Pecknold named best coach in ECAC Hockey

March 15, 2021

Coach at hockey game

Quinnipiac men's ice hockey head coach Rand Pecknold has been recognized as the the ECAC Hockey Tim Taylor Coach of the Year.

Pecknold's coach-of-the-year honors are his third in ECAC Hockey after earning the award in 2013 and 2016 — both years he led the program to the Frozen Four. He has won four league coach of the year awards after also taking home Atlantic Hockey Coach of the Year honors in 2005.

"This is such a well-deserved honor for Rand," Quinnipiac President Judy Olian said. "The team’s success is a product not only of the athletes’ hard work and exceptional talents on the ice, but of the teamwork and shared values that Rand has nurtured as coach and mentor off the ice.”

Pecknold guided the Bobcats to their fifth ECAC Hockey Championship in the past nine seasons in 2020-21, posting a 17-6-4 record and .704 winning percentage. Quinnipiac's .704 winning percentage is the sixth time Pecknold has guided the Bobcats to a winning percentage above .700.

Quinnipiac's 17 wins are tied for the sixth most in the nation this season and the .704 winning percentage ranks eighth.

The Bobcats opened this season with back-to-back wins against Sacred Heart in their first games since that 2019-20 season was cut short due to the pandemic. Quinnipiac has recorded three separate unbeaten streaks of at least five games this season, including an eight-game unbeaten streak that ran from February 5 through March 5.

In his coaching career, Pecknold has won 549 games in his career and amassed 183 victories in ECAC Hockey play. He has recorded at least 10 wins in ECAC Hockey play in 10 of his 16 seasons since joining the league in the 2005-06 season.

The Quinnipiac men's ice hockey team will host the ECAC Hockey Championship game for the third time in program history, and second in the last five seasons, on Saturday, March 20 at 4 p.m. at Frank Perrotti Jr. Arena. Quinnipiac will host the winner of St. Lawrence and Colgate.

Learn more at gobobcats.com

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