SIOUX FALLS, S.D.— Not many teams in the NCAA would use the word “familiar” to describe the regional finals. However, for the Quinnipiac men’s ice hockey team, no other word accurately describes its recent history in the NCAA Tournament.

In their last seven seasons, the Bobcats have appeared in the regional finals five times, tied for the most in the country over that span. Senior forward and captain Victor Czerneckianair has appeared in the most NCAA Tournament games as a Bobcat, tied at six.

“It’s a culture and a system here that really works and that you really stick to,” senior defenseman Charlie Leddy said.

The experience as a program is evident.

But on an individual level, that experience dwindles a bit. Among current Bobcats, only three have appeared in a regional final before, with just Czerneckianair, and senior forwards Anthony Cippollone and Alex Power securing the elusive win to make the Frozen Four.

That experience has rarely been an issue for the Bobcats’ coming into the NCAA Tournament. Although not all of Quinnipiac’s top-scorers are “true” freshmen, much of the team is experiencing its first taste of playoff college hockey this season, and the desperation that comes along with it.

That was evident in the team’s ECAC Quarterfinal loss to Clarkson March 14.

“I don’t think we’ve seen all year a team as desperate as Clarkson was in that scenario,” Leddy said. “To see a team playing all out…their game seven, their Stanley Cup, it was definitely a little bit new to us, and we’ve got to learn to adapt.”

In the opening round of the NCAA Regionals, the 5-2 final against the Providence Friars seems to suggest that message got through. With the season on the line, the Bobcats were able to finish off the Friars.

But in actuality, that final period held an eerie reminder to games of Bobcat past.

“We struggled a bit when we were up three nothing,” Pecknold said.

The Bobcats allowed the Friars to crawl back into the contest down just a goal in the closing minutes of the game. One single shot separated Quinnipiac and Providence from the first overtime of the 2026 NCAA Tournament for just under five minutes, before freshman forward Ethan Wyttenbach found the back of the Providence empty net.

“Their guy walks right out of the box, (the puck goes) right to him,” Providence head coach Nate Leaman said. “What a gift.”

That “gift” may have propelled the Bobcats to secure the victory, but that underlying struggle to close out games is still present.

This isn’t an issue unique to the 2026 Bobcats either. That nation-leading five NCAA Regional Final appearances in the last seven years have only resulted in a single Frozen Four appearance.

The last time the Bobcats were in this, that inability to close out games did them in. Against Boston College in the 2024 regional finals, Quinnipiac held a 4-3 lead for the majority of the final period, before allowing BC to tie the contest up.

The Eagles would take the victory in overtime, ending Quinnipiac’s chance at repeating as national champions, and marking the last time the Bobcats appeared in the regional finals.

As for North Dakota, the team presents its own challenges for the Bobcats. With the contest in Sioux Falls, S.D., the No. 2 team in the country will hold the advantage in fan turn out.

As far as shared opponents go, the Fighting Hawks and Bobcats are few and far between. North Dakota has played just a single ECAC opponent all year: the Clarkson Golden Knights.

Although Quinnipiac’s most recent loss to Clarkson was its most impactful, extending its decade-long Whitelaw Cup drought, the Bobcats secured a 4-1 victory against the Golden Knights Nov. 21.

The transitive property doesn’t always work in hockey, but it’s signal enough that Quinnipiac can compete in this contest if the squad plays its game and capitalizes on its opportunities.

That includes the biggest opportunity of all: a lead in the regional finals.

Quinnipiac’s struggle to put teams away — the same struggle that cost them a trip to the Frozen Four 2024 — may be the difference between a trip to Las Vegas and a bitter end to a hard-fought season.

Puck drop at Denny Sanford PREMIER Center in Sioux Falls, S.D., is set for 6 p.m. CST (7 p.m. EST), with a spot in the Frozen Four on the line.