Skylar Brind’Armour scored the goal of his career on Sunday vs. Ohio State. 

Yes, the SportsCenter’s Spin-O-Rama “Big Game Brind’Armour” goal that he scored in 2020 was exceptional; but the senior’s regional final goal propelled his Bobcats to a Frozen Four berth.

The go-ahead goal resulted from solving Ohio States Jakub Dobes, who allowed juicy rebounds when the Bobcats drove to the paint. 

Rand Pecknold addressed the strategy post-game, “Our F1 was fine our F2 wasn’t getting in there. We need to get in there and cause havoc. Those first two goals we scored tonight were scored net front, causing chaos, that is what we are good at.” He continued, “let’s go play offense, let’s go play smart and we found a way.”

The crowd, deafening. It was the loudest roar from a Quinnipiac goal all season. Possibly in seven years. 

The glory of the moment in front of nearly 4,557 people. The goal put the Bobcats in the driver’s seat again as they never fell behind the Buckeyes again the rest of the bought. Dial the clock back 10 days though, and Brind’ Armour was arguably the scapegoat. 

Lake Placid home of the ECAC Semi-Final saw a nonsensical knee-on-knee to Colgate’s Colton Young which resulted in a five-minute kill that allowed the Raiders to gain momentum. It derailed the Bobcat’s chemistry and line deployment. 

It resulted in another Bobcat’s upset, “The Mitton Miracle.” Where did they come from? Is Quinnipiac the Gonzaga of hockey? The facepalm defeat left hope at the door coming into the NCAA Regional. 

Brind’Armour settled in on Friday and got back to his game of straight-line classic power-forward hockey. He won 14 draws, another major asset in his toolbox. On Sunday, in the biggest game of his career, he added to his performance in the dot and transition game by scoring, from the scapegoat to the big game honcho. 

The skater donning twenty-two, a senior, spoke on what it means to be playing in the Frozen Four, “obviously as a senior it’s the last kick at the can. it’s what we worked for all year.” He continued, “like Rand said we’ve been to a couple of Elite Eights and lost. Everyone’s fired up and excited to have the opportunity to compete for the National Championship.” 

As far as this week goes, Brind’Armour has “big man on campus” status.