A new year brings new opportunities and potential goals for the Quinnipiac Bobcats, whether on the ice or the hardwood floor. To kick off 2022, here is QBSN’s list of New Year’s resolutions for all four Quinnipiac winter sports teams.

MEN’S BASKETBALL: TURNOVERS AND LEADERSHIP

The Bobcats have looked good so far this season as they currently hold a 7-4 overall record, and a 2-1 conference record. Now that 2022 has come around, it is time to look back on the Bobcats 2021 season and see what their New Year resolutions should be.

As a team, the Bobcats have averaged 13.5 turnovers per game. Their resolution needs to be working on cutting those turnovers down. Winning games is all about taking care of the basketball and, if the bobcats don’t start to value the ball more, they will continue to lose games that they arguably should win.

Moving onto the defensive side of the ball, the Bobcats have a glaring weakness that they need to address in 2022. They average only 1.8 blocks per game and they’ve blocked 20 total shots all season. They have no rim protectors on defense and even as a team, the Bobcats fail to protect the basket. Their New Year’s resolution, on defense, is to work on protecting the rim and not allowing their opponents to get easy shots at the basket.

It may be difficult to do because they have no players that are over 6 feet, 10 inches tall, but, if the Bobcats could manage to improve in that area, then it could lead to major success in the new year.

Lastly, there is a player on the Bobcats that needs to make a new year’s resolution for himself. Graduate student Jacob Rigoni needs to step up his play. So far this season, he’s averaging 9.2 points and 3.2 rebounds, while shooting 40% from the field. As the leader of this team and a guy who chose to return for his fifth season, he’s been very underwhelming. His points and rebounds are down from last season as well as his three-point shooting which has dropped from 37.4% to 34.3%.

If the Bobcats want any chance of winning the MAAC conference this year, they’ll need Rigoni to look at himself in the mirror and figure out what he needs to change in this new year to be the leader and player that they need.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: KEEP ON WINNING, WINNING, WINNING

Heading into 2022, the Bobcats are 6-5 with a 1-1 record in MAAC play and here are the New Year’s resolutions they need to work on.

Of the Bobcats 11 total games, they’ve played five games at home and six on the road. Of the games that have been played on the road the Bobcats are 3-3. That needs to be improved. Winning on the road is a huge part of what makes a team great. It teaches teams how to overcome adversity and how to win games when they don’t have the advantage.

The next resolution they need to work on is fixing their free throw shooting. The Bobcats shoot about 11 free throws per game and they’re shooting 68% as a team. No matter what situation it is, whether it’s in the first quarter or in the final seconds of a playoff game, free throws matter and, if you don’t hit free throws consistently, you will lose games strictly because of that.

The final resolution the Bobcats should work on is to win games against MAAC opponents. You’re probably thinking, isn’t this obvious? Why does it need to be a resolution? It’s a resolution because they’re coming off of a four-point loss to Fairfield. So, to start 2022, their goal needs to be winning games within their conference. The Bobcats went 5-4 in non-conference play, so if they want to finish as top four seed in the MAAC, the majority of their wins must come from MAAC play.

WOMEN’S ICE HOCKEY: KEEP MAKING HISTORY

Throughout the 2021-22 season, the Quinnipiac women’s ice hockey team has celebrated their program’s 20th anniversary, reflecting upon the massive strides the Bobcats have made since their inception in 2001.

In 2021, the Bobcats did nothing less than make history. If Quinnipiac wants to continue climbing higher in NCAA women’s ice hockey, then they will resolve to open the third decade of program history with a continuation of this trend.

The Bobcats entered the season with the expectations of their potential in the ECAC being set in the middle of the pack, as they were voted fifth in the ECAC Hockey Women’s Preseason Poll. They were expected to finish below conference powerhouses like Cornell, Princeton, and the reigning conference champion Colgate Raiders.

But, since Quinnipiac hit the ice, they’ve been seemingly unstoppable.

Rising to become one of the top units in NCAA Women’s ice hockey, Cass Turner’s squad has set new records the entire year including the best start to a season in program history, beginning the year on a fourteen-game unbeaten streak. The Bobcats have pulled off the improbable time and time again, beating some of the ECAC’s best competition including back-to-back road game shutouts against Cornell and the then No. 5/5 Colgate for the first time ever.

The Bobcats currently hold a record of 15-2-3, having re-ascended to the No. 4/4 spot in the USCHO and USA Hockey polls that they previously held back in 2016 when they became ECAC Hockey champions for the only time in program history.

What was the cause of this turnaround following a season where the Bobcats were eliminated by Colgate in the ECAC semifinals and peaked at No. 10/10 in national polls? The answers are team depth and goaltending.

Looking at the score sheet, the Bobcats’ offense is composed of a healthy mix of underclassmen and returning veteran players. Leading the way is junior Sadie Peart with 18 points in 20 games played and familiar faces like senior Lexie Adzija and returning graduate student Taylor House follow. Additionally, break-out seasons from sophomores Nina Steigauf and Olivia Mobley show the strength of the Bobcats’ core as seven players have put up ten or more on the season so far.

Perhaps Quinnipiac’s greatest asset is the talented group of goaltenders that have shut down opponents all season long. The tandem of Corinne Schroeder and Logan Angers may be the best 1-2 punch in all of NCAA women’s ice hockey, as both goalies put up impressive numbers in 2021, ranking in the top 10 nationally in goalie win percentage and goals-against average.

Schroeder herself has had an individually historic season, scoring the first goalie goal in NCAA women’s ice hockey history while also being named MAC Goaltending Goalie of the Week twice. She also held the No. 1/1 Wisconsin Badgers to a 1-1 tie on Jan. 2nd, making a season-high 41 saves in the game to push to the draw which was the first non-loss result against Wisconsin in program history.

Amidst a historical season of firsts, Quinnipiac has built a wave of momentum that they have carried into 2022, as Turner and the Bobcats will look to write the next chapter of program history with a potential appearance in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2016. For their resolution, they need to keep the momentum going and continue their wave of history making.

MEN’S ICE HOCKEY: WIN A CHAMPIONSHIP

Is there a better defensive team in NCAA men’s ice hockey than head coach Rand Pecknold’s Bobcats right now?

Quinnipiac is currently ranked first in the nation in scoring defense, having only allowed 20 goals through 18 games played. The efficiency of the Bobcats’ play style has led to success, as Pecknold’s squad has been ranked at No. 2 in three consecutive USCHO polls dating back to December 6th.

The sky is seemingly the limit for one of the strongest teams in collegiate hockey, which can only mean one thing: it’s time for the Bobcats to go all-in for the pursuit of a championship.

The NCAA Championship is one of few accomplishments that has eluded Pecknold since he became the program’s head coach in 1994. Previous runs to the 2013 and 2016 Frozen Four were unsuccessful, as the Bobcats have been beaten twice in the championship game throughout program history.

As the reigning 2021 Cleary Cup Champions for the best regular season record in ECAC Hockey, the Bobcats have recently been no strangers to gaining hardware. However, flashing back to the finals of the 2021 ECAC Hockey Tournament last March, it was St. Lawrence who upset a heavily favored Quinnipiac team in overtime, allowing the Saints to clinch a berth in the NCAA tournament.

Had it not been for a COVID-19 outbreak amongst the Saints coaching staff allowing for Quinnipiac to substitute in St. Lawrence’s place, it may have remained unknown if the Bobcats would have secured a spot in the tournament at all.

But 2021’s performance has shown that this is a different Bobcats team that has turned the corner, maybe one that is more dominant and skilled than its predecessor.

Anchored by the outstanding play of first-year goaltender Yaniv Perets, who sits as the nation’s leader in goals-against average with a .871, Quinnipiac currently holds the highest winning percentage in the country with a stunning .861. Entering 2022, the Bobcats have an overall record of 14-1-2, with their lone regulation loss coming at the hands of the currently No.5 ranked North Dakota all the way back on Oct. 23, 2021.

That’s right. The Bobcats have not had a regulation loss for over two straight months, and are riding a five-game winning streak, which included an 8-0 blowout over the reigning ECAC Hockey champion St. Lawrence, the same team that upset the Bobcats in March.

Leading the way on offense is graduate transfer Oliver Chau and senior defenseman Zach Metsa, who are both scoring at a point-per-game pace with 18 points in 18 games played. With a strong veteran presence in the top six, including seniors Ethan DeJong and team captain Wyatt Bongiovanni as well as dynamic sophomore forward Ty Smilanic, Pecknold has built his team with a core of experienced and talented players, who are hungry to compete for a title both a conference and a national level.

The last time Quinnipiac hoisted the Whitelaw Cup as conference champions? 2016, which was also the year the Bobcats fell to North Dakota in the NCAA Championship game. This year, it’ll be up to Pecknold and the Bobcats of 2022 to resolve their championship drought and raise some of the ultimate prizes in collegiate hockey.

Basketball Resolutions: Santino Maione

Ice Hockey Resolutions: Clever Streich