After gaining three years of collegiate experience and making a trip to the 2013 NCAA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Tournament, senior captains Matthew Peca and Danny Federico are ready to help rebuild the Quinnipiac men’s ice hockey team.

The Bobcats are facing a challenge every team faces from time to time. The men’s ice hockey team’s 2014-15 roster is comprised of nine freshmen, eight sophomores, seven juniors and two seniors, which is one of the largest groups of underclassmen head coach Rand Pecknold has managed at Quinnipiac since being hired for the 1994-95 season.

After losing 11 seniors to graduation, the 2013-14 season appeared to be a rebuilding period. Yet the Bobcats went 24-10-6 and made their way into their second consecutive NCAA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Tournament before losing to Providence in the East Regionals.

This is shaping up to be another rebuilding season, but Peca says the team doesn’t view it that way.

“It may be a little more so a rebuilding year than it has been in the past, but there’s so much time in between games and it’s such a short season,” Peca said. “We like to talk about it as a rebuilding month.”

In the first part of the season, Pecknold has been impressed by how the players have come together.

“I like our team, I like our work ethic, it’s a good group of guys with a lot of character and talent,” Pecknold said. “It’s just naturally going to take us a little while to get up to speed.”

Peca knows his responsibility this season and is aware of the importance of his role within the team.

“Most of the time it’s just leading by example,” Peca said. “But if there is anything that needs to be said, we’ll say it if someone’s really not getting the point.”

Federico has a similar mindset when it comes to mentoring the underclassmen.

“Guys are holding each other accountable when they need to be,” Federico said. “[It] lets us just play hockey and be good out there.”

In just the first few months freshman goaltender Sean Lawrence has noticed how Peca and Federico lead by example.

“The way they approach every practice, every workout, every game … they’re always the first ones here and the last ones to leave,” Lawrence said. “They really just work the hardest. It’s awesome to see that after four years they’re still putting in that much time and dedication.”

Lawrence has also received some mentoring from his captains. From the advice he’s been giving, one piece stands out in particular.

“Don’t put too much blame on yourself, no matter what,” Lawrence said. “It’s a team game and there’s always another chance to bounce back.”

Peca’s and Federico’s window to win a national championship is closing, but they aren’t letting it affect their captaincy or senior year.

“We do take a lot of pride in [being captains],” Peca said. “It’s a pretty big responsibility in our team. Being a senior and being a captain is something that the freshmen do rely on. … All you have to do is be yourself.”

One extra responsibility Peca has this season is learning to play with his new linemate, sophomore forward Sam Anas.

Last year, Anas won the Tim Taylor Award as the 2013-14 NCAA Division I National Rookie of the Year. His success helped propel the Bobcats’ offense and Peca hopes to continue that production for the team.

“You tend to watch, whether it’s film on different players you may play with, different players you’re playing against, or different styles,” Peca said. “I watched a lot clips of Kellen and Connor [Jones] and how they’ve played together and how they were successful with Sam [Anas] and hopefully I could experience some of that same success when I play with him.”

Anas may only be a sophomore but he has already established a presence on the team. His style of play compliments Peca’s, and Peca thinks they can use this to their advantage.

“I’ve always considered myself [to be] a little more of a playmaker,” Peca said. “But obviously playing with Sam [Anas], he almost makes you a playmaker because he just finds open spaces, and really makes it easy on you to get the puck to him.”

Though the top line has combined for 36 points in 10 games, these two forwards work to further enhance their offensive capabilities.

“I think, more so this year than last year, me and Sam [Anas] have talked about each being shooters instead of trying to be too cute and making the last pass,” Peca said. “I think we work together pretty well.”

Aside from the day-to-day benefits of having two dedicated captains and a young team, Pecknold has a positive outlook for his long-term plan as well.

“If you look at our four-year cycle, this freshmen-sophomore class is our Frozen Four class,” Pecknold said. “When we had all of those juniors and seniors, those are our freshmen and sophomores now, so hopefully we can replicate that again.”

Federico is confident that next year there will be plenty of players to fill their shoes.

“We got a lot of good leaders on this team,” Federico said. “We did a lot of leadership stuff in the spring, so a lot of guys emerged out of the sophomore and junior class.”

But before looking toward the future, Peca plans to embrace his captaincy and final year at Quinnipiac.

“You look at past captains that we’ve had, they’ve been great leaders and role models for younger class players,” Peca said. “It obviously means a lot to us because it shows [Pecknold’s] confidence in us to lead that team. I’ve enjoyed it so far.”

Contributing: Tanner Harding, Kenisha McFadden and Ariana Stover