TAMPA, Fla. — A team’s culture can be difficult to define and explain. For Quinnipiac coach Rand Pecknold, in his 29th season behind the Bobcats bench, culture means something specific to his team.

“Culture is hard to explain,” he said on Friday before the Bobcats’ final practice of the season in preparation for Saturday’s national championship game against Minnesota.

“I could spend three hours up here talking about everything that goes into culture. Probably the easiest and simplest way is (that) it’s buy-in. It’s just buy-in. It’s unconditional. This is what we do to win hockey games and you need to be selfless and you’ve got to buy in.”

Implementing the right kind of culture can be an adjustment for players, according to Pecknold.

“It’s hard to get college-aged players to (buy in),” he said. “Growing up, they’ve probably been a very selfish player, (which is) why they’re good. They’ve kept the puck at 8, 9, 10 years old. The best players at age 10 are the selfish kids. They don’t pass it to anyone. They go end to end, and they get better and better.

“You need those kids. You need high-character kids and you need to get them … to make sacrifices so we can win. And I think that’s probably the best way for us with culture.”

After his team’s 5-2 win over Michigan in the semifinals on Thursday, Pecknold said that his team’s culture was on full display.

“The battle level was great,” he said. “We won a lot of races. We won a lot of battles. When we got beat at times, we had a second wave, third wave. Good sticks on pucks.”

Graduate student forward TJ Friedmann was on the same page on Friday when asked about his team’s culture.

“Obviously that’s a big part of the success of this program, our identity and our culture,” he said.

“That just means doing all the little things right. Obviously, buying into the plan we have each game. The coaches do a good job of getting us prepared with video sessions and everything.”

And winning comes from implementing that plan and mindset.

“The bottom line is that the culture is just kind of understanding what needs to be done,” said Friedmann. “Whether it be the little things, backchecks, forechecks, moving our feet in the ‘O’ zone, making plays that can be made. And then obviously if you don’t have a play to be made, just chip it in and get on the forecheck.”

Friedmann said that the Quinnipiac way has been instilled in him and his teammates from day one.

“I’m in my fifth year here,” he said. “The culture has been instilled in me since I stepped foot on campus. Obviously, this program, from where it started to where it’s at now, is a massive difference. And that can kind of speak to Rand’s identity and the culture he’s built.”

Pecknold said that with that cultural buy-in, his team can approach every game the same, including Saturday’s title game.

“We’re going to have the same plan of attack in game 41 as we’ve had every single game this year,” he said. “Certainly you have to adapt to your opponent. (But) the same thing we did against Michigan, we need to do against Minnesota.”

TAMPA, Fla. — Quinnipiac relies on a stingy defense and a quick transition. The Bobcats focus on executing their system. You could say they strive to operate like a well-oiled and precision machine.

It was going to take that machine running to near perfection to subdue Michigan, the nation’s top offense, in the Frozen Four.

“We certainly weren’t perfect,” said Quinnipiac coach Rand Pecknold. “But we were pretty good.”

Facing their most potent foe of the season, the Bobcats stuck with the same system that led them to set a program record 33 wins with the 5-2 defeat of Michigan on Thursday night.

“We talked a lot about their high-end talent, their 27 draft picks, whatever they have, and how we needed to defend in waves,” said Pecknold.

To slow down Michigan — or any opponent — Quinnipiac relies on clogging the middle of the ice.

“I think structurally they have that 1-3-1 and it can be hard to get pucks behind them,” said first-year Michigan defenseman Seamus Casey.

That structure through the neutral zone allows the Quinnipiac machine to transition quickly, as was on display against the Wolverines.

“We’ve done that for 40 games,” said Pecknold. “We do it every game. We play fast, we play north, that’s how we want to operate, whether it’s Michigan, Harvard or anybody we play.”

Quinnipiac’s system also stresses puck management.

“It’s a lot easier to defend Hughes and Fantilli when they don’t have the puck. Because once they get it you’re in trouble,” said Pecknold. “Biggest thing we stressed this week was we had to have the puck. We had to have the puck.”

“Part of the keys we had going into the game was puck management,” said Quinnipiac sophomore center Jacob Quillan. “We wanted to take care of the puck, limit their chances.

“But, I mean, at the same time we want to pounce on offense. And that’s what we did early on in the game.”

“When we can turn that around and bring it right back down their throats, we always talk about playing north, playing with pace,” said Quinnipiac graduate year defenseman Zach Metsa. “That’s kind of the result of that.”

With Thursday’s game tied 2-2 in the second intermission, Pecknold once again stressed sticking with the Quinnipiac system.

“I say to them all the time, let’s stay the course. We’re built for this moment. And they came through,” Pecknold said.

“It’s our approach and how we need to play,” said first-year winger Sam Lipkin. “So the main focus is on us, not our opponent.”

Pecknold acknowledged that the Bobcats will have their hands full Saturday against Minnesota.

“We don’t mind being the underdog,” he said. “We came in here and nobody gave us a chance to win tonight. And nobody gave us a chance to win on Saturday.

“But we’ll find a way to figure it out.”