LAKE PLACID, N.Y. — With less than five minutes remaining in the third period of Quinnipiac and Cornell’s ECAC Semifinal battle, Rand Pecknold and Mike Schafer held court with their respective teams. 

Schafer, down a goal, with his coaching career on the line, was as animated as a head coach can be. His team huddled around, soaking in every last word in what may have been Schafer’s last rallying cry. 

Pecknold, just 20 feet away, stared at his notepad, cool, calm and collected, giving quick words of advice to players as the timeout came to an end and Quinnipiac was clinging to a freshly made one-goal lead off the stick of freshman forward Chris Pelosi.  

In many ways Friday night’s battle between the Bobcats and Big Red was a microcosm of the last 30 years, of intense, gripping showdowns between Pecknold and Schafer’s programs. It was perfectly fitting and almost to be expected that the last matchup of two of the winningest coaches in college hockey ended in an overtime thriller. 

“We’ve just had unbelievable games against Rand,” Schafer said.  

With Schafer’s season on life support, his Big Red had one last trick up their sleeve as senior forward Kyler Kovich scored shorthanded with just over a minute remaining to send the game into overtime. Then Shafer got the last laugh over Pecknold in the extra frame as senior defenseman Tim Rego punched home a one-timer to scan Cornell’s ticket to the ECAC title game. 

“That game represented our year,” Schafer said. “We were down and out, people were kicking dirt on our graves, and we were able to rally in some shape and form.” 

And as Schafer and Cornell celebrated their season lasting at least one more day, Pecknold was now playing the role as the animated head coach. Following the overtime loss, Pecknold stormed out to center ice to confront the officials, where he clearly had some feelings he needed to get off his chest. 

“For clarity, I’m not going to take any questions on NCAA rules on the officiating tonight,” Pecknold said. “Any questions on that you can ask to (ECAC Commissioner) Doug Christiansen.”

Now, like any two competitors, the relationship wasn’t always as civil as it was now that it’s over, and like any classic rivalry there were moments of intense standoffs.  Look back in 2013 when Schafer was suspended for calling Pecknold a, “fucking classless, asshole.” 

That same weekend in 2013, Quinnipiac won over Cornell 10-0, leaving Schafer enraged that Pecknold was still trotting out his top power play unit after taking a six goal lead. 

“Rand was being a (expletive) putting his No. 1 power play unit on the ice when it was 8-0,” Schafer said. 

But at the heart of Pecknold and Schafer’s 30-year rivalry is a deep respect for what the other has built — two programs consistently in the national title picture. 

“I think you look over the course of time, especially the last 10-15 years, there hasn’t been anyone as consistent as Cornell and Quinnipiac,” Schafer said. “Just two teams that compete really hard, two really good programs.” 

As much as the two coaches would love to say it was the players on the ice that decided Friday’s game and everyone before that — it was just as much the doing of Pecknold and Schafer dueling it out in a high-stakes chess match. And in many ways their many battles made them better coaches, win or lose. 

“I give Schafer a lot of credit — he made me a better coach,” Pecknold said. “He challenged me throughout the years, almost as much as anyone.”  

And in a historic conference, ECAC Hockey, there arguably hasn’t been two better coaches. Both Pecknold and Schafer have won the conference coach of the year award five times, more than any coach in league history. 

“They’ve done a great job for the ECAC and we’ve done a great job of representing our league,” Schafer said. “They won a national title, we were one goal away from getting to the Frozen Four.” 

So despite whatever bad blood may have existed in the past, the aftermath of Friday’s heavyweight clash proved one thing — the respect these two men have for each other transcend wins and losses. At the end of the day, they’re just two coaches who built two damn good college hockey programs. 

“It’s been an honor, Rand is a great coach,” Schafer said. “They have a great program, but at the same time, so do we.”