Beneath the Elms: Quinnipiac Men's Ice Hockey

By David Goldenberg

In New Haven, the mention of hockey brings to mind the likes of Ray Giroux, BK '98, and perhaps the catchy Beast commercial that sounds like it was recorded in a basement during a rainstorm. But a team that would never come to mind, at least until recently, is the Quinnipiac Braves.

In this, their first season of Division I hockey, the Braves were the winningest university team in the Elm City, coming tantalizingly close to qualifying for the NCAA championships, a 12-team tournament. The Braves finished their regular season at 26-5-2 and were the regular-season champions of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC). Before losing in the semifinals of the conference tournament, Quinnipiac was ranked in the top 12 of the RPI, and was one of only 22 teams in the country being considered for a berth in the national tournament.

But after the loss, the Braves were removed from consideration, which seems odd for a team that only lost five games during the regular season. Jack McDonald, athletic director of Quinnipiac College and a member of the four-man NCAA hockey tournament selection committee, thinks the decision was just. "We only played two teams outside of our league, Army and Air Force," McDonald said. "The committee felt that because of the relatively low strength of our schedule, we would have to win the tournament to merit serious consideration."

The Braves' weak schedule this year resulted from the way in which they joined Division I. As a member of the MAAC, a new conference consisting solely of former Division III teams, Quinnipiac had trouble convincing colleges in major Division I conferences such as the ECAC (which Yale competes in) that they were worth playing. As a result, the entire MAAC conference was only able to schedule a total of five non-conference games, none against opponents from a major conference.

This situation left Quinnipiac in a Catch-22. "As a member of a new league, you can't just up and schedule, say, Yale," McDonald said. Indeed, Yale has very little to gain from a possible matchup with its crosstown rivals. A loss to the Braves, who were in Division III last year, could be perceived as embarrassing and lead to a loss of support in New Haven. But McDonald feels that a rivalry could spark greater hockey interest within the city and greater communication between the universities. "If Yale sees fit to schedule us, we'd love to play them," he said.

For now, though, the Braves must be content to enjoy the success they have achieved in their short time since moving to Division I. They have laid the groundwork for a stronger program, and once they earn the respect of other schools, they may well find themselves among the NCAA elite.

Logo courtesy www.quinnipiac.edu.

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