The Bobcats 2015-2016 season was the most successful in the program’s history. Quinnipiac took home its first Whitelaw Cup in the program’s history while adding another Cleary Cup to the mantle. However, the Bobcats came up short against North Dakota in the NCAA Championship game making them national runner ups.
Even though star players have left for the NHL and seniors have graduated, the Bobcats are poised for another successful season as they start up the 2016-2017 season with two games at home against Northeastern this weekend.
Departures: Devon Toews (NHL), Sam Anas (NHL), Michael Garteig (Graduated), Travis St. Denis (Graduated), Alex Miner-Barron (Graduated), Soren Jonzzon (Graduated)
Biggest Additions: Karlis Cukste (Freshman), Logan Mick (Freshman), Alex Whalen (Freshman), Nick Jermain (Freshman), Brogan Rafferty (Freshman), Andrew Shortridge (Freshman), Chris Truehl (Transfer – Air Force), Kevin Duane (Transfer – Boston University)
Biggest Question Mark of the season
Brosh: Reid Cashman left the Bobcats this offseason for an assistant coaching job with the Washington Capitals’ AHL team the Hershey Bears. For the Bobcats, that means their lethal power play of last year is without their general. Also, with the departures of Toews and Anas the team lost some of its best play makers on the man advantage. For a team that had so much success on the power play last season, the Bobcats will have to fill the holes they received this offseason and will have to rely on other players to step up in the upcoming months.
Clouts: With new seasons come new responsibilities and whoever the new starting goaltender end up being is going to take on a lot of responsibilities. Pecknold hasn’t tipped his cap whatsoever when it comes to who will be the starting goaltender. That to be the biggest question mark because everyone knows winning starts with goaltending. Last year was a perfect example of that. Losing Michael Garteig and his 1.91 goals against average is no easy task to replace, but the committee of Andrew Shortridge, Sean Lawrence, and Chris Truehl are going to have to find a way.
Biggest rookie impact
Brosh: The Bobcats’ freshmen skaters are just as good as last year’s class and should help fill the massive shoes left by the likes of Toews, Anas and St. Denis.
Brogan Rafferty and Karlis Cukste will make an immediate impact for the Bobcats.
Rafferty and his 6-foot-1-inch frame looms larger on the ice and he does not seem afraid to fight off possible larger opponents in the corners. During his time with the Bloomington Thunder of the USHL, Rafferty netted two goals and 26 more assist in what is ideal for a defender in the Bobcats’ offense.
Cukste should be a strong defensive power for the Bobcats as he comes into his freshman year after playing with the Chicago Steel of the USHL last season scoring 4 goals along with 11 assist in 44 games. The 2015 San Jose Sharks draft pick will find himself in the top two defensive pairings from the start and should be a playmaker throughout the season.
Clouts: Quinnipiac lost three out of their top five point producers this offseason so whoever can make an impact on the score sheet is going to be this year’s breakout rookie. I believe this year’s breakout rookie will either be Alex Whelan or Nick Jermain. Whelan is a bowling ball of a player with an excellent hockey sense and a scoring touch. He produced 53 points in 44 games with the Jersey Hitmen last season. If Whelan plays to his full capability, expect him to slide into the Clifton and Davidson line to try and match last year’s aggressive forecheck from that line. Unlike Whelan, Nick Jermain is an undersized player but may be one of the most creative players for this Bobcat team. Jermain scored 54 points in 54 games for the Merritt Centennials in the tough British Columbia Hockey League, so he is familiar with producing. Expect Jermain to work his way to being a top six forward for the Bobcats and make a huge impact.
Three Players to watch
Brosh:
Landon Smith: The 2016 ECAC Hockey All-Tournament team winger had himself a quiet yet impressive sophomore campaign putting together a 30 point season. Smith notched a career-high in assists with 25 helpers while netting 12 goals of his own. Smith’s biggest contributions should come on the power play this year as he looks to work off last year’s campaign where he had seven power play goals and 18 points on the man advantage.
Chase Priskie: The most recent Bobcat to be drafted will need to build on his strong rookie season to remain among the ECAC’s best. Priskie lead all of ECAC hockey freshman with 22 assists and was third in the conference with 26 points; an impressive mark for a defenseman. The one thing the Bobcats would like to see Priskie continue this year is his poise on the ice. The Washington Capital draft pick committed just one penalty the entire 2015-2016 season, something the Bobcats find themselves struggling with at times. Look for Priskie to be part of the top two defensive pairings and make a large impact on the power play this year.
Luke Shiplo: One of the tough things to do as a freshman is to jump from healthy scratch into the lineup night in and night out. Shiplo did just that and continued to make the most of it every time he took the ice. Shiplo should find himself on the ice a lot more this year as he looks to build on his freshman season. Look for Shiplo to use his stick-handling skills and his ability to weave through defenders to find the back of the net in tough situations for the Bobcats.
Clouts:
Tanner MacMaster: This is a player who took a huge step forward from his freshman year. MacMaster was a highly touted prospect coming into Quinnipiac, but seems to find himself in the penalty box more than the score sheet. He is a top six forward on this team that must make an impact if this team wants to match its success from last year.
Connor Clifton: He is one of the two captains on this team and for good reason. A natural leader that has improved immensely during his time at Quinnipiac, Clifton is a player that is capable of making the highlight reel in any way. His +20 plus/minus was good enough for third best on last years team, but most importantly he only recorded 42 penalty minutes compared to the 160 he had his freshman and sophomore years combined. His excellent composure is something he needs to replicate if he wants to have another impressive season.
K.J. Tiefenwerth: A talented forward who is excellent in all three zones, Tiefenwerth makes this list because of the powerplay time he is going to get this year. In the exhibition against McGill, Tiefenwerth was on the first powerplay unit and got a lot of open looks in the high slot. With his shot having such a quick release, the addition of Tiefenwerth to that top powerplay unit could have Pecknold smiling because of the immense potential this role can provide.
Overall prediction
Brosh: This team lost a lot of talented players over the past year, but they have just as many this season. With the likes of Jonzzon, Anas, Toews, and St. Denis all gone, the Bobcats will need to find new players to go to when it is time to get that big goal. The Bobcats probably won’t rush to find the perfect fit in net and the goalie battle will play out for the first few weeks, and a true front runner will emerge. Once that is figured out, this team can and will battle with just about any team thrown in their way this year.
I feel like anything less than another Cleary Cup and Whitelaw Cup added to the mantle will be deemed a failure for the 2016-2017 campaign in the locker room. For Quinnipiac, the past five seasons have been about making it to the NCAA tournament and if the Bobcats can figure out who is their guy in net, there should be no question they will find themselves there again come March.
Clouts: Let’s break it down by units.
On paper, defensively this group could be the best I have seen in my four years at Quinnipiac. With three drafted players and multiple players returning from last year, this group is going to impress a lot of people nationally this year.
Goaltending is a big question mark simply because we don’t know who is going to win the starting job. My prediction is that Truehl will get the nod, but may have a short leash because of the two hungry goaltenders behind him. However, with Pecknold as the head coach and with how strong this defensive unit will be, I think goals against the Bobcats will be hard to come by no matter who the goalie is.
A huge concern from me lies within the top six forwards. This team is filled with some excellent two-way players, but not all of them have been tearing up the score sheet. The team will be looking for those players the increase in minutes and special teams time will boost their numbers. Expect this team to be in the NCAA tournament for the fifth year in a row and once they’re dancing there, anything can happen.
