First impressions aren’t everything in the world, but strong ones sure do help things.
For Chris Truehl, his campaign as Quinnipiac’s newest man between the pipes began with a strong first weekend. In his first two games with the Bobcats, Truehl was arguably the best skater on the ice for Quinnipiac this weekend as he faced 62 shots against the Northeastern Huskies, allowing only four to get past him and leading Quinnipiac to a 1-0-1 record in their first two games.
“It was definitely exciting. It was a lot of fun, like being a freshman again,” Truehl said. “When I got in there and settled down a little bit, kind of got used to the way things were going, I got more focused and tried to do what I can for the team.”
Truehl, like most of the Bobcat faithful, spent most of the week unsure of whether he would get the nod to start after all three Quinnipiac goalies saw time in the exhibition game the week before. However, the day before the start of the season Truehl found out the news he was going to be the one to start.
“Thursday morning was actually the first time. We came in and they put up the lineup up. Rand likes to keep it kind of close to the chest,” Truehl said. “He is that kind of guy, but I like how that is. It kept me working, kept me motivated out there on the ice the entire week in practice.”
Northeastern tested Truehl and Quinnipiac as a whole the entire weekend.
The Huskies forced the Bobcats to kill off penalties almost every step of the way. Truehl found himself unfazed, making big time saves on the penalty kill to keep the Bobcats out in front.
“I always just have to be my best there. I have to be the best penalty killer on the team,” Truehl said. “Thankfully we have a lot of good guys here, blocking shots and stuff like that, So I just did whatever I could to make those saves.”
In all, Truehl and the Bobcats penalty kill unit faced 13 penalties. However, they only allowed one goal, something Truehl credits to the guys in front of him blocking shots.
“It is huge. It allows me to be confident, knowing that I have guys behind me that are making saves and blocking shots for me,” Truehl said. “The other thing is that it just kind of rallies the guys. If I make a big save, I help pick them up and when they block a shot, it picks me up and really gets the team going.”
The big saves and blocked shots got the large opening weekend crowd at the High Point Solutions Arena energized as well. The crowd found themselves belting out a new chant as “Truuuuuuuuehl” rang throughout the building, something that has not gone unnoticed by the goaltender.
“We have the best fans around. It is a lot of fun, it is a whole different experience,” Truehl said. “It really feels like that community aspect that we have at Quinnipiac.”
While the opening weekend of the 2016-2017 season has come and gone for the Bobcats, the week-long question of who is going to be in between the pipes for the team has been answered and solidified in the first 125 minutes of play this season, something that could lead to a very successful near future.
