After being crowned ECAC Hockey regular-season champions, the No. 10/11 Quinnipiac Bobcats (17-5-4, 10-3-4 ECAC) defeated the Colgate Raiders (5-10-5, 4-9-4 ECAC) by a score of 4-2 Friday night.

The win helps carry the momentum for the Bobcats as they entered the final weekend of their regular season with the playoffs just around the corner.

The game bounced back and forth between the two teams for the first two periods, but the Bobcats were able to steal the third away and keep the Raiders out.

Not only were the Bobcats able to win their fifth Cleary Cup in nine years with the victory, senior captain Odeen Tufto broke the program record for career assists, feeding Peter DiLiberatore for Quinnipiac’s opening goal.

Head coach Rand Pecknold says he is happy with how Tufto has performed over his time at Quinnipiac.

“It’s impressive what Odeen’s done in four years,” Pecknold said. “He’s great in the faceoff circle, he’s defending and competing, backchecking and doing a lot of little things well, and he’s being a good captain.”

Tufto added a second assist on the night to extend his record. QU’s captain says he was more focused on the team than the moment of holding the new record.

“I knew right away when all of the guys were hugging me and giving me high fives,” Tufto said. “I just got the puck with the tape on it. I think it’ll go to my parents, as much as it’s special to me, it’s special to them.”

With one final game left to play in the regular season, the Bobcats are seeded No.1 in the ECAC Hockey playoffs, giving them the home-ice advantage next weekend.

With another matchup against Colgate tomorrow, Pecknold says the team needs to remain resilient.

“Colgate was pushing hard, but we’ll reload, and we’ve got to get ready for tomorrow,” Pecknold said.