - - 5 - - - -
Total 29 1783 17 8 4 59 697 5 † .922 1.98

† Petruzzelli and Perets shared a shutout on February 13.

Rankings[]

Main article: 2020-21 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey 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 (Final)
USCHO.com 13 13 12 11 11 11 16 12 13 11 10 11 12 11 12 12 11 12 10 11 - 12
USA Today 14 14 11 11 10 11 NR 13 12 11 10 11 11 11 11 11 10 11 10 10 11 11

USCHO did not release a poll in week 20.[9]

Awards and honors[]

Player Award Ref
Odeen Tufto AHCA East First Team All-American [10]
Odeen Tufto ECAC Hockey Player of the Year [11]
Keith Petruzelli Ken Dryden Award [12]
Rand Pecknold Tim Taylor Award [13]
Keith Petruzelli ECAC Hockey First Team [14]
Zach Metsa
Odeen Tufto
Ty Smilanic ECAC Hockey Rookie Team [15]

Players drafted into the NHL[]

2021 NHL Entry Draft[]

Round Pick Player NHL Team
7 223 † Arizona Coyotes

† incoming freshman [16]

References[]

  1. ^ "NCAA approves blanket waiver for 2020 fall sports athletes to retain year of eligibility". CBS Sports. August 21, 2020. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  2. ^ "DI Council grants waiver to allow transfer student-athletes to compete immediately". NCAA. December 16, 2020. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  3. ^ "ECAC Hockey Announces First Team All-League". ECAC Hockey. March 17, 2021. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
  4. ^ "College men's hockey: Clarkson's season called off due to school COVID-19 violations by team members". NNY 360. March 11, 2021. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
  5. ^ "St. Lawrence withdraws from NCAA men's hockey tournament after coach tests positive for COVID-19". ESPN. March 21, 2021. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
  6. ^ "2020–21 Men's Ice Hockey Roster". Quinnipiac Athletics. Retrieved January 16, 2016.
  7. ^ "Quinnipiac Bobcats (Men) 2020-2021 Schedule and Results". collegehockeystats.net. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  8. ^ "Quinnipiac Univ. 2020-2021 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
  9. ^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  10. ^ "Boston College, Minnesota, North Dakota, Wisconsin lead way with three All-American college hockey players apiece for '20-21 season". USCHO.com. April 9, 2021. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
  11. ^ "Odeen Tufto Named ECAC Hockey Player of the Year". ECAC Hockey. March 19, 2021. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
  12. ^ "Petruzzelli Named Ken Dryden Goaltender of the Year". ECAC Hockey. March 18, 2021. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
  13. ^ "Pecknold Named Tim Taylor Coach of the Year". ECAC Hockey. March 15, 2021. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
  14. ^ "ECAC Hockey Announces First Team All-League". ecachockey.com. March 17, 2021. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
  15. ^ "ECAC Hockey Announces 2021 All-Rookie Team". ecachockey.com. March 17, 2021. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
  16. ^ "NCAA player rankings, selections in 2021 NHL Draft". USCHO.com. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
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