Monday, October 6th, 2008
Hockey Season Begins

QU 101
Where the hells is Quinnipiac you ask? It is a medium sized school (about 7,000 students) in Hamden, CT...about 10 miles from New Haven in the south central part of the state...my old stomping grounds. If you have no idea how to pronounce it....no problem....they can't even do it in Connecticut. KWIN-UH-PEE-AK. Tadda....done. It's name appears almost daily on 24 hour news channels for their political polls.

The Season Begins
I promised myself if the Bobcats ever made it the Midwest...I would travel to see them. The bobcats hockey team opens their season this weekend in Omaha for the Mutual of Omaha Stampede...not exactly close (seven hour drive)....but this is the home of my bro! Unfortunately due to new weekend sports duties I cannot attend. Sigh.


National Polls
Q-U has been nationally ranked before...and I expect them to sneak in at some point this season. There are only about 65 division one hockey programs in the country...so making the top 20 seems pretty reasonable. The first USCHO.com poll came out today and has the Bobcats well out of the ranks....with three votes. (If you go by votes...they are tied for 30th).

The League
Quinnipiac plays in the ECAC Hockey League. It is a mix of Ivy League schools and Engineering schools. I'm not sure how Quinnipiac (a liberal arts school) got in....it is just their third season in the ECAC. They've finished Second and Sixth in their first two years. The Bobcats have only one rival...Yale due to the close proximity....and
it is a one sided affair. Yalies would say their Ivy counterparts (Harvard, Cornell, Princeton) are bigger rivals. But there is certainly atmosphere when they play the Bobcats.

The Dream
I hope the Bobcats will take the League by surprise and win. It tends to be a crazy evenly matched League. The ECAC Championships are held in Albany every year. This years Frozen Four is in Washington D.C.

Alright....that’s my Bobcat introduction. Expect rambles in the future. GO BOBCATS!!!

Tags:  Quinnipiac
15 Comments
lgrant
1) I'm glad bobcats is easier to say than Quinnipiac (or spell it!). Sounds like a true fan here. You'd fit right in in MN--they LOVE hockey there!!
LGrant   Monday, October 6, 2008
sandy
2) My husband is an ECAC school (RPI) alum. Not a hockey alum, just an engineer. We go to games once or twice a year. Hope you have a good season...unless you're playing RPI. Does your home crowd do the same chant that our crowd does "what's the color of sh*t?"
sandy   Monday, October 6, 2008
Amber
3) YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am so pumped for this season...but so sad b/c i just realized Jamie Bates is no more....some how I forgot that my true love graduated!!!
Its nuts where the team has gone since you first introduced me to QU hockey....remember when QU joined the ECAC and their star goalie was baby face Bud Fisher...well now he's a SENIOR!!!
I've already been in contact with Rocco to go to the games....but it's just not the same without you or being in the student section!
Amber   Monday, October 6, 2008
Leslie
4) Go Bobcats!!!! One of my best memories of QU was attending the hockey game in the sparkling new sports arena.
Leslie   Monday, October 6, 2008
billpearch
5) Hockey blogs, eh? I'm getting in touch with my Canadian ancestry. Any Winnipeggers in the house?
Bill   Monday, October 6, 2008
6) YES! I am a Winnipegger!!! Well, an adopted one. I hail from Edmonton originally.

I am so happy to see a hockey blog. Seriously happy.
CanadaPam   Monday, October 6, 2008
billpearch
7) Very cool. My grandfather on my Dad's side was born there, then he moved to Chicago. I still have some relatives up there, but I haven't been there for quite a while. Too long in fact.
Bill   Tuesday, October 7, 2008
hawkwolf
8) Bill, since you lived in Connecticut, have you heard of the Hartford Whalers? Well we have them down here now, d.b.a. Carolina Hurricanes and they are making it because a lot of people have relocated to this area from the Frozen North. During the Stanley Cup run in 2006, my wife became an intense fan. Does my school,NCSU have a team in that league, because I have seen some shirts with NCState Hockey on them.
BeanCounter37   Tuesday, October 7, 2008
9) Bean, the Hurricanes beat my beloved Oilers that year. I cried. The city went into a mourning period. It was bad. My husband works with a company called Blackbaud. They have their head office in Charleston. They enjoyed the Hurricanes' victory a little too much, lol.

Bill, come on up!
CanadaPam   Tuesday, October 7, 2008
hawkwolf
10) CanadaPam, we enjoyed it too, but I wasn't working at the time so I knew no one to call. If you or your husband ever work for a US NCAA team, just pray that they don't play Clem(p)son or The University of South Carolina, their fans are worse than his employer fans. Wasn't Corey Spillman from Edmonton? The Canes signed Eric Staal to a 54.0MM, & year Contract.
BeanCounter37   Tuesday, October 7, 2008
hawkwolf
11) CanadaPam, I am considering getting me a Canadian Passport, because I would rather put up with the Canadian way of life, than the US style post obama.
BeanCounter37   Tuesday, October 7, 2008
mattpike
12) I'll mail you the application. Good Luck Pam!
mattpike   Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Amber
13) We know the Hartford Whalers...ask Biker Ben...he did a great story on the team and the die hard fans still in Connecticut when he was in college.
Amber   Tuesday, October 7, 2008
ppike
14) "Oh, Canada!" takes on a new meaning if Bean is going that way.
pegi   Tuesday, October 7, 2008
15) Nice write up, I'm a UNO hockey fan in Omaha. Looking forward to seeing your boys here this weekend for some good puck!
Mitch   Wednesday, October 15, 2008
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