With MAAC play in full swing, Quinnipiac baseball is already battling for positioning within the conference. After three series against conference opponents Iona, Rider, and Marist, the Bobcats have posted a 6-3 record in those nine games, providing a solid sample of what’s to come in their conference schedule.
Quinnipiac vs. Iona: Quinnipiac wins series 3-0
Offense leads the way: The Bobcats succeed when they put the bat on the ball. They have two players with at least a .500 OBP: junior catcher/designated hitter Christian Smith and graduate third baseman Sebastian Mueller.
Power is also present with 27 home runs in 22 games. In the first game of the series, Quinnipiac took the lead and never looked back led by a two-run home run from Smith. In the second game, Quinnipiac won 8-4 aided by standout performances from Smith and Mueller, both going 3-4, as well as senior right fielder CJ Willis, who went 2-3 with two RBIs.
Pitching still needs work: The Bobcats’ team ERA is 7.84, which turns heads, but the more concerning number is the walk and strikeout numbers. At 137 walks and 156 strikeouts through 22 games, Quinnipiac has walked more and struck out fewer batters than opponents. Game 1 was the only one of the series where things got dicey on the mound.
In the 15-8 victory, only one unearned run was given up, but four runs were off of freshman starting pitcher Samuel Wright. The other three were given up by the bullpen in the sixth and eighth innings. This is something that can change in a few outings as numbers can swing, but it’s certainly something the Bobcats should look at improving.
Depth and flexibility shine: On the positive side, the Bobcats were able to get long performances out of their starter and reliever. Juniors Mike Poncini (four innings pitched) and Andrew Rubayo (three innings pitched) brought the team most of the way, only allowing three runs.
In the final game, Quinnipiac jumped out to a lead and was able to coast the rest of the game en route to a 12-3 win. Junior pitcher Matt Alduino had a stellar performance, dealing eight innings and allowing zero earned runs. He did all of this with only two strikeouts, avoiding barrels and taking advantage of soft contact. That late-game control was on display in the series sweep, as Quinnipiac’s pitching staff kept Iona in check while the batters provided run support.
“One of the biggest things we’ve emphasized all preseason has really been just winning the seven, eight, nine innings,” head coach John Delaney said. “That is the key piece, being a team that can control the game to get to the seventh, and If we’re in the lead we have to own the seventh, eighth, ninth.”
Quinnipiac at Rider: Quinnipiac wins series 2-1
Strong start, missed opportunity for a sweep: Quinnipiac came out dominant in games one and two, securing the series win early and extending its winning streak to six games. The Bobcats had a chance to sweep Rider on the road, but couldn’t close it out in the third game.
While winning the series is a huge positive, failing to finish the sweep shows there’s still room for growth in terms of consistency and execution. Rider scored every inning they batted in Game 3, winning 19-9.
Explosive offense, but inconsistent in the finale: Quinnipiac’s offense was on fire in the first two games, putting up 10+ runs in the first and continuing its hot hitting in the second. The Bobcats scored an impressive eight runs in the ninth inning starting with a double from graduate second baseman Johnny Knox and then junior shortstop Alex Irizarry put the cherry on top to complete the comeback with a three-run home run to put the Bobcats ahead by six, 12-6, after entering the inning losing by two.
However, the bats cooled off in the third game, leading to their only loss of the series and highlighting the need for offensive consistency. When they’re clicking, they’re capable of scoring a lot, as shown in outbursts of 12, 15, and 21 runs. Sustaining that production across a full series will be key.
Pitching was solid, but depth will be tested: The Bobcats’ pitching staff held Rider in check in the first two games, setting the tone for the series. However, in the third game, they allowed more runs, which suggests either fatigue or a lack of bullpen depth played a role. In this series the pitching went from better to worse, allowing more runs each game. Moving the pieces correctly on the pitching side will be crucial for the Bobcats moving forward, especially for the back end of the series.
Winning a road series at Rider after sweeping Iona is a strong start to conference play for Quinnipiac, showing it can compete with top MAAC teams. The Broncs were second and the Bobcats were fourth in the 2025 preseason coaches poll. If they can find a way to stay consistent offensively and solidify their pitching depth, they’ll be a tough team to beat moving forward.
Quinnipiac vs. Marist: Marist wins series 2-1
Allowing runners into scoring position: The Bobcats made things more difficult for themselves by allowing Marist to repeatedly get into scoring position inning after inning. In the 12-4 win to open the series, Quinnipiac played sound defense for the most part, riding the multiple-run lead. However, the losses in the other two games told a different story.
In the second game, Marist reached second base multiple times in the first two innings, capitalizing on three hits that led to three runs. In the third game, the Red Foxes got into scoring position in each of the first six innings, scoring seven runs on nine hits in the 7-4 win. Quinnipiac needs to limit scoring opportunities if it plans to stay competitive in conference play, and that starts with keeping opponents off the base paths.
Pitching change impact: In previous series, Quinnipiac had seen great outings by its starting pitchers getting them to pitch for multiple innings and hold on to leads. Wright had a five-inning quality start followed by three strong innings from Rubayo. However, Games 2 and 3 were plagued with pitching inconsistencies, leading to a revolving door of arms on the mound.
Poncini and sophomore Nick Balcom each allowed three runs in the second game, forcing the Bobcats to use four different pitchers throughout the day. After the first couple of plays, you can tell the flavor of the game, and in the third game, Alduino had a horrific start that put Quinnipiac in a hole. In the top of the second, the left-hander gave up three hits that led to four early runs for Marist.
“We need better pitching, and that was kind of the difference maker,” Delaney said. “You get four innings from your starters, that’s the killer.”
Consistency from Quinnipiac’s mound staff is imperative to competing for a conference championship and stretching the bullpen thin doesn’t align with that consistency.
Consistency will define the season: Through three MAAC series, Quinnipiac baseball has showcased its offensive firepower, proving it can go toe-to-toe with conference opponents. With a 6-3 record against Iona, Rider, and Marist, the Bobcats have positioned themselves as a legitimate contender, but inconsistencies—particularly on the mound—highlight areas for improvement.
While the lineup continues to produce at a high level, pitching depth and control will be crucial in determining how far this team can go. As conference play heats up, Quinnipiac has the potential to make a serious push, but tightening up on the defensive side will be the key to sustaining success.
The Bobcats face Rhode Island for a non-conference mid-week matchup on Tuesday ahead of a three-game series against Manhattan starting Friday.
Quinnipiac and Cornell met three times in three different venues throughout the 2024-25 regular season, with the Bobcats holding a 1-0-2 advantage following a win in Ithaca and ties at Madison Square Garden and in Hamden.
Ahead of their fourth and final matchup in the ECAC Semifinals in Lake Placid, New York, on Friday at 4 p.m., QU Sports Page’s Zachary Carter and Cameron Levasseur analyzed each meeting, taking moments from the past that inform the upcoming battle between the conference’s reigning tournament champion and its perennial regular season champ.
What’s to glean? Let’s evaluate.
Nov. 22 at Cornell: Quinnipiac 3, Cornell 1
Quinnipiac’s sole triumph over Cornell came in arguably the hardest environment to do so. The Bobcats went into Lynah Rink — a place they hadn’t won a game since 2018 — and handed the then-ranked No. 7/8 Big Red their second loss of the young season. Aaron Bohlinger opened the scoring in the first and Chris Pelosi secured the game-winning goal in the third. Mason Marcellus iced the win with an empty-net goal with 1.3 seconds remaining, while Dylan Silverstein stopped 15 of 16 shots on net.
Limiting opposing chances and maintaining puck possession were the Bobcats’ keys. Quinnipiac outshot Cornell 23-16, playing its best defense by sustaining offense. Though Quinnipiac is one of the worst shot-blocking teams in the ECAC (ranked second-to-last ahead of Cornell) the team put bodies in the way of 14 shots to lighten Silverstein’s workload.
The Bobcats cashed in once on the power play on two chances and have continued to be the league’s best through the end of the regular season — ranked first in power play conversion rate at 32.4%.
Looking ahead to this weekend, the path to a win remains the same. Though, the Bobcats will take the ice against a reformed Cornell team, one that looks much like the first-place finisher the ECAC coaches predicted it would be in the preseason coaches’ poll. The Big Red have 36 goals over their last nine games for an average of four per match. If Quinnipiac can replicate the defensive success they displayed in Ithaca and keep Cornell out of its offensive rhythm, they can find a win in March much like they did in November.
Nov. 30 at Madison Square Garden: Quinnipiac 3, Cornell 3 (Cornell wins SO)
Barely a week after their meeting in Ithaca, the Bobcats and Big Red squared off at MSG in a seesawing affair that ended in a 3-3 tie.
Their trip to The World’s Most Famous Arena was a part of The Frozen Apple, one of two series of alternating bi-annual games hosted by Cornell to capitalize on its large alumni base around New York City. That materialized in the form of 16,593 fans and the closest thing to a playoff atmosphere a team can get in November.
Quinnipiac learned its share of lessons that night, facing the deafening roar of the near-sold out crowd after a series of unforced errors put the Bobcats in a 2-0 hole in the first period.
But they battled back in the second, finding and riding momentum to take a 3-2 lead in what head coach Rand Pecknold called “probably our best period of the year,” at the time.
In its semifinal exits in 2023 and 2024, Quinnipiac scored one total goal. It struggled to build momentum and capitalize on it. The Bobcats’ surge at MSG proved they can do so, especially against a Cornell defense that is allowing more than two goals per game for the first time in three seasons.
Herb Brooks Arena is no Madison Square Garden; its capacity is 7,700 and if history is any indication, Friday’s attendance will be around 4,000. But as history also suggests, much of that crowd will be a sea of red.
Quinnipiac proved it can counter that on a bigger stage in November. Now it has a second chance to do so with more than bragging rights on the line.
It would be two months before the two rivals met for the final time, and in the roughly six-week period, each team’s season ventured down different paths. Following the tie in downtown Manhattan, Quinnipiac’s record was 6-6-1. It resembled one of a middling team, but in the nine games following the Frozen Apple, the Bobcats went 8-1. Between Nov. 30 and Jan. 18, Cornell went just 3-3-1.
Quinnipiac’s young roster at last bought into the Pecknold system, something the head coach said had taken a bit longer than it had in previous years. When it clicked, and the Bobcats found their groove, they would meet Cornell at the height of their hottest stretch of the season.
And yet for the 60 minutes that followed, Cornell stayed poised and cooled Quinnipiac down on its home ice. The Big Red struck first, knocking in a power-play goal late in the first period. Though Quinnipiac would score twice in the second to take the lead, Cornell remained undeterred, tying the game halfway through the third period. After an unsuccessful overtime ended the game in a tie, Cornell had the upper hand on Quinnipiac in shots (25-24) and faceoff wins (32-31).
The Bobcats took a penalty in each of the three periods, one of which led to the first Big Red goal. Cornell took just one all game. Quinnipiac beat itself, something it can’t afford do come Friday. An inability to match tempo from the two teams’ initial meeting while giving up too many man-advantage opportunities could lead to more than just a shootout loss. It could mark the end of Quinnipiac’s Whitelaw hopes.
Of note, Silverstein was in net for all three games against Cornell this season. If Pecknold is to stick with Matej Marinov, who has played and excelled in each of Quinnipiac’s last three games, it will be an entirely new look in net for the Big Red.
Marinov has allowed just one goal in his last three games, stopping 84 of his last 85 shots against. Against Brown in Quinnipiac’s most recent game March 15, he made 34 saves, the most in a Bobcat shutout since November 2015.
Anna Foley, Jackie Grisdale and Gal Raviv dragged their feet and stepped up onto the postgame press conference podium with their heads down following their loss to the Fairfield Stags in the MAAC championship game just five days ago.
It was clear that before facing the media, the players had shed tears together in the locker room. You could see the red around the three players’ eyes. You could hear their sniffles as head coach Tricia Fabbri gave her opening statement and you could feel that the team knew they were 40 minutes away from the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2018-19 season. But they could not withstand the pure dominance from Fairfield.
Over the next 28 hours, more questions loomed for Quinnipiac women’s basketball. At that point, the Bobcats were 28-4. That was good for 15th-best in the country. Fairfield had claimed the conference’s automatic bid, but Quinnipiac’s fate still hung in the balance. The Bobcats had beaten three teams during the regular season that ended up being at-large and automatic qualifiers following the selection show Sunday night. Their chance for an at-large bid was low, but not zero.
— Quinnipiac Women's Basketball (@QU_WBB) March 16, 2025
Despite many media outlets, and even Fairfield’s head coach Carly Thiboult-Dudonis, trying to advocate for Quinnipiac with the NCAA Selection Committee to allow the Bobcats to get an at-large bid, ESPN’s Elle Duncan never uttered the words, “The Quinnipiac Bobcats,” during Sunday night’s selection show.
I asked Fairfield head coach Carly Thibault-DuDonis what her pitch to the NCAA Selection Committee would be to get Quinnipiac – who is now 28-4 – into the NCAA Tournament
Quinnipiac’s season would be extended, however. Not in the NCAA Tournament, but in the WBIT. The Bobcats will be playing the Seton Hall Pirates Thursday night at 7 p.m. in South Orange, New Jersey in the opening round of the tournament.
How Quinnipiac got here
The Quinnipiac Bobcats defeated the No. 10 Iona Gaels in the MAAC quarter-final round in convincing fashion, 79-51. The Bobcats followed up two days later by beating the No. 6 Merrimack Warriors in the semi-final round 65-51. The team then ran into the buzzsaw that was the No. 1 Fairfield Stags, who were able to beat the Bobcats 76-53 in the MAAC championship game. The Stags had made 15 three-pointers during the championship game, tied for the most made three-point field goals in one game of the entire season for Fairfield.
“We have to give Fairfield a ton of credit,” senior captain Jackie Grisdale said postgame. “They played a great game and we couldn’t keep up.”
Sydni Scott scored all of her 18 points from behind the arc, not missing one of her six attempts from deep.
“Once I saw the first one go in, I knew it was going to be a good day,” Scott said after the game.
What is The WBIT?
The WBIT is the Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament and it is offered to teams that did not qualify for the NCAA tournament. In 2024, the tournament was created to replicate the men’s version of the National Invitational Tournament. It is a 32-team postseason tournament and is sponsored by the NCAA, unlike the WNIT. The Bobcats will look to become the second ever winner of this tournament after Illinois who won the inaugural tournament last year and who now will be playing in the NCAA tournament.
There are certainly advantages to playing in the tournament as it gives younger players experience playing in a competitive tournament as well as increased exposure for players to give coaches or professional scouts another chance to take a look. There can be some downside however as the travel and schedule strain can be massive as if the Bobcats are to win, they will have to travel to the west coast immediately after the game to play Stanford or Portland. There can also be added injury risk playing in these games.
This season, Quinnipiac is one of four teams in the tournament that has five or less losses in the entire season.
— Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament (@wbitwbb) March 17, 2025
How does Quinnipiac match up against Seton Hall?
Seton Hall head coach Tony Bozzella and the Pirates finished third in the Big East conference, behind Connecticut and Creighton. The two schools are a 2-seed and a 9-seed, respectfully, in this year’s NCAA Tournament.
“While we are all disappointed that the third-place team in the fifth hardest country did not get selected for the NCAA Tournament,” Bozzella said on social media. “We are very excited to once again represent Seton Hall in the postseason.”
Both Bozzella and Fabbri believed that they should have been a part of the NCAA Tournament this season. While Fabbri did not take the same approach as Bozzella, Quinnipiac’s head coach has made it clear in the past that the conference they play in deserves more respect than it receives.
A portion of head coach Tricia Fabbri’s opening statement after today’s win against Fairfield.
The MAAC will have to wait another year for the women’s basketball side to get two bids for the first time since 2001, Quinnipiac still has a game to play.
Quinnipiac (28-4, 18-2 MAAC)
Seton Hall (22-9, 13-5 Big East)
68.4
PPG
62.7
73.9%
FT %
77.9%
44.2%
FG %
38.6%
34.8%
3PT %
27.4%
32.7/G
REB/G
33.3/G
12/G
TO/G
14.2/G
The Bobcats and the Pirates are very similar on paper, but the biggest battle will be the point guard play for either side.
The two schools will meet for the third time ever. Seton Hall won the previous two matchups by a total of 10 points, the two first matchup since 2007.
Quinnipiac’s Gal Raviv was awarded the MAAC Rookie and Player of the Year award this season. It is the first time that the conference gave the player of the year honors to a freshman in its 43-year history.
The 5-foot-7 guard leads the team in scoring at 18.3 points per contest and forces all of her opponents to bring reinforcements her way when she has the ball in her hands. If the other team brings a second defender, she has the intelligence to find the open player and have the Bobcats play on the advantage. She also leads the team in assists.
On the other side, another 5-foot–7 freshman guard has been playing lights out for the Pirates.
Jada Eads is from Orlando, Florida and has the chops to be a part of “the best backcourt around,” Bozzella said during the season.
Averaging 13.8 points per game, Eads does a lot of the same things that her Quinnipiac counterpart does. She has a crafty handle, commands attention when she is on offense and limits turnovers to keep her team in the game.
It is a long road for the chance to compete for another championship, and while one team’s season will end Thursday night, the other will move on to the west coast for the second round of the tournament. The winner will face the winner of Stanford vs. Portland, though dates and times are still TBD.
“…It’s another opportunity for us to get postseason experience,” Fabbri said to WTNH News 8 Wednesday. “That will pay itself forward as we get ready for next year.”
By Connor Wilson, Ethan Hurwitz and Khalise Harris
It’s tough to beat the team three times in one season, and that sentiment rang true for Quinnipiac men’s basketball in the MAAC tournament last week.
After a regular season where they claimed the MAAC’s top seed for the second-straight year and a 2-0 season series against Iona, the Bobcats were bounced in the conference semifinals by the fourth-seeded Gaels Friday night.
“I want to congratulate Iona, I thought they did a wonderful job,” Quinnipiac head coach Tom Pecora said following the loss. “One of the things we talked about each game … was (to) control the backboard and control the paint, and they really punished us in the paint.”
QU Sports Page’s Connor Wilson, Ethan Hurwitz and Khalise Harris take a look at three reasons why the Bobcats fell short of a conference title game appearance for the fifth time since joining the MAAC.
REBOUNDING: Qunnipiac led the MAAC in rebounding (38.5 per game) during the regular season, which was anchored by junior forward Amarri Monroe and senior forward Paul Otieno. The frontcourt duo combined for 27 double-doubles, by far the most amongst teammates in the conference. One of the Bobcats’ overall strengths all year long was their ability to dominate the glass.
In Friday’s loss, Quinnipiac was outrebounded by Iona 39-28, including 14-12 on the offensive glass. Otieno had eight and Monroe had six, both below their season averages. When the Gaels visited Hamden on Feb. 16, the Bobcats were plus-16 on the boards en route to a five-point win. In that same game, Iona’s leading rebounder, junior forward Yaphet Moundi, didn’t play due to an illness.
“We laughed, because he had the flu and we called it the ‘Otieno-virus,’” now-former Iona head coach Tobin Anderson said. “We said ‘Are you afraid of him?’, or something like that. We did that to motivate him.”
There was no sign of an “Otieno-virus” in Atlantic City. Moundi grabbed 11 rebounds and outmuscled Otieno in the paint for nearly the entire game. The Gaels were able to control the glass from the opening tip and make the Bobcats uncomfortable in an area where they are usually sharp, which threw Quinnipiac off for the rest of the night. — Wilson
3-POINT SHOOTING: It’s not new for the Bobcats to struggle to consistently connect from deep. They’ve been ranked in or around the bottom 20 of teams across Division I in 3-point shooting percentage all season, and junior guard Ryan Mabrey — who the team brought in through the transfer portal to be the team’s primary shooter — saw his minutes dwindle all season.
In Friday’s loss, Quinnipiac went 9-for-29 from behind the arc with Monroe accounting for nine of the misses. Sophomore guard Khaden Bennett, who hit three 3-pointers in Wednesday’s quarterfinals win over Rider, missed all four of his attempts. For Monroe, it was one of his worst performances at a time where they couldn’t afford it.
“Obviously, we’re upset,” Monroe said. “But as captains, you know, you can’t really put your head down, because the younger guys see it down, and they’ll put their head down.”
For comparison, the Gaels shot just 10 times from three. While they only made two of those, the overall defensive pressure forced the Bobcats into a one-dimensional, 3-point heavy offense, an offense that the team already wasn’t excelling at. — Hurwitz
FOUL TROUBLE: Quinnipiac committed 20 fouls compared to Iona’s 16, but the timing and impact of these fouls were more significant, as three players — Bennett, graduate guard Savion Lewis, and senior guard Doug Young — each had four fouls.
Lewis picked up his first foul just two minutes into the game, while Bennett committed his first five minutes in. Both had two fouls by halftime, and Bennett quickly tallied his third early in the second half. Young and Lewis each drew back-to-back fouls in the second half, ultimately sidelining Lewis. Bennett’s fourth foul came with 40 seconds left, stretching Iona’s lead to six points, sealing the Bobcats’ fate.
As Lewis is the team’s primary ball handler and sets the tone on the court, with one foul to give up Quinnipiac knew that his absence would be significant. Without him, the responsibility fell to Bennett and Monroe, who struggled offensively, with Monroe shooting 8-for-22 and 3-for-12 from three. Lewis only played 26 games this season while the Bobcats played 33 total games, so they had played without him before — but when it mattered most, his absence was glaring.
Lewis played 22 minutes (his lowest total since February) for his last game with the Bobcats. While Young logged 15 minutes and Bennett played 26 — higher than their season averages of 13.2 and 24.6 minutes.
“Just knowing this was my last time playing with Quinnipiac, I wasn’t able to finish the job, but I believe I left a legacy here for the young guys that they’re going to carry on and be able to finish it in the next years coming,” Lewis said.
Lewis spent seven seasons with the Bobcats, starting all 34 games while averaging a career-high 31.0 minutes per game. — Harris
From the outset of the 2024-25 season, it was clear that this year would be much different for Quinnipiac men’s hockey.
For one, the Bobcats lost much of their depth from a national championship run that is now two years in the rearview. Hobey Baker Award Finalist Collin Graf turned pro in the offseason, as did Frozen Four hero Jacob Quillan, sophomore star Sam Lipkin, and the remaining four defenseman who made up the team’s core in the spring of 2023. Just one remaining player, junior forward Victor Czerneckianair, had dressed in the title game.
For another, nearly 40% of their roster was freshmen, and another 22% was sophomores, a makeup unfamiliar to head coach Rand Pecknold in recent years.
So, despite its four-consecutive Cleary Cups as ECAC Hockey regular season champions, it was no surprise Quinnipiac found itself looking up in the preseason coaches’ poll to a veteran Cornell squad.
But six months later, the Bobcats are again entering the conference tournament as the top seed. How did they get here? The answer lies both within themselves and with others.
A slow start
Quinnipiac’s non-conference slate was not kind to the Bobcats, despite their strength of schedule of barely cracking the top 50% in the nation.
A season-opening win against Penn State was the highlight — and then things went south from there.
Quinnipiac was swept by Maine on the road, then split the other side of the Border Battle against New Hampshire with a puzzling 3-2 loss on home ice after trouncing the Wildcats 8-2 the night before.
A shutout of Holy Cross put the Bobcats back on track, only to be swept by Dartmouth and Harvard to open conference play.
“It’s a great group of guys,” head coach Rand Pecknold said following the Dartmouth loss, the Big Green’s first in Hamden since 2018. “We will buy in at some point.”
A midseason surge
After that sweep, the Bobcats stepped on the gas into the new year, putting together a 7-1-1 stretch and averaged 3.75 goals per game, nearly a goal per game more than they produced through the first month of the season.
Sophomore Mason Marcellus — a preseason All-League honoree — turned it on during this period, putting together a nine-game point streak that carried into January.
Quinnipiac was not blowing teams out; it had just one win in that stretch with a margin of victory above three, but the Bobcats were winning games they were supposed to win. Then the wheels fell off again.
A 5-1 loss to Northeastern on Jan. 4 goes down as the team’s worst of the regular season. It outshot the Huskies 36-32, but Quinnipiac struggled to generate quality chances, gave up the puck incessantly, and failed to protect the net front. It did not score until the final two minutes of the contest.
“We just struggled,” Pecknold said after the game. “[Northeastern] found a way to be really good on the road, and kind of sucked us in a little bit.”
But the Bobcats put things back together for the next two months, going 12-3-1 from early January to March, a record only blemished by a last-second loss to UConn in the Connecticut Ice Tournament and consecutive overtime losses to Clarkson — the ECAC’s No. 2 seed — before ultimately winning the Cleary Cup on the final day of the regular season.
Newcomers such as forwards Jeremy Wilmer and Jack Ricketts have found their rhythms. Wilmer has recorded at least a point, three goals, and nine assists in the last six games, while Ricketts is tied for the most goals in the country since December with 15 in his last 18 games.
“You always expect an adjustment period coming to a new place,” Ricketts said. “For some, it’s a little longer, and that’s the way it goes. I think just sort of the mentality in the second half [has been] to just keep pushing and focus on the little things.”
A bit of help
Even with a strong end to the regular season. Quinnipiac’s ECAC-winning 50-point total was the lowest it’s recorded in its five-year reign of dominance over the conference. In order to claim the regular season title again, the Bobcats needed a bit of help from Cornell, their most bitter on-ice rival.
On paper, the Big Red were poised for an explosive season, losing just one player from a team that came up one goal short of the Frozen Four the previous spring.
In reality, injuries hit Cornell hard, losing 32 man games through the first eight games of the season and digging itself into a rut it struggled to overcome. The Big Red never won more than two consecutive games the entire season and likewise entered the ECAC Tournament the No. 6 seed, a far cry from their preseason billing.
Familiar places, new faces
It’s no secret that Quinnipiac’s regular season success has not translated to the conference tournament. No team has more regular season titles (nine), yet the Bobcats have just one Whitelaw Cup as ECAC Tournament champions to their name.
Lake Placid, the host site of the conference championship weekend, has been a particular house of horrors for Quinnipiac in recent years, seeing a title game loss to No. 3 Harvard in 2022 as well as semi-finals losses to No. 7 St. Lawrence in 2024 and No. 5 Colgate in 2023.
But this season, the team sits perilously on the Pairwise bubble entering the ECAC Tournament. Their No. 13 position will be the final at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. An early exit could boot Quinnipiac down the ranking and cost it a fifth-consecutive bid to the big dance.
“We’re fighting for our lives for the NCAA Tournament,” Pecknold said after a win over Brown on Feb. 22.
So winning their first Whitelaw Cup since 2016 is more of a priority than ever for the Bobcats, who view their situation through the lens of win-and-you ’re-in. And while they’re acutely aware of the team’s struggles at Herb Brooks Arena, Czerneckianair is the only rostered player to have played more than one game there.
In other words, it’s familiar territory with new faces. Maybe that’s just what Quinnipiac needs.
“We’re an entirely new team,” senior goaltender Noah Altman said. “We know we’re going to have a home weekend after the bye week to recoup ourselves.”
The Bobcats begin their conference tournament run with a best-of-three series against Brown in Hamden. Game One is set for Friday at 7 p.m.
For the second season in a row, the Quinnipiac women’s ice hockey team failed to reach the NCAA Tournament, with its ECAC Tournament run ending in the three-game quarterfinal series against Clarkson.
Despite strong defensive play, the Bobcats’ offense struggled to keep up with opponents throughout the season, culminating in another disappointing playoff performance. With key contributors departing this offseason, questions loom as this team looks ahead to the 2025-26 season.
Putting points on the board
A major issue for the 2024-25 Bobcats was their scoring, or lack thereof. In games where opponents scored at least two goals, not once were the Bobcats able to come out on top. That stat would be less pressing if they were getting blown out, but failing to score more than two goals consistently is a problem.
There’s nothing wrong with playing a defensive game, but when a team can’t match its opponent’s scoring output, that spells trouble. That trouble caught up with them and is one of the main reasons the Bobcats are watching the NCAA Tournament from home.
Last season, after an Oct. 20 1-0 victory over Brown, Turner recognized the lack of production early in the season and highlighted the need to “score early.”
“They want to get the first goal of the game, that is huge for them and it’s something that they talk about,” Turner said. “The more you think about scoring, the less you’re going to score. It’s about pulling the pieces together that are going to help us create scoring chances and building from one to the next.”
This message seemed to resonate with the team last year, but not so much this time around.
Heavy reliance on the defensive side of the game
The Bobcats’ strength was its defense. They relied on winning low scoring games and had trouble against some of the top scoring teams. The Bobcats ranked 14th in the nation in goals scored on the season with 97, and ranked eighth in the ECAC. This is a stark contrast from last season, where the Bobcats finished sixth in the nation with 134 goals scored, almost 40 goals more than they were able to put in the back of the net this season. This is also the fewest goals they have scored in a season since the 2018 season, where they scored 73. However, Colgate, Cornell, Princeton and Clarkson all ranked ahead of the Bobcats in goals scored this season. The Bobcats’ combined record against these teams was 2-7-1.
The Bobcats struggled to beat teams that score more efficiently than they do, always having to rely on their defense to win. One area where the Bobcats excelled this season was on the penalty kill. The Bobcats ranked fourth in the country in penalty kill percentage. However, they only ranked 27th on power play percentage this season.
Playoff woes continue under Cassandra Turner
Once again Quinnipiac fell short of winning the ECAC tournament. For the second straight season, Quinnipiac women’s hockey had their season come to an end in the quarterfinals of the ECAC tournament. The Bobcats’ loss to Clarkson in the quarterfinals ended their season. They likely needed to win the ECAC tournament to get in or have a close loss in the finals to qualify because of how they struggled against top teams this season.
With their season coming to an end, a hard internal look at the program must take place to understand how the Bobcats can improve from here. Head coach Cassanda Turner has been behind the bench for 10 seasons. In those 10 seasons, Turner has led the Bobcats to multiple NCAA tournament appearances, but has also been at the helm during many seasons where the Bobcats could not win big games. The Bobcats have yet to reach the Frozen Four under Turner, and as they look ahead to next season, timely wins will certainly be an emphasis again for Turner and the Bobcats.
What’s next?
With four of Quinnipiac’s top five point-getters set to graduate (Maya Labad – 27 points, Kendall Cooper – 26, Maddy Samoskevich – 22 and Jenna Donohue – 19), Quinnipiac will look to fill those spots around sophomore forward Kahlen Lamarche, who led the team with 14 goals and 19 assists this season.
A potential suitor to take on a bigger role in the points department is freshman forward Bryn Prier. She finished this season with eight goals and eight assists as well as a +16 plus-minus. In a Feb. 14 game against RPI, Prier had a hat trick and an assist on a Lamarche goal, culminating in a four point night. If Prier and Lamarche develop strong chemistry, it might suit the Bobcats well to pair them on a line moving forward into next season.
Alongside her, expect first-year defenseman Makayla Watson to contribute more to the offense next season. She finished the campaign tied for third on the team in assists with 12. With Watson, who suited up in all 38 games this season, able to grow into a bigger role for next winter, expect her to increase her numbers as she’s able to freely dish the puck to her teammates.
Besides point production, the other area of this team with underclassmen waiting in the wings is goaltending. With graduate Kaley Doyle’s departure, freshman Felicia Frank will likely get the nod in net next season. In limited appearances between the pipes in 2024-25, Frank showed that she can hold the back end down in the form of four shutouts.
If it isn’t Frank, Quinnipiac will have to look to find a more polished and experienced netminder in the transfer portal. In recent history, the Bobcats have favored an older goaltender to lead the team, with Doyle and former Quinnipiac goalies Logan Angers and Corrine Schroeder being examples of this.
The defensive side of Quinnipiac’s team is overshadowed by the lack of offense, but both will have to improve in the 2025-26 season if the Bobcats hope to compete with more balanced teams in the regular season.
Since the 2021-22 season, it has consistently finished in the top five of the conference – including fourth in 2022, third in 2023 and fifth in 2024 and 2025 – but have yet to translate that success into a deep postseason run. Overcoming that will be a determining factor in the Bobcats pushing themselves over the top in search of an ECAC championship.
“We’re going to continue to dive in and stay in the fight and be in a position where you look to figure our best hockey at the end of the season,” Turner said.
Since the start of the season, every team in the MAAC has had one goal in mind – to punch their ticket to the big dance.
Day one is complete for the MAAC tournament, 10 teams came in, now eight remain.
QU Sports Page’s Khalise Harris and Judaea Ingram discuss the first round results and will break down the matchups in the remaining rounds to predict which squad will punch their ticket and which will fall short of their championship dreams.
So which team will prevail and head to March Madness?
First round results:
No. 8 Rider scrapes passed No. 9 Siena
Rider advanced to the quarterfinals after edging Siena 78-76 in a tightly contested battle. Siena held a narrow two-point lead at halftime. In the second half, Rider turned up the intensity as Zion Cruz stepped up and scored key buckets. It wasn’t the best shooting night from beyond the arc for either team. Rider dominated inside with 46 points in the paint to Siena’s 32 and capitalized on second-chance opportunities, scoring 23 points. The game featured 20 lead changes, with Tariq Ingraham leading the charge for Rider with a double-double of 19 points and 13 rebounds. Freshman guard Flash Burton added 17 points on 8-for-16 shooting, including the game-tying shot to even the score at 69-69.
No. 7 Sacred Heart offense was too much for No. 10 Fairfield to handle
The nerves kick in when your season is on the line, but the jitters didn’t seem to bother Sacred Heart as they advanced to the quarterfinals, beating Fairfield 71 to 58. The Pioneers would open up with a 7-0 lead and would never look back. With the best scoring offense in the MAAC, the Pioneers fast paced scoring could not be stopped. With 22 total assists for the day, they moved the ball extremely well, making the extra pass and playing unselfish ball. They had 18 total fast break points, taking advantage of their quick transition offense.
Fairfield throughout the game would cut the lead back to single digits, going on scoring runs, but Sacred Heart responded each time with a run of their own. With so many three point snipers on their team, it was hard for Fairfield to defend. When the Stags closed out tight, Sacred Heart would make the extra pass to paint or penetrate to the basket. The Pioneers were able to stop the Stags biggest threat, Prophet Johnson, the junior guard would often get double-teamed whenever he touched the ball, he finished the night with eight points and 10 rebounds, going 3-for-12 from the field and 0-for-3 from the 3-point line. Amiri Stewart had a breakout game with 18 points, leading all players.
“That’s one down, we got another one tomorrow,” Stewart said to his teammates in the locker room after celebrating their win.
Quarterfinals:
Game 3: No. 1 Quinnipiac vs No. 8 Rider
A balanced assault and key position experience have helped the Bobcats recover from last year’s agonizing 62-60 buzzer loss to Saint Peter’s in the semifinals. Quinnipiac ranks third in the MAAC in scoring, averaging 73.8 ppg, thanks to Amarri Monroe, Savion Lewis, and Paul Otieno, who elected to stay. Monroe, the preseason MAAC Player of the Year, leads the league in rebounding with 9.2 boards and third in scoring with 17.7 points. Just behind him is Otieno, who averages 8.6 rebounds and has grabbed double-digit boards 13 times this season. Savion Lewis ranks second in the MAAC with 6.4 assists per game, powering the attack. Quinnipiac’s defense allows 71.4 points per game (6th in MAAC) and.418 field goals. The Bobcats lead the MAAC in team rebounds (38.5), offensive rebounds (11.6), and defensive rebounds (26). They rank third in MAAC thefts (8.52) and second in blocked shots (4.81). Quinnipiac will be tough to beat in the tournament if Monroe, Otieno, and Lewis keep scoring.
X-factor: The battle on the boards will be the key to this matchup. Quinnipiac leads the MAAC in team rebounds, while Siena relies on its defense and shot blocking to disrupt opponents. If the Bobcats can hold down the glass and generate second-chance points, Quinnipiac will have the edge. On the other hand, if Siena can protect the paint and limit Quinnipiac’s offensive rebounds, it could swing the momentum in its favor.
Prediction: Quinnipiac.
Game 4: No. 2 Merrimack vs No. 7 Sacred Heart
The Warriors use their tenacious defense to funnel their game. They focus on a tight zone defense. This focus on defense allows them to control tempo and make critical plays in crucial moments. This is a team that can score 50 points and still win the game. They play games on their own terms. It’s slow, dragged out, and winning the turnover battle. On the other side, the Pioneers boast a high powered offense. They run their transition offense effectively and challenge teams to match their pace. They are turnover prone and Merrimack will take advantage. The Warriors have proven to stop the Pioneers quick paced offense, having them shoot poorly from the field in their two outings against each other. This game will come down to the final possession and there is no one better to have the ball in their hands than junior guard Adam “Budd” Clark.
“Clark does not have a nervous bone in his body. He’s got a flare that’s made for March. He’s proven he can go out and win some games,” head coach Gallo said.
X-factor: Offensive possessions. Merrimack is known to stop offenses from flowing and controls the pace of the game. How well they can stop the Pioneers juggernaut offense for a third time will be crucial for them, as this game will come to the wire. The team that can get the most clean looks and gain time of possession during crunch time will come out on top.
Game 5: No. 4 Iona vs. No. 5 Manhattan
Iona overcame a three-game losing slump to win three straight. DeJour Reaves leads the Gaels with 16.7 ppg (4th in MAAC). Their three-point defense is exceptionally effective, limiting opponents to 33.1% shooting. Yaphet Moundi leads the MAAC with 7.2 rebounds per game (top 10). The Gaels are tough to beat when they play well, combining excellent defense, rebounding, and scoring. Manhattan is on a four-game winning streak entering the MAAC tournament. The Jaspers have one of the most balanced attacks in the MAAC, scoring 76.4 ppg. They are dangerous from three, ranking 4th in three-point percentage (35.1%) and 2nd in made threes (8.8) per game. Five players average double digits, led by Will Sydnor (14.3 ppg, 9th in MAAC) and Devin Dinkins (13.5 ppg, 11th). Manhattan is a tough tournament opponent since they score at all three levels and capitalize on second chances.
X-factor: The key will be which team can impose its style of play — if Iona’s defense can disrupt Merrimack’s offensive rhythm, it could swing the game in their favor. However, if Merrimack can maintain its scoring pace and find ways to break down Iona’s defensive schemes, it will put pressure on Iona to keep up offensively. The team that can adjust and excel on both ends of the court will likely come out on top.
Prediction: Iona.
Game 6: No. 3 Marist vs No. 6 Mount St. Mary’s
Offensively, Marist is middle of the pack, this is not a team that will blow you out with their offensive schemes. Defense is their bread and butter. They force long possessions and do not allow good looks or second chances, as they are ranked 1st in the MAAC in rebounds. They have great on-ball defense at multiple spots. The Mountaineers are a good all-around team, offensively averaging 70.7 points per game. They are top five in the MAAC scoring, field goal percentage, and three point percentage. They get many second chance opportunities due to the presence of Jedi Cordelia and Dola Adebayo. Teams do not shoot well against the Mountaineers. It does not hurt that they also have the conference’s best outside shooter, Carmelo Pacheco, who shoots 46.4% from the arc and he can hit big shots when needed.
— Mount Men’s Basketball (@MountHoops) March 8, 2025
“Our guys respond every time, no matter what has happened to us this year, good or bad, we have responded” Coach Donny Lind said after their win against Marist.
X-factor: On-ball pressure. These are two on-ball pressure teams. Both teams will find it crucial to take care of the ball and make crisp moves when moving up and down the court. They will be in each other’s space and will try to dictate the opponents pace. Keeping themselves in front of the player, limiting penetration and kick outs will be important for both teams.
Prediction:Mount St. Mary’s.
Semifinal Round:
Game 7: No. 1 Quinnipiac vs. No. 4 Iona
Quinnipiac managed to control the pace in both matchups against Iona this season, and its balanced attack is difficult for the Gaels to stop. If Quinnipiac stays disciplined defensively and continues to spread the scoring load, the Bobcats should have the upper hand. Iona scored 32 points in bench production and scored 33 points off turnovers against Quinnipiac both times. If they can capitalize on Quinnipiac’s mistakes and force the Bobcats into turnovers, it will be crucial to their success. Iona forced Quinnipiac to commit 18 turnovers over the two previous games, and they will need to replicate that pressure to stay competitive. Taking advantage of turnovers and bench contributions could swing the game in Iona’s favor.
X-factor: In this game will be the offensive execution from both teams. With both Quinnipiac and Iona having strong offensive presences, the ability to execute efficiently could lead to a high-scoring affair. Quinnipiac’s balanced scoring and Iona’s ability to capitalize on turnovers and fast breaks will be crucial in dictating the tempo. If both teams can maintain their offensive rhythm and avoid defensive lapses, this could turn into a high-scoring, back and forth battle.
Prediction:Quinnipiac.
Game 8: No. 2 Merrimack vs No. 6 Mount St. Mary’s
With Budd Clark at the point, Matt Becht and Devon Savage on the wings, both of them shooting with confidence, and the front court duo of Bryan Etummu and Sean Trumper, Merrimack has one of the conference most complete starting five. Defense anchoring this team, in the last matchup against the Mountaineers, they forced 19 turnovers. The Mountaineers forced the Warriors to shoot poorly from the field and behind the arc. The Warriors will make adjustments to continue to play their style. Winning seven of their last 10 games, the Mountaineers are on a run. Unlike many MAAC teams, the Mountaineers were able to shoot well from the 3-point line against the Warriors. They were 9-17 from the 3-point line and shot over 50 percent from the field.
“Because we’re so unique, we spend a lot more use on ourselves than we do our opponents,” Joe Gallo said.
X-factor: Rebounding. Merrimack is one of the worst rebounding teams in the MAAC, Mount St. Mary’s is one of the best rebounders. In their last matchup, the Warriors were outrebounded 43-23. 10 of those 43 rebounds were offensive boards, accumulating 11 second chance points. The Warriors lost by 10 in their last matchup.
Prediction: Merrimack.
Final:
No. 1 Quinnipiac vs No. 2 Merrimack
The Bobcats are hungry for redemption after a tough season, but with a mix of experienced returners and the added energy from freshman Jaden Zimmerman, they are poised for success. The team has been here before, but this time they have the right blend of hustle, grit and leadership to go all the way.
Merrimack has solidified their reputation with an elite defense that shuts down opponents and forces turnovers. However, while their defense remains a strength, don’t expect the same offensive performances as in previous matchups. Merrimack will certainly adjust, but Quinnipiac’s offensive firepower and depth will challenge their defensive focus.
X-factor: Merrimack’s defense. They thrive on their tight zone defense, forcing turnovers, blocking shots, and limiting opponents’ scoring opportunities. Their ability to control tempo and disrupt offensive rhythm will be key in limiting Quinnipiac’s offensive firepower. Bryan Etumnu’s dominance in the paint and the aggressive defense led by Adam Clark could force Quinipiac into uncomfortable situations, especially if the Warriors can capitalize on turnovers.
However, Quinnipiac’s depth and offensive versatility provide them with the tools to overcome Merrimack’s defensive pressure. The Bobcats’ ability to adjust their offense-mixing inside play with perimeter shooting-while managing the pressure from Merrimack’s defense, will determine the outcome. The X-factor will be how well Quinnipiac can handle Merrimack’s defensive intensity and still execute their balanced offense, leveraging their depth to exploit mismatches.
By Connor Wilson, Ethan Hurwitz, Judaea Ingram & Khalise Harris
With the regular season wrapping up on Saturday, the 2025 MAAC Men’s Basketball Championship is officially upon us. In Atlantic City, 10 teams playing over the course of five days at Boardwalk Hall will determine which school earns the conference’s automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
If there’s one thing to take from these types of tournaments, it’s that anything can happen, and the favorites aren’t always the ones hoisting the trophy on Saturday. All 10 postseason-eligible teams can make a case to win it all, so here’s one x-factor from each squad that will be crucial towards their team’s success in the tournament:
Quinnipiac: Khaden Bennett, Soph., G (10.4 PPG, 40.7% FG)
The Bobcats are led by a veteran group of upperclassmen with much experience. Bennett has become a key contributor for this team. After playing just 16 games last season, he has stepped into a larger role as the fourth-leading scorer while starting 20. His energy and hustle stand out – diving for loose balls, taking charges, and attacking the rim for momentum-shifting dunks. He also spaces the floor and ranks third on the team with a .346 3-point percentage (22nd in the MAAC). In the backcourt, his 43 steals are the second-most on the team. Over the last five games, he has recorded three double-digit scoring performances, proving his consistency. With his ability to impact both ends of the floor and do the little things, Bennett has been a key piece of the Bobcats’ success. – Harris
Merrimack: Matt Becht, Sr., G (9.8 PPG, 34.8% 3PT)
The Warriors’ identity isn’t beating you from the perimeter, but sometimes in March, the team that comes out on top is the team that gets hot from three. If Merrimack is going to do that, Becht’s fingerprints are going to have to be all over it. The 25-year-old is one of the oldest players in the country and attempts the third most triples per game in the MAAC at 7.3. He knocked down multiple threes in 17 of the Warriors’ 20 MAAC games, and is going to need to perform similarly down in Atlantic City to give Merrimack its best chance at its first NCAA Tournament appearance. No other player besides teammate Budd Clark (20.2) is averaging in double figures this season, so now is the perfect time for somebody on the Warriors to step up. – Wilson
Price was sidelined the entire month of February with a foot injury before returning to the Red Foxes on March 6 in their loss to Merrimack. Marist was rolling with its starting center in the lineup, beginning the year 16-3 overall before the injury. The Red Foxes went 4-4 with him out of the lineup and have lost both games since his return as he adjusts back to speed. Price scored in double figures six times in MAAC play before the injury, and got back to that level in Saturday’s loss to Mount St. Mary’s when he had 13 points. Head coach John Dunne and company need a healthy Price in Atlantic City to make some noise in the tournament. – Wilson
The MAAC All-Rookie Team selection has come on as one of the Gaels’ premier players heading into Atlantic City. Njie Jr. scored in double figures in eight of Iona’s final nine games, with his magnum opus a 26-point outburst at Canisius on March 2. While the majority of the Gaels’ offense runs through senior guard DeJour Reaves and junior forward Yaphet Moundi, Njie Jr. provides an additional level of scoring to head coach Tobin Anderson’s offense. With a first-round bye and a looming quarterfinals matchup against Manhattan — a team that can shoot the three ball with the best of them — it’s safe to assume that Njie Jr. will be an underrated component to lock down one perimeter and help contribute on the other. – Hurwitz
Manhattan: Devin Dinkins, Soph., G (13.5 PPG, 44% 3PT)
Ladies and gentleman, your MAAC Sixth Player of the Year, Devin Dinkins!
The Jaspers were in a six-man rotation for most of MAAC play, now back up to seven, the scoring punch off the bench from Devin Dinkins will be important. Dinkins averaged 13.5 points-per-game (11th in the MAAC). He led the Jaspers with 59 3-pointers this season and had 20 games with multiple 3-pointers to his name. Not only is he shooting well from the field and -point line, but he shoots tremendously from the free-throw line at 87.7%. Whether he is creating his shot or setting up teammates, Dinkins’ versatility will open up different scoring avenues for the Jaspers. His scoring ability gives Manhattan a reliable option in clutch moments and helps keep defenses on their toes. – Ingram
Mount St. Mary’s: Carmelo Pacheco, Soph., G (9.5 PPG, 46% 3PT)
There’s an argument to be made for Pacheco being the conference’s best 3-point shooter. After arriving at Mount St. Mary’s by way of UVA-Wise, Pacheco was the catalyst for a number of the Mountaineers’ wins late in the year. At one point he was ranked inside the top 15 nationally in 3-point percentage, and drilled a game winner against Niagara to steal a win on Feb. 14. He was dealing with a finger injury in Saturday’s win over Marist and played just six minutes, but expect a healthy Pacheco to get the green light early and often from deep. – Hurwitz
In their first year in the MAAC, the Pioneers have impressed many despite finishing as the No. 7 seed. Part of the reason why they are where they are is the youth stepping up, such as Ralph-Beyer. The freshman has been a lights-out shooter for Anthony Latina’s Pioneers all year long, but as of late, he’s been a bit more streaky. Ralph-Beyer hit 20 3-pointers in a seven-game stretch from Jan. 23 to Feb. 16, but in six games since then has only buried eight. Coincidentally, his shooting struggles began when he entered the starting lineup for the first time, so perhaps another change may be in store as Sacred Heart needs the best version of Ralph-Beyer it can get. – Wilson
Cruz has consistently demonstrated his scoring prowess and versatility on the court. In a crucial game against Canisius, he led the team with 12 points, contributing to a decisive 78-50 victory that secured Rider’s berth in the MAAC Tournament. He also had clutch shots against Merrimack and finished the game with 23 points, shooting 9-for-10 from the field and 3-for-4 from the 3-point line. He is not afraid to shoot and pull from behind the arc. He went 4-5 from the 3-point line against St.Peter’s, finishing the game with 16 points. He is a dynamic offensive option for Rider, and he can stretch out the defense. His hot hand can lead them to the promised Iand. – Ingram
Freshman Wing Gavin Doty (@DotyGavin) has been on a tear since entering Siena's starting lineup 11 games ago, putting up 15 PPG, 8.2 REB (3.3 OREB), 2.3 AST (1.1 TOV), and 1.5 STL in this stretch. Doty plays with a completely unmatched motor, never taking a single possession off! pic.twitter.com/w8RSf0bn3k
Doty has come out of his shell offensively for the Bulldogs since entering the starting lineup. He has scored double digits in eight straight games. Described by Josh Abercombie as an unmatched motor, as he never takes a single possession off. He leads all MAAC freshmen in scoring (14.1), rebounding (7.9), field goal percentage (.480), and free throw percentage (.815). He makes winning plays, whether that is crashing the glass or getting key buckets down the stretch. He does not turn the ball over often and rebounds well for a guard. In three of the last four games, Doty scored 20 or more points, including ending the season with a 21-point, 12-rebound double-double against Manhattan. He is a sensational freshman, and Siena will benefit from his offensive explosion. – Ingram
In his first season at Fairfield, Perry has already made a name for himself. The 5-foot-8 shift and quick guard is a problem – let’s get that straight. Despite starting only three games and averaging 20.0 minutes, he plays with purpose every time he steps on the court. His impact goes beyond the numbers, but he’s had big moments, including a game-winning 7–foot buzzer-beater against Marist. Perry has scored in double figures in 12 games, with three of those being 20-point performances. He also leads the team in free-throw percentage at 88.2%, making it crucial for opponents to keep him off the line, especially since many of his drives result in and-one opportunities. – Harris
Every year before the MAAC women’s basketball season starts, the 13 coaches in the conference vote on how they think the teams will finish.
Sometimes the coaches predict the conference dead on, other times they predict dead wrong. Most times, they meet somewhere in the middle.
The MAAC Tournament tips off at noon on Tuesday with No. 8 Manhattan and No. 9 Canisius playing each other. In anticipation of that, QU Sports Page’s Zach Carter and Ben Yeargin take a look back at what the MAAC coaches predicted the conference standings would be — and how right or wrong they were.
The order below follows the order in which the coaches voted each team to finish in the preseason poll, followed by each team’s actual finish heading into the conference tournament.
1. Fairfield Stags (25-4, 13-1 MAAC)
Actual finish: 1
The coaches hit a home run here. Despite the reigning MAAC Player of the Year (and also preseason player of the year) graduate guard Janelle Brown tearing her ACL, Fairfield thrived in conference play.
The Stags finished 19-1 while leading the MAAC in scoring offense and scoring defense. They also received votes in the AP Poll for the second-consecutive year.
Fairfield is the deepest team in the conference. Its offense is led by sophomore roadrunner (a term the Stags use in place of forward) Meghan Andersen, who is averaging 15 points per game, but the Stags also have two other eligible players who average at least eight or more points a game in sophomore guard Kaety L’Amoreaux and senior roadrunner Emina Selimovic.
Anyone on Fairfield can take and make a three and its best players can score at all three levels, making the Stags difficult to defend.
In the MAAC Tournament, Fairfield is the No. 1 seed and favorite to win it all, but with its No. 51 NET ranking, the Stags have a chance to make the NCAA Tournament with an at-large bid.
But whether in preseason or post, Fairfield cemented itself as the conference’s best team.
– Yeargin
2. Siena Saints (17-12, 14-6 MAAC)
Actual finish: 3
The coaches poll set expectations high for the Saints, who met the bar by rattling off their second-consecutive third-place finish in the conference. Success all year has been predicated on the team’s backcourt, fronted by junior Teresa Seppala and graduate Ahniysha Jackson. Both guards rank in the top two on the team of minutes per game and points per game by a wide margin.
The poll named Seppala a projected First Team All-MAAC recipient and Jackson a second team finish. The crystal ball was spot on, with both being announced March 10 to the first and second teams, respectively. Seppala made it unanimously.
Last year, Niagara bounced Siena from Atlantic City in a 17-point win. The Purple Eagles outscored the Saints 34-11 in the first quarter, and the Saints were never able to climb back from the deficit.
But the Saints are surging as of late, winning their final four games of the year. In their most recent game against conference bottom feeder Rider, the Saints drubbed the Broncs by 37 points. Head coach Terry Primm and his squad have all their ducks in a row heading into the conference tournament, looking to wash away the pain of last year’s semi-final loss.
– Carter
T-3. Niagara (3-25, 2-18 MAAC)
Actual finish: 13
Reality and prediction sometimes don’t mix.
What the coaches thought they were voting on in the preseason was a Purple Eagles team that just pushed Fairfield to overtime in the MAAC Tournament and retained two of their three leading scorers. They were predicting a squad that would bounce right back up and wreak havoc on the conference.
Instead, what it received was a mostly inexperienced roster that had the sixth-worst scoring defense in the country. The Purple Eagles didn’t win a MAAC game until Feb. 27 against Iona.
What doesn’t help is Niagara’s two best players missed chunks of the season. Senior forward Aaliyah Parker redshirted this season and junior forward Amelia Strong played 16 of the Purple Eagles 28 games.
You can’t predict injuries, but the coaches could’ve seen an inexperienced roster that lacked Division I-depth. In other words, the MAAC coaches were dead wrong on this one.
– Yeargin
T-3. Quinnipiac (26-3, 18-2 MAAC)
Actual finish: 2
Both Quinnipiac and the coaches poll anticipated success for the Bobcats in 2024-25. Where the predictions went askew was more nuanced — just how much success the Bobcats would have eluded the MAAC’s coaches. Few expected a freshman from Israel to take the league by storm and grow the Bobcats into one of the most formidable mid-major teams in the nation.
Gal Raviv did just that.
A starter in every game for Quinnipiac this year, Raviv displayed excellence in all facets. She averaged 18.0 points and 5.7 assists and made the All-MAAC First Team despite not being named to any of the three teams in the preseason. Not to mention, she won rookie and conference player of the year.
Quinnipiac’s supporting cast in Jackie Grisdale, Karson Martin, Anna Foley and others make this team especially dangerous. The Bobcats have built up a conference-best defense, limiting teams to just 54.4 points per game, and handed Fairfield its first conference loss in two years March 8.
The Bobcats outperformed the preseason poll’s expectations and solidified themselves as one of the conference’s premier teams. They should make some noise in March, going as far as their first-year phenom will take them.
– Carter
Photo: Quinnipiac Chronicle
5. Sacred Heart (9-20, 5-15 MAAC)
Actual finish: 12
Junior guard Ny’Ceara Pryor was arguably the best player in the conference this season. She led the MAAC in scoring per game and steals per game (she leads Division I in the latter category). In all other worlds, she would be accepting her third-straight conference player of the year award for her work this season.
But Sacred Heart finished No. 12 in the MAAC with a 5-15 conference record and missed the MAAC Tournament altogether.
How? Terrible shooting and a lack of offensive production behind her. The reigning NEC champions shot 37.9% on the season and league-worst 24.4% from three. In 16 of the Pioneers’ 20 conference games, their opponents shot better than them.
Pryor was incredible this year. She also finished seventh in rebounds per game as a 5-foot-3-inch guard, but no one else stepped up. Sacred Heart showed flashes of its brilliance, but never pieced together any notable wins.
The Pioneers will have seven long months to improve before it goes again for year two in the MAAC. The coaches laid a massive goose egg on this one.
– Yeargin
6. Manhattan (15-24, 9-11 MAAC)
Actual finish: 8
A two-spot differential for Manhattan is not enough to keep them out of the tournament — they’ll take on Canisius Tuesday at noon — but it is enough to change the narrative around this group.
A sixth-place finish would have put Manhattan in the upper half of the conference’s 13 teams. At No. 8, they officially take on an underdog persona. Ignoring the Jaspers’ record quickly, this team has performed very well under the hood, better than most give them credit for. The Jaspers held the third-best point margin in the conference, one of four teams to boast a positive differential between its offensive and defensive output.
Team defense is a big factor in that, holding opponents to a conference-best 36.8% percentage from the floor, while shooting 42.5% from the floor themselves, third-best in the MAAC. The Jaspers also lead the conference at 4.48 blocks per game. They grab the most rebounds per game (37.1) of any team in the conference and average the second-most assists of any team (15.9).
With an abundance of promising statistics in mind, let’s bring their record back into play. The portrayal now shifts. At No. 8 in the MAAC heading into the tournament, this is no longer an upper-half team like the coaches anticipated. This is a group that underperformed in the regular season, but one that has all the tools it needs in its toolbox to pull off a surprising run.
– Carter
7. Mount St. Mary’s (14-15, 12-8 MAAC)
Actual finish: 4
In front of Mount St. Mary’s in the preseason poll is Manhattan, but the Jaspers were in front of the Mountaineers by over 26 points. That’s a clear indicator that the Mount didn’t belong in the conference’s upper echelon.
Come March, Mount finished four spots ahead of Manhattan in the MAAC.
Fueled by career years from senior guard Jo Raflo, graduate guard Anna LeMaster and freshman guard Gabrielle Kennerly, the Mount was the best three-point shooting team in the conference. It shot 35% from deep.
Additionally, the Mountaineers had a seven-game win streak in conference that featured a dominant performance over Siena and an overtime win at Quinnipiac. However , they’ve also had losing streaks in conference too. The Mount previously lost four of five conference games before beating Marist on the final day of the season.
The reason for its losses coincides with its field-goal percentage. When the Mount shot under 40% in conference play, it went 2-7.
For that, the coaches deserve some grace, but not a complete absolution of responsibility. They were wrong, and underestimated a team that can be dominant.
– Yeargin
8. Iona (10-20, 8-12 MAAC)
Actual finish: 10
The Gaels were predicted to be a lower-half playoff team, and while that expectation did realize, it only did so by a minuscule margin. Iona grabbed the very last spot in the MAAC tournament in underwhelming fashion, losing six straight games to end the regular season.
The Gaels did not have a single player average over 10 points on the year, with the two closest players, Ella Fajardo and Judith Gomez, averaging 9.6 and 9.5 respectively. Unlike most MAAC teams, the Gaels’ roster is void of the X-factor that one usually relies on when this time of the year rolls around. Like Raviv for Quinnipiac. Janneh for St. Peter’s. Seppala and Jackson for Siena. Iona lacks that special talent, and it could hurt them come Tuesday.
A conference will almost always have its outliers, the teams who lose just a handful of games and the teams that barely win just a handful of games, but the middle is where the majority of programs fall. Iona was one of those teams. Its stock is low — the lowest its been all season — and if the Gaels are able to beat No. 7 Saint Peter’s in the opening round, they’ll have to take on No. 2 Quinnipiac the very next day.
But then again, March means madness.
– Carter
9. Rider (7-22, 5-15 MAAC)
Actual finish: 11
The coaches weren’t too far off with this prediction, but there’s still a large difference between a playoff team and one that’s not.
Rider’s case was one of single digits.
The Broncs finished three games outside of a postseason bid. In MAAC play, they lost four games by single digits. If they won those four games instead, Rider is a MAAC Tournament team. But reality is they didn’t.
There were some positives for Rider, though.
Senior guard Gabby Turco had an excellent year, averaging 13.9 points per game with 3.5 rebounds per contest too. Also, freshman forward Winner Bartholomew likely earned herself a spot on the All-MAAC Rookie Team with her 8.3 points per game and 3.8 boards per game.
The middle of the MAAC was hard to predict for anyone; the coaches weren’t that far off. But still, they were somewhat wrong.
– Yeargin
10. Saint Peter’s (11-18, 9-11 MAAC)
Actual finish: 7
The coaches swung and missed on Saint Peter’s, figuring they might sneak into the tournament as the final team. Or they might not. Then again, the poll is never exactlyright. But No. 7 is much different from No. 10. If Saint Peter’s beats Iona in the opening round, it won’t have to play Fairfield the day after, though Quinnipiac does not present much of an easier matchup.
The Peacocks rely predominantly on one woman — Fatmata Janneh. At 18.3 points per game, she more than doubled the scoring of the team’s second-highest scorer Layla Laws at 9.0 ppg. Her selection to the All-MAAC First Team is more than deserved, given where Saint Peter’s might rank in the conference had Janneh not been around all year to produce at the level she has.
Again, the middle of any conference is difficult to perceive. The coaches shouldn’t be on the hook for an egregious miss, but the fact of the matter is they overlooked a Saint Peter’s team that has outperformed expectations this year.
– Carter
11. Marist (16-14, 11-9 MAAC)
Actual finish: 5
On the surface, Marist looked doomed. The Red Foxes finished last season at the bottom of the MAAC and lost their only MAAC Tournament game 60-47 to Mount St. Mary’s.
Additionally, they lost their two leading scorers in forward Zaria Shazer and guard Kiara Fisher.
But right below the surface was a young core of players that was eager to prove itself, and they did. Marist plays the Mount again in the MAAC Tournament this year, but as the No. 5 seed.
Redshirt junior guard Lexie Tarul and junior center Morgan Lee are the duo that’s powered the Red Foxes offense this season. They’re one and two in points per game on the squad. Additionally, freshman guard Danielle Williamsen notched an All-MAAC Rookie Team-worthy nine points per game this year.
Junior forward Ciara Croker, junior guard Jackie Piddock, sophomore guard Julia Corsentino and senior guard Catie Cunningham all play significant roles on Marist. Croker and Piddock round out the starting five, while Cunningham and Corsentino have the most minutes off the bench.
The coaches got this one very wrong, and doubted a young, deep Red Foxes squad.
– Yeargin
12. Merrimack (13-16, 9-11 MAAC)
Actual finish: 6
In support of the MAAC coaches, this one is not on them.
2024-25 was Merrimack’s very first season as a member of the MAAC and it’s impossible to know exactly how much homework each program’s coach had done on the Warriors at the time the poll was conducted. Merrimack was middle of the pack in the slightly-less competitive NEC last year, finishing 8-8 and losing in the second round to eventual MAAC conference-mate Sacred Heart.
Hence, the easy solution is to undervalue them.
The Warriors made some noise this season, led by sophomore guard Thalia Shepard at 13.0 points per game. They’ve rebounded well all year — second in the conference in rebounds per game behind Manhattan, doing so especially well on the offensive glass. Their 11.7 offensive boards per game ranks third in the conference.
The margin between Merrimack’s expected finish and actual finish was quite large, but don’t expect it to be that big again next year. Now that coaches have seen the Warriors at least once, there’s a good chance they will more accurately judge Merrimack’s finish when it comes time to take the 2025-26 poll.
– Carter
13. Canisius (10-20, 9-11 MAAC)
Actual finish: 9
Canisius was a complete unknown entering this season. No one expected anything of it, granted there wasn’t anything to base predictions on.But the Golden Griffins surprised the MAAC.
Head coach Tiffany Swoffard’s squad earned their way into the MAAC Tournament by beating Rider on March 6 and now have a date with Manhattan to tip off the tournament.
Graduate guard Jaela Johnson notched 11.6 points per game while leading the squad in minutes. Sophomore forward Shariah Gailes finished third in the conference with 8.3 rebounds per game.
The Golden Griffins’ biggest question mark heading into the tournament is a lack of MAAC Tournament experience on the roster. But if Canisius taught us anything this year, it’s to expect nothing from them.
Not even the coaches expected anything of the Golden Griffins, which may be what they want you to think heading into the MAAC Tournament too.
The ECAC Hockey men’s tournament kicked off Friday, with the bottom eight seeds gearing up for the single-elimination opening round. No. 1 Quinnipiac — Cleary Cup champions for the fifth-straight season — earned a bye into the quarterfinals, as did No. 2 Clarkson, No. 3 Colgate and No. 4 Union.
With their seasons on the line, No. 8 Brown hosts No. 9 Princeton and No. 7 Harvard faces No. 10 RPI, while No. 5 Dartmouth battles No. 12 St. Lawrence and No. 6 Cornell meets No. 11 Yale.
As the fray begins, here are 15 players to watch in this year’s tournament:
After not reaching double-digit goals in his first three seasons with Clarkson, Martino has become one the nation’s most dangerous scorers seemingly overnight. His 23 goals leads the ECAC and is tied for second in the NCAA. Factor in his 45 points and Martino is a shoe-in to be the first Golden Knight to win ECAC Player of the Year since Todd White in 1997.
Ayrton Martino (#TexasHockey📷 '21 73rd) has been carving up the ECAC this season. 20P in his last 10GP, 14P in last 5GP.
A lightning-quick processor, Martino's physical skill/habits have taken a step. A true dual threat attacker, but his vision separates him. @ClarksonMHockeypic.twitter.com/ockWeanPZr
Shane makes this list not for his regular season performance, but for what he’s left on the table this season. The reigning ECAC Goaltender of the Year, Shane — along with the conference preseason favorite Big Red — has fallen off a cliff. His .923 save percentage in 2023-24 has dropped to .891, second-worst in the nation among netminders with over 20 starts. If Shane finds his form in the postseason, it’s the first step for No. 6 Cornell to shake off a rough regular season and look to repeat as ECAC champions in two weeks.
Brown enters the ECAC Tournament on a tear, winning eight of its last 10 games and steamrolling into the eight seed and home ice advantage in the opening round. The Bears’ most dynamic player through this stretch? St. Louis, who has 15 points since Jan. 17. His 1.25 points per game sits second in the conference, despite missing nine games with two separate injuries.
In his second year with the Bobcats after transferring from North Dakota, Moore has joined a lineage of shutdown No. 1 defenseman at Quinnipiac. Like Jayden Lee before him and Zach Metsa before that, Moore is the focal point of a Bobcats’ defense that is again among the best in the nation. He’s not a dynamic offensive threat (12 points in 33 games), but Moore’s elite defensive instincts break up plays before they become dangerous and allow Quinnipiac to quickly turn plays back up ice. With graduate student Aaron Bohlinger out for the remainder of the season with a knee injury, more responsibility now falls on the veteran Moore to lock down the top lines of opposing teams.
Much like the Clarkson women’s top defensive pairing of Nicole Gosling and Haley Winn, the Golden Knights’ men’s duo of Taylor and Sarsland should be spoken of in the same breath. They have 25 and 21 points on the season, respectively, and are a nightmare for offenses to beat in the defensive zone. Taylor, the reigning ECAC Defensive Defenseman of the Year, is making a strong case to repeat in 2025, and Sarsland’s +11 plus/minus is sixth among defensemen in the conference.
An All-ECAC Second Teamer as a freshman, Foley has taken the next step in his second season with Dartmouth. His 11 goals and 29 points lead the Big Green and sit top five among defensemen in the country, driving an offense that spent half the season without its top forward, Luke Haymes.
In his third season with the Tigers, Gorman pushes the pace as Princeton’s top-line center. He leads the Tigers in goals (12) and points (26) this season. His relentless motor helps regulate the play of a hot and cold program who’s conference tournament run could be anywhere from one day to three weeks long.
A high-scoring winger in his two years at Boston University, Wilmer has kept his scoring pace up in his first year at Quinnipiac. The Bobcats have five players in the top 10 in scoring, and Wilmer’s 38 points are second only to Martino for the conference lead. Quinnipiac is the highest-scoring team in the conference this season, and the 5-foot-8 spark plug has proven to be the leader of the committee.
Two years ago, Dartmouth was at the bottom of the conference standings. Now, the Big Green are an ECAC contender and Haymes is a major reason why. The team’s leading scorer in 2023-24, he missed the first part of this season with a broken hand but has played very well since returning, molding his game into that of a physical two-way center. He is expected to be pursued by many NHL teams at the conclusion of Dartmouth’s season.
That's three straight games that Luke Haymes has opened the scoring for the Big Green!
Chorske has had his breakout season as a senior, and is currently top five in the conference in both goals (15) and points (33). The center from Minnesota is an excellent puck handler and passer, and has been driving the offense for the Raiders in 2024-25. Listed at 6-foot-7, 215 pounds, he provides a size component that few in the country can rival. If Colgate is to win the ECAC, Chorske is going to have to be the best player in the conference tournament.
Union finished fourth in the regular season standings under third-year coach Josh Hauge, and the team’s leader on the back end is Prokop, a second-team All-American from a year ago. Prokop is second among ECAC defenseman in scoring to Dartmouth’s Foley and his offensive output over his three years in Schenectady means opposing coaches have to gameplan for him. He has also taken major steps on his own end, in particular taking an expanded role on the penalty kill, that has allowed the talented Union forwards to take chances offensively.
Just two ECAC forwards have hit the 20-goal threshold in the regular season. One is Clarkson’s Martino. The other is Ricketts, a graduate transfer and former captain at Holy Cross. The left-winger from Oakville, Ontario, really picked up his scoring in the past month, with nine of his 20 goals coming on or after Jan. 31. While the Bobcats get most of their recognition for their strong defense in recent years, their balanced scoring output has also been key to their fifth-consecutive Cleary Cup title. No one has been hotter down the stretch for them than Ricketts.
Thompson is Harvard’s scoring leader., A freshman, he was recently named the Hockey Commissioners Association’s National Rookie of the Month. The 21-year-old had four of his 10 goals and 12 of his 26 total points in February. The Crimson struggled in 2023-24 after most of their stars of the 2022-23 team turned pro and have remained middle of the pack this year. While the team is still in a rebuilding period, Thompson is a piece that Harvard can build around for the future.
2024-25 was another rocky regular season for No. 10 RPI, which faces a steep climb to reach postseason success. If they hope to replicate the first round upset they pulled off last March, the Engineers will need the offensive production of Lee, who’s 12 goals leads the team. RPI has won six games since the start of the new year and Lee scored in five of them, including both o
f the team’s goals in a 2-1 win over Dartmouth on Feb. 21.
Zacher, a second-year starter from Buffalo, New York, is second among qualified conference goaltenders with a .920 save percentage, second to just Quinnipiac’s Matej Marinov’s .922. Handling the bulk of starts for the Bears this season, he was the conference’s only representative among the 10 semifinalists for the Mike Richter Award for Division I’s top goaltender. Postseason hockey, particularly in defensive-oriented conferences such as the ECAC, magnifies the importance of good goaltending. If Zacher gets hot, Brown could put a scare into the top teams in the conference.
