#QuinnipiacBobcats

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HARTFORD WOLF PACK REPORTERS NOTEBOOK

By: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - Hartford Wolf Pack players will report to the New York Rangers training camp in only a few weeks. But that is not the only news, as more players are moving about and signing contracts around the world. But while some are signing to keep playing, others call it a career. Ex-CT Whale and Ranger defenseman Michael Del Zotto retired from hockey after 14 seasons, his last with the Anaheim  Ducks. He split last year with the Charlotte Checkers and the San Diego Gulls (AHL) after 736 NHL games and a Stanley Cup. Del Zotto was initially drafted by the Rangers in 2008. Another player calling it a career is ex-Bridgeport Sound Tiger goalie Kevin Poulin. He retired from hockey after playing with the Laval Rocket with an above .500 record in the AHL. Poulin played for five teams and accumulated a career record of 115-106-23 with a .910 save percentage over nine seasons. He spent 13 years in pro hockey and earned a bronze medal for Team Canada at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in South Korea. SIGNINGS Ex-Pack Joey Keane renews his deal with Spartak Moscow (Russia-KHL). Ex-Pack/Sound Tiger Jean-François Bérubé leaves the Florida Panthers organization and returns to the LA Kings organization. Five more AHL’ers move on to Europe. Bobby Lynch leaves the Rockford IceHogs for Torpedo Novgorod (Russia-KHL). Goalie Anton Khudobdin also leaves Rockford for Sokol Krasnoyarsk (Russia-VHL). Dylan Sikura leaves the San Diego Gulls and Rockford for Skellefteå AIK (Sweden-SHL). Chase Pearson leaves the Grand Rapids Griffins to go to HC Dukla Michalovce (Slovakia-SLEL), and Erik Brown departs from Bridgeport to Sport Vassa (Finland-FEL). That makes 83 players in total heading to Europe. Ten go to Russia, making 17 to the KHL. 30 of the 32 AHL teams have seen at least one player sign overseas. Sweden leads all countries with 31 players signed. ERIC BOULTON & SONS Eric Boulton, who played with the Rochester Americans (AHL) during his career. He played against the Wolf Pack, most memorably in the 2000 AHL Calder Cup final. He was also a Sound Tiger for two games at the end of his career. The Rangers originally drafted him in the ninth round of the 1994 NHL Draft, but he never played in New York. He spent half a season in Binghamton. Boulton has both of his sons involved in hockey. His 17-year-old son, Ryder Boulton, will play for the London Knights (OHL) this season. He spent last year with the Buffalo Jr. Sabres U-16 AAA team, where his father was the assistant coach and an Islanders pro scout. 19-year-old Sawyer Boulton is in American junior hockey. He goes from the El Paso (TX) Rhinos (NAHL) to the Rochester Jr. Americans (NAHL) this year. MOVES The Pittsburgh Penguins dealt Peter DiLiberatore (Quinnipiac University) to the Arizona Coyotes, where he will likely play with the Tucson Roadrunners (AHL). Another former member of the national champion Quinnipiac Bobcats and a grad transfer from Wisconsin (Big 10), Ty Smilanic, is slated to be in the rookie camp of the Montreal Canadiens, hoping to get a deal to play in Laval or the Trois-Rivières Lions (ECHL). Jacob Nordqvist, who played his grad transfer also with the national champion Quinnipiac University (ECACHL) team after four years with Lake Superior State (CCHA), signs with the Kalamazoo Wings (ECHL). Now that makes 26 ECACHL pro signees. The Hockey East conference still leads all conferences with 38 singings, while the NCHC has 37, the CCHA has 35, the Big Ten 32, and the AHA has 20. As for the rest, the NCAA Independents have 13, Europe has 65, and Division III has 34. Canadian colleges have four, and Canadian major junior leagues have only two. Undergrads leaving early is at 39, and the total number is now 305. Grad transfers 70 and in-school-104. NEWS UCONN promotes Assistant Coach Tyler Helton to Associate Head Coach. After four years as an undergrad since 2013, he has been a part of the UCONN Hockey East version since its inception. The Huskies got a verbal commitment from California native Colin Frank of the Dubuque  Fighting Saints (USHL) for 2025-26. Jake Sanderson, the son of ex-Hartford Whaler Geoff Sanderson, signed a one-year extension with the Ottawa Senators to his original ELC deal. The U-17 tourney schedule was announced. It will be held in Charlottetown (Eastlink Centre)/Summerside (Credit Union Place), PEI (Prince Edward Island) November 2-12. It features six teams: Canada Red, Canada White, Czechia, Finland, Sweden, and the US. The medal games will be held on November 11 at noon and 5 p.m. AST. HARTFORD WOLF PACK HOME Read the full article

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#quinnipiacuniversity #quinnipiac #quinnipiacbobcats #quinnipiachockey #hamden #connecticut #princetonuniversity #tigers #princetonhockey #centennial #ecac #ecachockey #ivyleague #collegehockey #ncaahockey #ncaa #princeton #gardenstate #newjersey (at Hobey Baker Memorial Rink) https://www.instagram.com/p/ClIDDD5NMpZ/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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QUINNIPIAC WINS REGIONAL HEADS TO FROZEN FOUR

By: Drew Camposano, Howlings BRIDGEPORT, CT - The Quinnipiac Bobcats are headed to Tampa, Florida, to compete in their third NCAA D1 Frozen Four Tournament after defeating the Ohio State Buckeyes 4-1 Sunday in the Regional Final in front of 4,557 at the Total Mortgage Arena in Bridgeport CT. Quinnipiac Head Coach Rand Peknold doesn't see this trip any less exciting than his other two trips. “I mean it's exciting," he said. "The third one is as good as the first two.” Quinnipiac's campus is less than thirty minutes from Bridgeport, which flooded the crowd in Bobcat yellow, giving them a clear home advantage. The environment didn't go unnoticed by the players, “It was great. Everybody was very loud tonight; it helps us get our legs going," sophomore forward Cristophe Tellier said. Ohio State's Joe Dunlap gave the Buckeyes an early lead and their only lead of the game at 1:31. Dunlap took a turnover, beat two Quinnipiac defenders to go one-on-one against Yaniv Perets, a finalist for both the Hobey Baker Award as college player of the year and the Mike Richter Award as the NCAA’s top goalie. Dunlap beat the Bobcat netminder, going right-to-left and putting a backhander into the net for the only goal they would get by him in the contest. But Quinnipiac continued to pressure the Buckeyes and scored two goals 15 seconds apart. Christophe Fillion equalized the score at 13:20, and then Skyler Brind'Amour scored what proved to be the game-winner at 13:35. The period ended 2-1 with Quinnipiac leading, which didn't bode well for the Buckeyes, who entered the game 2-7-0 when trailing at the end of the first. The coaching staff of the Buckeyes adjust the team's approach for the second period, and they responded and looked like a different team.  After a back-and-forth affair in the second period, Ohio State had its best shot at the equalizer early in the third period with a breakaway on Perets, who made an outstanding save to keep the lead. Tellier and his teammates knew closing the game out against the Buckeyes was not going to be easy. “Ohio State is coming off a dominant 8-1 victory against Harvard. It doesn't take long for this high-powered offense to get going." In the third period, with Gustaf Westlund in the penalty box for a Boarding call, Tellier thought he had scored and started to celebrate. The referees disagreed, and the play continued, which silenced the crowd. At the next stoppage, the play was reviewed, and the referees' decision was overturned. The Bobcats were awarded their third and backbreaking third goal at 15:30 to make it 3-1. Quinnipiac would add an empty net score by Jayden Lee with 1:57 left, ending the Buckeyes' run in the NCAA Tournament. They didn't go out without putting up a fight," Ohio State Head Coach Steve Rohlik said. "Obviously, it's a disappointing result. I couldn't ask for more from my team though we played a good game. I thought we left everything on the rink.” The Buckeyes close their 2022-23 season with a 21-16-3 record. Quinnipiac will play Michigan in the April 6 semifinals at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla. BOX SCORE QUINNIPIAC MEN'S HOCKEY HOME Read the full article

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QUINNIPIAC BOBCATS SHUT OUT OVER MERRIMACK ADVANCES THEM TO REGIONAL FINALS

(Photo: Jim Stankiewicz) By: Drew Camposano, Howlings BRIDGEPORT, CT - On Friday, a three-point game from Quinnipiac's Sam Lipkin and two goals from Jacob Quillan demonstrated why the Bobcats were the top-seeded team in the NCAA Regionals with a 5-0 dismantling of the Merrimack Warriors before a crowd of 4,462 at Total Mortgage Arena in Bridgeport. After scoring twice in the second period on goals from Joey Cipollone and Quillan, it was a dominant third period where Quinnipiac (31-4-3) scored three times that ultimately advanced the Bobcats to the Regional Final on Sunday in Bridgeport at 4 PM against Ohio State after the Buckeyes dismembered Harvard, 8-1 in the other semi-final game.  At 6:28 of the third period, a blocked shot by Zach Mesta sent the puck to Michael Lombardi, and he fired one past Merrimack (23-14-1) goaltender Zachary Borgiel up high to make it 3-0. 8:13 later, the Bobcats would bank their fourth goal as Sam Lipkin found Quillan for his second tally of the contest. Lipkin would be rewarded for his helper with an empty netter off a cross-ice feed from Ethan de Jong. The secondary helper going to Jake Johnson with 1:29 left to seal the deal. What would prove to be the game-winner for the Bobcats came at 1:56 of the second period when Cipollone found the loose biscuit left by a whiffed-on shot by Jayden Lee. Cippollone benefited from some puck luck as his shot toward the net found the skate of Will Calverley and redirected past Borgiel to give the Bobcats the only goal they would need. Just 1:33 later, the Bobcats produced a second tally when Quinlan scored his first of the two on the day off a pass from Lipkin. The secondary assist going to Collin Graf. We're not the sexiest team on the planet," Rand Pecknold, Quinnipiac's head coach, said. "We're not perfect. We just grind and grind and get rewarded for it." That grinding style was fully displayed in the first period as both teams grappled for control. Despite Quinnipiac outshooting Merrimack 14-7, they went to the intermission with no score. Quinnipiac was playing lockdown defense the entire game. However, the best opportunities for Merrimack were denied by goaltender Yaniv Perets. The shutout by the Bobcats was their tenth of the season. Sunday's winner will compete in the NCAA D1 Frozen Four tournament. QUINNIPIAC UNIVERSITY HOME Read the full article

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(FINAL SCORE: QUINNIPIAC 4, PRINCETON 1; GAME TOTAL SHOTS ON GOAL: PRINCETON 20, QUINNIPIAC 18; BACK TO MSG ONCE AGAIN NEXT SATURDAY!) #quinnipiacuniversity #quinnipiac #quinnipiacbobcats #quinnipiachockey #hamden #connecticut #princetonuniversity #tigers #princetonhockey #centennial #ecac #ecachockey #ivyleague #collegehockey #ncaahockey #ncaa #princeton #gardenstate #newjersey (at Hobey Baker Memorial Rink) https://www.instagram.com/p/ClICZ4btNCR/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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(2ND INTERMISSION: QUINNIPIAC 3, PRINCETON 0; 2ND PERIOD SHOTS ON GOAL: QUINNIPIAC 9, PRINCETON 6; GAME TOTALS SO FAR: QUINNIPIAC 14, PRINCETON 11) #quinnipiacuniversity #quinnipiac #quinnipiacbobcats #quinnipiachockey #hamden #connecticut #princetonuniversity #tigers #princetonhockey #centennial #ecac #ecachockey #ivyleague #collegehockey #ncaahockey #ncaa #princeton #gardenstate #newjersey (at Hobey Baker Memorial Rink) https://www.instagram.com/p/ClH8-JFrGcN/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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(1ST INTERMISSION: QUINNIPIAC 2, PRINCETON 0; SHOTS ON GOAL: 5 APIECE) #quinnipiacuniversity #quinnipiac #quinnipiacbobcats #quinnipiachockey #hamden #connecticut #princetonuniversity #tigers #princetonhockey #centennial #ecac #ecachockey #ivyleague #collegehockey #ncaahockey #ncaa #princeton #gardenstate #newjersey (at Hobey Baker Memorial Rink) https://www.instagram.com/p/ClH3EQYLajP/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=