PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The Bobcats and the Eagles played like thundering locomotives, each side steaming ahead, shoveling fuel into the fire, nonstop, continuously gaining speed. 

Quinnipiac has been moving for a while now, and it’s gone further than it ever has before. Boston College has been as far as the sun and the moon countless times, but only now did it get a new shipment of fuel. The Eagles can keep shoveling for hours, the Bobcats are running low. Quinnipiac’s train is slowing down, BC’s won’t stop moving, it has places to be. 

The Bobcats finally stop at an overpass, they watch as the Eagles keep chugging over the horizon. End of the line. 

Quinnipiac men’s hockey just saw the end of the best run in its program’s 25-year history at the Division I level. Five-straight NCAA Tournament wins, a national title in 2023 and an overtime puck bounce away from a second-straight trip to the Frozen Four. 

“It was a great college hockey game,” head coach Rand Pecknold said. “It’s disappointing right now. I love this group. It’s a great group.”

In that quarter-century span, the conductor, Pecknold, transformed his train from a Lionel to an Amtrak high-speed rail, taking those who joined him to the top of the mountain. 

He’s been Mr. Resilient, nearly reaching the top twice before. He kept going back, refueling and then leaped over everyone else trying to reach that spot. It was his turn. He’s gone further than anyone besides him can comprehend. 

Year after year, he built loyal crews who bought into his philosophy, and succeeded as a result, not just as hockey players, but as men. He’s been recognized for his efforts, rightfully so. He’s accomplished quite possibly everything there is to accomplish in his profession. 

Pecknold could look ahead, think about what he can do in the future. He could look behind him, thinking about what he has done in the past. He does neither. 

“I’m not going to tackle that right now,” he says. “We have such a unique situation at Quinnipiac, with the culture that we have, and the experience that these young men, these student athletes get, because it’s one of a kind. It’s hard to put into words … but it is a unique situation that we have and we thrive on it. It’s why we win and why we will continue to win.”

Pecknold has taken transfers and shown them the way. His culture is contagious. 

“It’s interesting, when we get these transfers to come in from other schools and other big time programs,” Pecknold said. “They come in, and right away they’re like, ‘Oh, now I know why you guys win.’”

So while Quinnipiac has come to a halt, and BC is still moving along, this is not the end. There will be more trips for the Bobcats to go on, more times over the mountain. This is just the Eagles’ turn. 

Pecknold has waited before, and he was rewarded for his patience. He now has as much time as he needs to refuel, find more coal to shovel into the fire. Then and only then, he will conduct his crew again, and they will be the ones chugging over the horizon.