Agree with all the points above. We had a great time last night and my wife even caught a puck early 3rd period. Defensive lapses caused most of the goals both games, but I really like how the defense is coming along. Duplessis is the better goalie but we need to score at least 4 a game to make up for it at this point. Good thing for us is that this offense is looking real good. Even the 4th line has been very good. Looking forward to a nice game against BU on Wednesday.
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Quinnipiac Bobcats 2023-24 Regular Season - Embrace the grind
- Thread starter MarkEagleUSA
- Start date
ZYanksRule
GO BOBCATS!!
It's fun to see how much our stock has risen nationally after winning the national title last year. There's no way I think we should be a Top 5 team in the country right now, and certainly no way I think we should be No. 1. But there we are, ranked 3rd in the USCHO rankings with 8 first-place votes. We're good -- maybe a top 10 team, somewhere in that range. But 3rd? First-place votes? This team would never be that high had we not won it all last year.
IsThereADog
Member
Probably true. A lot of early-season polling is based on last year's results.
That said, a stronger OOC schedule to start the year for us, and we still haven't lost in regulation.
Not to mention currently number one in the Pairwise and ZERO losses with Graf in the lineup. Definitely deserve a top 5 ranking and some first place votes at this point.
I think some of Marks point apply to your thoughts. This is a different team than we are used to. We are 100% a top 5 team right now, but I find myself having similar thoughts to you, but it’s because every bone in my body from my freshman year till before last year tells me we can’t allow more than 2 or 3 goals cause we won’t score that many. This team can score, but we are lacking defensively/goalie wise from the last 12 years. Last years team had a dynamic offense and our typical shut down defense and elite goaltending. That’s not our identity this year.
As I look around the landscape this year, I chuckle as Rand has a very similar schedule to years past but Maine and UNH are finally holding up their end of the bargain and so now our SOS is #2 in the country thus far with it only going to improve on Wednesday. Funny how we could be made fun of for a schedule one year and have the same one next year and the SOS ranking is DRASTICALLY different. It’s funny I still see Quinnipiac schedule comments in the Twitter replies to polls and I don’t think people realize how strong the schedule has been.
The game Wednesday is a massive one. It is our last game, until at least the NCAA tournament, against an elite team. Cornell is TBD and no disrespect to the rest of the ECAC but there is not another contender in the league this year unless someone comes out of left field. A win would go a long way as we would have wins against 3 (out of 4 opponents) of the top 6 teams (UNH, Maine, BC, BU, UMass and PC) in Hockey East. Which would prop our Pairwise ranking up as we start playing solely ECAC competition. Away wins are especially helpful. We don’t need to win the game, but I want to see how we look for a full game against an elite talent team with Graf playing the full 60. BU figures to be a likely Frozen Four team or at least certainly capable of reaching Minneapolis.
Hope the boys rise to the challenge for Wednesday. There’s a lot I like in this team, once I get past my idea of how we (traditionally) should play.
Go Bobcats
MarkEagleUSA
C'mon Q!
This times infinity.
It's college hockey, not the NHL. Every year sees (usually) significant roster turnover. Rand & Co have done exceptionally well filling holes but until these guys hit the ice and start mastering the systems anything can happen. Once they find themselves and things start to click they develop their own identity. Might be similar to last year, might not. The key is they have to find their identity and play to it. We as fans want to keep the bus rolling but the seats aren't filled with last years talent.
The 2022-23 was a magical mix that may never be duplicated, but that doesnt mean the desired results have to be different. It's just going to take a different dynamic to make it happen.
One thing I've learned over the last 17 years of following this team is that, by and large, everyone that pulls that sweater on plays for the betterment of the team. Quinnipiac Culture isn't a fancy buzzword, it's a way of life for those in the room. We see the results of that culture on game day.
I like where we are and love the potential we have.
ZYanksRule
GO BOBCATS!!
These are all very good points. And you're absolutely right about the schedule -- we have played a lot of highly-ranked teams. Agreed that Wednesday is, perhaps, our biggest regular-season game of the year. Win that game, on the road, against a fellow Top-5 team, and I'll be fully bought in. Our offense is elite, our defense is very good, and our goaltending, so far, has been the weak point.
I almost feel like we look a lot like Michigan last year. Great offense, but the goaltending is what bit them. I would absolutely sign right now for the kind of season Michigan had last year. I've been very much enjoying the season so far and think this team has the talent to make another deep run.
ZYanksRule
GO BOBCATS!!
That was a tremendous hockey game. Terrible loss considering the circumstances. Thought Duplessis was very good for the first two periods, but that game-tying goal just can't happen. It was right in his chest. You can't drop that puck. Just a terrible, terrible rebound.
Caron was incredible for BU -- we should have had two or three goals in the 2nd period. He won that game for BU.
Thought the team played really well tonight for most of the 60. We were let down by our goaltending.
Just goes to show you how special last year was; we've already matched our loss total from last season, and it's not even Thanksgiving.
Caron was incredible for BU -- we should have had two or three goals in the 2nd period. He won that game for BU.
Thought the team played really well tonight for most of the 60. We were let down by our goaltending.
Just goes to show you how special last year was; we've already matched our loss total from last season, and it's not even Thanksgiving.
MarkEagleUSA
C'mon Q!
Gotta play 60. They stopped at 50 for some reason.
ZYanksRule
GO BOBCATS!!
I don't think they stopped. I think they were fine. They were in complete control of that game from the 2nd period through when it was 2-0. BU was always going to surge; that's game effects when you're up 2-0. We need to rely on our goaltender to make a save in that spot. He was great for 40 minutes. He was tracking the puck well, moving across the crease well, in position, and made some 10-bell saves. Then it all fell apart for him. The first goal was a great play, the third goal was a screen. The second goal just can't happen.
ZYanksRule
GO BOBCATS!!
It's pretty incredible when you look at how good our goaltending has been since before I even arrived on campus. For the last 25 years, we've had some incredible goalies.
2000-01: Justin Eddy
2001-04: Jamie Holden & Justin Eddy
2004-05: Jamie Holden
2005-09: Bud Fisher (Sagged a bit his last two years here, but still not terrible. 2008-09 we rotated three goalies)
2009-13: Erik Hartzell (didn't start much his rookie season, Dan Clarke got the majority of playing time in 2009-10)
2013-16: Michael Garteig (served as Hartzell's backup his freshman season)
2016-19: Andrew Shortridge
2019-21: Keith Petruzelli (served as Shortridge's backup for two seasons)
2020-23: Yaniv Perets (served as Petro's backup for his freshman season)
That is an unbelievable run of goaltending. I am hopeful that Duplessis will improve as the year goes on, but honestly we are long past overdue for a bad season between the pipes. The last 25 years have featured some legends of our program. To go straight from Hartzell to Garteig, then to have Yaniv just a few years later ... it's been almost 15 years since we had even a mediocre goaltending season.
2000-01: Justin Eddy
2001-04: Jamie Holden & Justin Eddy
2004-05: Jamie Holden
2005-09: Bud Fisher (Sagged a bit his last two years here, but still not terrible. 2008-09 we rotated three goalies)
2009-13: Erik Hartzell (didn't start much his rookie season, Dan Clarke got the majority of playing time in 2009-10)
2013-16: Michael Garteig (served as Hartzell's backup his freshman season)
2016-19: Andrew Shortridge
2019-21: Keith Petruzelli (served as Shortridge's backup for two seasons)
2020-23: Yaniv Perets (served as Petro's backup for his freshman season)
That is an unbelievable run of goaltending. I am hopeful that Duplessis will improve as the year goes on, but honestly we are long past overdue for a bad season between the pipes. The last 25 years have featured some legends of our program. To go straight from Hartzell to Garteig, then to have Yaniv just a few years later ... it's been almost 15 years since we had even a mediocre goaltending season.
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MarkEagleUSA
C'mon Q!
The 2nd and 3rd goals were as much the fault of the D as Duplessis. Even the BU guys pointed that out.
Yes, Vinnie isn't quite at the level we're used to but he hasn't been terrible either.
Keith Petruzelli...
I agree with Mark that the defense let us down more than Duplessis. Sure he should have had that rebound and that was a bad goal to give up at the time. However, I said to my wife when we went up 2-0 we were going to lose 3-2 when we kept getting stuck in the defensive zone. We all know how teams can come back from 2-0 deficits. With G being a concern, anytime we score less than 4 will be a nail biter. Rand hit the nail on the head when I believe his last point to the team pre-game was no penalties. That killed us at the end.
The team played great for 48 minutes. Need to play 60. Time to regroup but the team is playing well and will learn from this.
Happy Thanksgiving to all!
The team played great for 48 minutes. Need to play 60. Time to regroup but the team is playing well and will learn from this.
Happy Thanksgiving to all!
MarkEagleUSA
C'mon Q!
That rebound went out to Vinnie's left with 3 D-men between him and the puck. It was the pass across to his right that opened up a hole for BU. Again, 3 D-men out in front.
A bigger reason for the loss was the anemic power play. A goal on that late BU penalty would have been huge, as would 1 or 2 on the previous 4. Not to mention the momentum swing each kill gave the Terriers.
To say our problems are in net is simply not fair. Z's goalie assessment above fails to mention one huge fact: all those goalies had stout D in front of them. Last night the D failed Vinnie.
Happy Thanksgiving BobcatNation!
ZYanksRule
GO BOBCATS!!
Back to the site of the original NO FUN ZONE at RPI tonight.
(The No Fun Zone was created during the 2006 ECAC playoffs when, in our inaugural season, we traveled to RPI for the first round. A bunch of us students went up -- maybe 20 in total, and we were making a lot of noise and having too much fun. So much, that we were told by RPI administrators to cool it. The next night, we attended the game with "No Fun Zone" posters. RPI athletics put members of their football team in front of us, some of whom even physically intimidated us during Game 2).
But as you know, Quinnipiac football is undefeated since 1929, so we went on to sweep that series.
Go Bobcats!
(The No Fun Zone was created during the 2006 ECAC playoffs when, in our inaugural season, we traveled to RPI for the first round. A bunch of us students went up -- maybe 20 in total, and we were making a lot of noise and having too much fun. So much, that we were told by RPI administrators to cool it. The next night, we attended the game with "No Fun Zone" posters. RPI athletics put members of their football team in front of us, some of whom even physically intimidated us during Game 2).
But as you know, Quinnipiac football is undefeated since 1929, so we went on to sweep that series.
Go Bobcats!
Heading into the break, the team is looking pretty good and getting better. Goalie is still a HUGE concern right now. Never expected to be #1 in Pairwise right now, but only 1 regulation loss is a nice surprise. I really don't count the OT L's since 3:3 is a gimmick. Nice to see BC, BU and Maine ranked high. The east is looking pretty good. Hope all have a nice holiday season and looking forward to the 2nd half!
ICECAT1811
New member
I hope we get Travis Treloar back after the break. Seeing him live a few times live I recognized his talent. Great individual 1v1 ability
I agree. Hate to see a transfer sidelined with an injury. His time is short to begin with. The limited time he had on the ice showed definite skill. Hope he is ok. His absence has allowed others to shine a bit, especially the FY’s. Hopefully an experience benefit for years to come.
Happy Holidays Bobcats!