By Quinnipiac University Staff
Quinnipiac and Minnesota are set for a national championship battle, as the Bobcats and Golden Gophers match up on Saturday night in Tampa., Fla.
The Bobcats defeated Michigan in the late semifinal by a 5-2 final, while Minnesota knocked off Boston University 6-2.
Quinnipiac is in its third national championship game in program history, advancing to both the 2013 and 2016 national title games in Pittsburgh and Tampa.
ALL-AMERICAN STATUS
Three Bobcats were selected as All-Americans on Friday night at the annual awards reception, with Collin Graf being tabbed as a First Team selection and Yaniv Perets and Zach Metsa earning Second Team honors.
Metsa and Perets were both tabbed as selections last season, while Graf is a first-time honoree.
THREE’S A CROWD
Entering this year’s NCAA Tournament action, only four Bobcats in Quinnipiac’s history had recorded three points in an NCAA Tournament game, with the record being owned by Matthew Peca, who had four in the 2013 Regional Final against Union.
Sam Lipkin and Jacob Quillan have both done it in this tournament alone, with Lipkin tallying three against Merrimack and Quillan hitting that mark in the semifinal against Michigan.
LOTS OF GPS IN ONE CLASS
Ethan de Jong leads a very experienced graduate class as they enter their final weekend as a member of the Bobcats. The North Vancouver native currently stands with 183 career games, besting Larry Olimb for the most games for a single team in NCAA history.
It is also the most games by any active player, tied with Bowling Green’s Taylor Schneider. The Bobcats have four of the Top 10 on the active games list, with Zach Metsa (6th – 176 GP), Jacob Nordqvist (8th – 175 GP) and Michael Lombardi (9th – 174 GP) also there.
TAMPA TRAVELS
The last time the Frozen Four was in Tampa, Fla.,: 2016. The last time the Quinnipiac Bobcats made the Frozen Four: 2016.
Quinnipiac advanced to Tampa via the East Regional, knocking off RIT and UMass Lowell in Albany before defeating Boston College in the national semifinals. North Dakota would get the best of them in the championship.
THE NATION’S BEST
Yaniv Perets enters the final weekend of the season ranked atop many statistical categories, leading the Bobcats to their third Frozen Four since 2013.
He currently leads the nation in winning percentage (.859), goals-against average (1.48) and shutouts (10) and is second nationally in save percentage (.932). He’s .001 behind Devon Levi for first in that category.
WINNING IS EVERYTHING
The Bobcats are having one of the winningest seasons in program history during 2022-23, winning 33 games overall, besting the program’s wins record, and 20 ECAC games, the most by any team in the league since the 1988-89 campaign.
Rand Pecknold‘s club hit 32 wins in its Frozen Four year of 2015-16, as well as last season’s Regional Final appearance.
ELITE ETHAN
Entering this weekend’s Frozen Four, de Jong leads all participants in points (144), goals (60), power play goals (18), shorthanded goals (3), game-winning goals (9) and games played (183).
For an inside look at the Bobcats’ Frozen Four run, be sure to follow the team on social media @QU_MIH or go to gobobcats.com/mih.
