People in Hamden were bursting with Bobcat pride as they cheered on the defending national champion Quinnipiac men’s hockey team Friday. They played their opening round game in the NCAA tournament versus Wisconsin.
The Bobcat crowd went wild after the Quinnipiac men’s hockey team gets a sudden death overtime win over the Wisconsin badgers.
“The championship goes through the Bobcats. You have to beat the Bobcats to win the championship! Ain’t nobody is beating the Bobcats,” senior Andrew Morin said.
The bobcats played in the opening round of the NCAA tournament as defending national champions. The team is looking to be the first school to win back-to-back titles in five years.
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“A lot of pressure on us knowing that we won last year,” senior Jake Weiss said.
The topsy turvy game caused anxiety and elicited cheers from students watching inside at Eli’s on Whitney. All of them proud of the effort they saw.
“They’re resilient. Like, it’s hard to beat us. Everybody expects to beat us, and they can’t,” Morin said.
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Students say despite being the defending champions, there’s still an underdog mentality competing with major college hockey powerhouses.
“The boys have definitely had a battle the entire season but now is the time to prove ourselves that we can go back-to-back,” senior Sam Giuffrida said.
They say any potential tournament opponent should never question the heart of a champion on the ice.
“Everyone underestimates us every time we hop in the ice, and we end up beating them anyways,” Morin said.
Quinnipiac will play Boston College on Sunday in Providence.
