{"id":88981,"date":"2018-11-08T14:00:20","date_gmt":"2018-11-08T20:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/?p=88981"},"modified":"2020-08-24T14:05:01","modified_gmt":"2020-08-24T19:05:01","slug":"88981","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2018\/11\/08\/88981\/","title":{"rendered":"Quinnipiac not playing ‘perfect hockey,’ but Bobcats’ freshmen contributing to early win streak"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Chase<\/a>
Chase Priskie leads Quinnipiac with six goals and sits second in Bobcats scoring with nine points in seven games (photo: Shelley M. Szwast).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Quinnipiac is no stranger to lengthy unbeaten streaks.<\/p>\n

The Bobcats ripped off a 21-game stretch without a loss en route to a national title game appearance during the 2012-13 season, and then started 15-0-2 in 2015-16, a season that also ended with an appearance in the championship game.<\/p>\n

While the six-game winning streak to start the season was modest by comparison, it\u2019s still impressive, especially considering the roster turnover Quinnipiac has experienced over the last year.<\/p>\n

The Bobcats have 12 freshmen on this year\u2019s team, the largest class of newcomers since 2009.<\/p>\n

\u201cI enjoy it — I\u2019ve had numerous times in my 25-year career where we had a big chunk of freshmen,\u201d Quinnipiac coach Rand Pecknold said. \u201cWe always seem to do well. They\u2019re young and hungry and sometimes they don\u2019t know any better. The buy-in has been awesome and I give a lot of credit to the freshman class, but the older guys have been really good about it and holding them accountable, too.”<\/p>\n

That 2009 team finished two games over .500, but that freshman class emerged as key contributors by the time they were seniors, helping the Bobcats to program\u2019s first national title game appearance in 2013.<\/p>\n

Several newcomers have already made an impact for Quinnipiac in the early going. Center William F\u00e4llstr\u00f6m is one of the teams top faceoff men, and played on the top penalty killing unit Friday at Harvard. He\u2019s also the younger brother of former Crimson forward Alexander F\u00e4llstr\u00f6m.<\/p>\n

Ethan de Jong and Wyatt Bongiovanni skate on the team\u2019s top line with sophomore Odeen Tufto, while defenseman Peter DiLiberatore is a Vegas draft pick.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a good adjustment,\u201d said de Jong, who scored his first collegiate goal last Friday against Harvard. \u201cWith 12 freshmen, that\u2019s a good chunk of the team, so being with them every day, you can build a relationship pretty easily.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those newcomers replace a number of important players who graduated from last year\u2019s team, such as forward Tanner MacMaster and defenseman John Furgele, along with a number of role players who left the team over the last year with eligibility still remaining.<\/p>\n

That turnover comes after the program\u2019s first losing season since 1995-96, when QU was still a Division II program.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve talked a lot here in the last eight or ten years that if we play to our identity, we\u2019ll get our reward,\u201d Pecknold said. \u201cWe just strayed from it, for whatever reason [last year]. We had kids that weren\u2019t buying in and we were not rewarded.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Quinnipiac is getting contributions from its newcomers, it\u2019s also getting plenty of production from its veterans as well.<\/p>\n

Senior defenseman Brandon Fortunato and Chase Priskie are averaging more than a point per game. Priskie tied the school record for career goals by a defenseman in Saturday\u2019s loss to Dartmouth, which was the first loss of the season for the Bobcats.<\/p>\n

Tufto has five goals already and is on pace to exceed the nine goals and 41 points he posted as a rookie. In goal, classmate Keith Petruzzelli has been solid after struggling to find consistency as an 18-year old freshman.<\/p>\n

But the upperclassmen have contributed in other ways as well, as they\u2019ve helped the freshmen adjust to the expectations at Quinnipiac.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s something we\u2019ve been focusing on this whole offseason and even from last year,\u201d junior defenseman Brogan Rafferty said of Quinnipiac re-establishing its identity this season. \u201cIt was pretty evident that we didn\u2019t do great job with that, so this offseason it was a huge thing for not only Chase [Priskie] and Scott Davidson with the letters on, but the leadership group to step up to get them to regroup and focus.\u201d<\/p>\n

If Quinnipiac continues to get contributions throughout its lineup, the Bobcats could be a contender in the league playoffs after getting picked to finish seventh in the coaches\u2019 preseason poll.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo far this year, it hasn\u2019t been perfect hockey, but the buy-in has been excellent,\u201d Pecknold said. \u201cIf we do that, we\u2019ll win a lot of hockey games.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Quinnipiac is no stranger to lengthy unbeaten streaks (photo: Shelley M. Szwast).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":111131,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[812],"coauthors":[846],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nQuinnipiac not playing 'perfect hockey,' but Bobcats' freshmen contributing to early win streak - College Hockey | USCHO.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Quinnipiac is no stranger to lengthy unbeaten streaks (photo: Shelley M. Szwast).\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88981\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Quinnipiac not playing 'perfect hockey,' but Bobcats' freshmen contributing to early win streak - College Hockey | USCHO.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Quinnipiac is no stranger to lengthy unbeaten streaks (photo: Shelley M. Szwast).\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88981\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"College Hockey | USCHO.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/OfficialUSCHO\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-11-08T20:00:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-08-24T19:05:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/20151229-7D2-1579-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"639\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"426\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Nate Owen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@USCHO\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@USCHO\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Nate Owen\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2018\/11\/08\/88981\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2018\/11\/08\/88981\/\",\"name\":\"Quinnipiac not playing 'perfect hockey,' but Bobcats' freshmen contributing to early win streak - College Hockey | USCHO.com\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2018\/11\/08\/88981\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2018\/11\/08\/88981\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/20151229-7D2-1579-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-11-08T20:00:20+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-08-24T19:05:01+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/#\/schema\/person\/dfc0085013a2f0bd1f841d734928302f\"},\"description\":\"Quinnipiac is no stranger to lengthy unbeaten streaks (photo: Shelley M. Szwast).\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2018\/11\/08\/88981\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2018\/11\/08\/88981\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2018\/11\/08\/88981\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/20151229-7D2-1579-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/20151229-7D2-1579-1.jpg\",\"width\":639,\"height\":426},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2018\/11\/08\/88981\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Quinnipiac not playing ‘perfect hockey,’ but Bobcats’ freshmen contributing to early win streak\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/\",\"name\":\"College Hockey | USCHO.com\",\"description\":\"Men's and Women's D-I and D-III College Hockey News, Features, Scores, Statistics, Fan Forum, Blogs\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/#\/schema\/person\/dfc0085013a2f0bd1f841d734928302f\",\"name\":\"Nate Owen\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/e24681756c9384119a6e2bdf12234b71\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b17ef77dd02a159f8bc4ce5dc6995ec2?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b17ef77dd02a159f8bc4ce5dc6995ec2?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Nate Owen\"},\"description\":\"ECAC Hockey Columnist Nate Owen is the ECAC Hockey columnist for USCHO. He has written for the site since 2009, and has covered the ECAC since 2011.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/author\/nate-owen\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Quinnipiac not playing 'perfect hockey,' but Bobcats' freshmen contributing to early win streak - College Hockey | USCHO.com","description":"Quinnipiac is no stranger to lengthy unbeaten streaks (photo: Shelley M. Szwast).","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88981","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Quinnipiac not playing 'perfect hockey,' but Bobcats' freshmen contributing to early win streak - College Hockey | USCHO.com","og_description":"Quinnipiac is no stranger to lengthy unbeaten streaks (photo: Shelley M. Szwast).","og_url":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88981","og_site_name":"College Hockey | USCHO.com","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/OfficialUSCHO\/","article_published_time":"2018-11-08T20:00:20+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-08-24T19:05:01+00:00","og_image":[{"width":639,"height":426,"url":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/20151229-7D2-1579-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Nate Owen","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@USCHO","twitter_site":"@USCHO","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Nate Owen","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2018\/11\/08\/88981\/","url":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2018\/11\/08\/88981\/","name":"Quinnipiac not playing 'perfect hockey,' but Bobcats' freshmen contributing to early win streak - College Hockey | USCHO.com","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2018\/11\/08\/88981\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2018\/11\/08\/88981\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/20151229-7D2-1579-1.jpg","datePublished":"2018-11-08T20:00:20+00:00","dateModified":"2020-08-24T19:05:01+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/#\/schema\/person\/dfc0085013a2f0bd1f841d734928302f"},"description":"Quinnipiac is no stranger to lengthy unbeaten streaks (photo: Shelley M. Szwast).","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2018\/11\/08\/88981\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2018\/11\/08\/88981\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2018\/11\/08\/88981\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/20151229-7D2-1579-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/20151229-7D2-1579-1.jpg","width":639,"height":426},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2018\/11\/08\/88981\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Quinnipiac not playing ‘perfect hockey,’ but Bobcats’ freshmen contributing to early win streak"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/","name":"College Hockey | USCHO.com","description":"Men's and Women's D-I and D-III College Hockey News, Features, Scores, Statistics, Fan Forum, Blogs","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/#\/schema\/person\/dfc0085013a2f0bd1f841d734928302f","name":"Nate Owen","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/e24681756c9384119a6e2bdf12234b71","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b17ef77dd02a159f8bc4ce5dc6995ec2?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b17ef77dd02a159f8bc4ce5dc6995ec2?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Nate Owen"},"description":"ECAC Hockey Columnist Nate Owen is the ECAC Hockey columnist for USCHO. He has written for the site since 2009, and has covered the ECAC since 2011.","url":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/author\/nate-owen\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88981"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88981"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88981\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":111132,"href":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88981\/revisions\/111132"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/111131"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88981"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88981"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88981"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=88981"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}