It doesn’t matter whether it’s a regular-season game at Harvard or a summer skate in Hamden, Quinnipiac’s culture is front and center.
Chase Priskie of the Buffalo Sabres, the Bobcats’ captain from 2017 to 2019, tells a story that proves the point.
“I’ll go to Quinnipiac on any given Friday in the summer to skate and, believe it or not, guys are blocking shots in scrimmages in the middle of July. It’s just one of those things. I don’t even know how to describe it. Once you start, it never leaves you,” he said.
That strong culture has driven the Bobcats a long way. Year in and year out under coach Rand Pecknold (Bedford, N.H.), Quinnipiac is a team that plays with structure and takes care of the details that add up to success. They were 32-7-3 in 2021-22 and are ranked in the Top 10 as this season gets going.
Players come and go but the mindset never changes. The culture is always a priority.
“It’s non-stop. We cultivate it. We work on it. The No. 1 thing is who we recruit coming in the door,” said Pecknold after a 4-2 exhibition win over Providence College on Sunday.
“You’ve got to have high-character kids to have the culture that we have. We put a lot of work into it. Our older guys do a good job with it, too, explaining to the kids coming in, ‘This is how we do things.’ But the recruiting’s a big part of that.”
Back for a fifth season, grad student Zach Metsa is the captain this year. As a freshman, he learned under Priskie and a strong group of upperclassmen. Now one of the top defensemen in the country, he’ll lead the way for his younger teammates.
“It’s passed down through the players. One of the things we talk about every year is our buy-in. Rand always talks about buy-in. All that is is the little details – guys blocking shots, one-on-one puck battles, winning battles in front of the net,” said Metsa.
“It’s the little things that you don’t always think about, that I didn’t think about when I came in, but now it’s a standard thing. If you’re not doing that, you’re not playing. Everyone gets that and everyone is able to buy into their role in the system and what they need to do for the team to win.”
Grad student Michael Lombardi (Barrington, R.I.) is an assistant captain this year. He’s earned the respect and admiration of his teammates and the coaching staff by playing the right way.
“In a lot of ways, he’s the heart and soul of our team. We have a saying: You can’t fake passion. For him, it comes naturally. He loves the game. He loves wearing the sweater. He goes out there and sets the tone right away,” said Metsa.
Lombardi was in the starting lineup at left wing on Sunday and immediately went to work, taking the body on the forecheck on the first couple of shifts.
“He’s going to set the tone, not just for the young guys but for the rest of the guys. He’s awesome to have around, he’s great in the room and on the ice, obviously,” said Metsa, a first-team All-American who was named best defensive defenseman in the ECAC last season.
Pecknold calls Lombardi one of his favorite players.
“He’s A-plus-plus-plus character. An awesome person, great human being. I feel fortunate to have him for four years and I’m getting him for a fifth, so it’s a bonus.”
It’s important, Priskie notes, that players who get the details right are appreciated just as much as those who put up big offensive numbers.
“One of the big things that's been perpetuated in Quinnipiac hockey is the guy that blocks the shot is valued just as much as the guy who scores the game-winning goal. They are put on the same pedestal,” said Priskie.
“There’s not one guy that’s above another just because he might produce more. I would say it’s almost the other way around. The guys that block shots and play that style are almost held to a higher pedigree than the guys who are scoring goals.”
Strength coach Brijesh Patel plays a big role in the culture of the program, which has produced NHLers Devon Toews, Connor Clifton and Matthew Peca in recent years.
“He’s one of the best in the country and I think it really starts with him in the gym. His big thing is good teams are when coaches coach the players and great teams are when players coach the players. That emulates exactly what Quinnipiac is,” said Priskie, who was a freshman on the Bobcats' Frozen Four team in 2016.
“A lot of (the culture) is encapsulated in one of the big sayings that he has implemented – ‘You’re responsible for the energy you bring every day.’ Getting loud on the bench when someone blocks a shot, talking, communication on the ice and in the locker room. It’s like that waterfall effect. It starts and then it keeps going throughout the whole team.”
Although the Bobcats’ record during Metsa’s first four seasons is 96-36-11, he’s not satisfied. He could have moved on to pro hockey after last season but wanted another shot at the NCAA title.
“My class, we’ve won a lot of games, but I would say we haven’t won much,” he said.
“We’ve gotten the Cleary Cup (ECAC regular-season champion), but never won the Whitelaw (ECAC playoff champ), never made it to the Frozen Four. Those two for me are the main objective this year,” said Metsa.
“It would be harder to come back (for a fifth season) if I didn’t think we had the team or the guys to do it. I’m really confident in our group.”
