Quinnipiac Bobcats – Friendship Four 2022 Champions

(Photo: William Cherry/PressEye)

After a two-year hiatus while the world came to terms with the COVID-19 pandemic, it is easy to say that the 2022 Friendship Four championship game was worth waiting for. After having defeated Dartmouth’s Big Green in their game on Friday night, it was with anticipation that hockey fans flocked into the SSE Arena, in Belfast, Northern Ireland, to watch the Quinnipiac Bobcats take on the University of Massachusetts Minutemen.

While Quinnipiac carried a 1-0 lead from Ethan de Jong’s power play goal (assists to Collin Graf and Zach Metsa) in the first period into the third period, the Minutemen were not giving up. They got on the scoreboard at 5:12 of the third with a five-on-five goal from Taylor Makar, assisted by Kenny Connors and Cole O’Hara.

It was looking like the game might remain knotted at 1-1 when the clock ticked under the five-minute mark of remaining regulation time when UMass’s Eric Faith was whistled for hooking at 15:03 giving Quinnipiac the opportunity on the man advantage. And it didn’t take the Bobcats long to respond on the man advantage, when Skyler Brind’Amour, assisted by Graf and Metsa, put the puck behind goalie Luke Pavicich just 43 seconds into the power play going up 2-1 with just 4:14 remaining in regulation.

While many thought perhaps the game and the victor were sealed, the Minutemen responded on the next shift, 31 seconds later, as Michael Cameron, assisted by Scott Morrow and Aaron Bohlinger once again tied the game.

The electricity and enthusiasm among the fans in the arena ratcheted up even higher as the game went into overtime. However, even the five-minute three-on-three extra inning was not enough to settle this game. During the shootout, it came down to the ability of Yaniv Perets, the Bobcats goaltender, to deny all three of the Minutemen shooters while Pavicich only blocked two of the shooters for the Bobcats.

Heard from many of the fans, it was clear they believed that this had been one of the most exciting Friendship Four championship games since the inception of the tournament. And while it was clear that the University of Massachusetts players were devastated, they can return to Massachusetts knowing that they left it all out on the ice.

After Quinnipiac’s Friday night win, head coach Rand Pecknold, who is in his 29th season as the Bobcat’s head coach, stressed that despite those saying his team were the front runners that he wasn’t going to underestimate the Minutemen. He had instilled a healthy respect of opposing teams’ abilities into his players. Pecknold did say that he would have preferred for his team to get the job done during regulation but was exceptionally pleased with his players and their ability to hoist, and ring, the Friendship Four school bell as the 2022 Friendship Four Champions.