In April 2023, the Quinnipiac University men’s ice hockey team clinched its first Division I NCAA title over Minnesota with a 3-2 overtime win. Then-sophomore forward Jacob Quillan netted the winning goal 10 seconds into overtime.

The next morning, Quinnipiac’s associate vice president for facilities operations Keith Woodward pitched a podcast — aptly named “The Tenth Second” — to Chris Roush, former dean of the School of Communications.

Woodward, a Quinnipiac graduate, recently entered his 35th year working at the university.

“I have deep roots in the Quinnipiac community,” Woodward said. “And so when they accomplish this, it just seems like it should be celebrated.”

The podcast tells the history of the Quinnipiac men’s hockey team from its first season in Division III to its triumph as one of the nation’s highest ranking hockey programs in Division I.

“Over a million people watched (the NCAA Frozen Four Championship) when it happened,” Woodward said. “And now they’re kind of hearing a little bit about how it really happened.”

This past summer, Woodward partnered with sophomore film, television and media arts major Justin Marovsky, who works as the audio engineer of “The Tenth Second.”

Enthralled by the school’s dedication to its students, Marovsky, a transfer student, found his home at Quinnipiac last year. There was passion outside of academia. There was passion for success. Marovsky was sold.

David DesRoches, Quinnipiac’s director of podcasting, brought together the dynamic duo. “The Tenth Second,” he said, was an opportunity to “elevate” different elements of the university, including the podcast studio. Most importantly, DesRoches saw a “rags-to-riches” story about the men’s hockey team that was relatively unknown.

Marovsky had never even seen a hockey game — but he had experience in audio editing.

“I got to thank (DesRoches) for seeing my work … and seeing that I have potential,” Marovsky said.

Woodward and Marovsky spent over 20 hours interviewing current and former coaches, players and staff who have impacted Quinnipiac hockey through the years.

“I felt like I missed out on the national championship,” Marovsky said. “But I was totally wrong about it because I got such an amazing experience with Keith … It was insane.”

Just as Marovsky’s introduction to hockey was a learning curve, Woodward said he learned a thing or two throughout the production process.

“He asks questions which are so pertinent,” Woodward said. “It makes the content better.”

Not every listener was in Tampa, Florida, for the Frozen Four, and not every listener understands hockey. However, Woodward argued that every listener deserves to share in Quinnipiac’s victory.

“The Tenth Second” currently has upward of 1,000 downloads, and Woodward expects this figure to increase in the coming weeks. The podcast is slated to end by Oct. 4 — just in time for the defending champions to take the ice on Oct. 7. Woodward and Marovsky said they aim to produce bonus episodes around the holidays to engage listeners.

“I hope that people can see the hard work put into it and know that we really appreciate everyone that came in,” Marovsky said.

The ordeal, Woodward said, is “a great Quinnipiac story.”

“Fifty years from now, they’re going to be talking if Quinnipiac never wins another national championship,” Woodward said. “Justin will be somebody who heard from all the players, all the coaches, and will be somebody that people will go back to to say, ‘Hey Justin what was it like?’”