Quinnipiac extends Pecknold through 2015-16... Why?

Rand Pecknold

On Monday, Quinnipiac University announced the five-year extension of men's hockey coach Rand Pecknold through the 2015-2016 season. This past season was his 17th in Hamden, and is 317-216-56 during that time. [Click Here For Press Release]

Since Quinnipiac moved to the ECAC from Atlantic Hockey in 2005-06, Pecknold has led the Bobcats to a 115-98-23 record. Also during his tenure, Quinnipiac has hosted five straight first round series, and has won at least one playoff series in each post-season. Pecknold has not had a losing season while at the helm of the program.

Another thing to point out is that Quinnipiac has won the most games of any ECAC team since the 2005-2006 season (stats courtesy of USCHO):

1) Quinnipiac, 115 - Rand Pecknold
2) Cornell, 114 - Mike Schafer
3) Union, 111 - Nate Leaman
4t) Yale, 110 - Tim Taylor (05-06), Keith Allain
4t) SLU, 110 - Joe Marsh
6) Clarkson, 99 - George Roll
7) Princeton, 97 - Guy Gadowsky
8) Dartmouth, 92 - Bob Gaudet
9) Colgate, 91 - Don Vaughan
10) RPI, 83 - Dan Fridgen (05-06), Seth Appert
11) Harvard, 82 - Ted Donato
12) Brown, 50 - Roger Grillo (05-06 - 08-09), Brendan Whittet

But, while Quinnipiac has amassed the most wins of any league foe over the past six seasons, they have never finished in the Top 4 of the league standings and have not received a berth to the NCAA tournament.

This, and other reasons, leave me scratching my head on why Quinnipiac keeps extending Pecknold's contract. Yes, Pecknold has been successful overall and has brought Quinnipiac Hockey to national prominence, but at the end of the day what has he accomplished with the Bobcats? Yes, they have won a playoff series every year in the league (which I really respect and appreciate since I'm a Union fan), but Pecknold has not brought the Bobcats to the "next level." What I mean by "next level" is constant contender for ECAC supremacy, a league championship (regular and/or post season), and NCAA tournament appearances.

From the way I see it, there is no reason why Quinnipiac should not be able to make this jump. First off, they have the nicest rink in the league: the TD Bank Sports Center. The Bobcats have the luxury of the newest rink in the league, and averaged the fifth highest home attendance of any ECAC team last year, which is a tremendous recruiting tool. Also, Quinnipiac University has the lowest academic requirements for enrollment than any other school in the league (that's not saying Quinnipiac is a bad school since they are competing with the Ivy League and other tremendous academic institutions), which would allow them to recruit almost every prospect. This combination should allow Pecknold to recruit some great players, and he has like Brandon Wong and Reid Cashman.

To me, Rand Pecknold has done a great job on paper. But, at the end of the day, he hasn't accomplished what he should have. If I were making the decisions at QU, I'd thank Mr. Pecknold for everything he has done for Quinnipiac University and then let him go. This program should be at a higher level. Changes should be made.