Team Tampa Bay's Take with Joey Johnston: A Frozen Four to Remember
Tampa Bay's Third Frozen Four Had it All
By Joey Johnston
This one had it all — guts, guile, skill, drama, breath-taking athletic plays — and there was the thought that maybe this all-time event would spill into Easter Sunday.
No wonder the 19,444 fans at Amalie Arena couldn’t stop roaring. This Frozen Four finale was so packed with quality viewing, nobody wanted to see it end.
And then, in the blink of an eye, it was over. That age-old sports mantra — the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat — was no longer trite on Saturday night. It was real.
The Quinnipiac University Bobcats won their first NCAA Division I men’s hockey national championship, coming from two goals down to upset the Minnesota Golden Gophers 3-2 on a stunning overtime goal.
Here’s how it went down: Quinnipiac’s Jacob Quillan, the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, won the face-off to start overtime. Defenseman Zach Metsa then whipped a long pass to forward Sam Lipkin, who found Quillan cutting to the net on a set play.
Quillan stick-handled past Minnesota goaltender Justen Close, flicked it home and it was done … just 10 seconds into overtime.
At 10:42 p.m., as the players returned from the locker room, Amalie Arena in-stadium announcer Greg Wolf whipped the crowd into a frenzy.
HOCKEY FANS, IT’S TIME FOR SUDDEN VICTORY! THE NEXT GOAL WINS! HERE WE GO!
At 10:43, Quillan scored.
Is it possible for three decades of memories to cascade through your mind in a few seconds? Quinnipiac coach Rand Pecknold had that sensation. He thought about his late father. He was overwhelmed at seeing so many Bobcat hockey alumni in the stands. He remembered the beginning, when Quinnipiac was a “bad Division III team,’’ the unimaginable grind when he had a teaching job and he fought for three hours of sleep, when his program began its practices at midnight, when life was in constant survival mode.
And now, with Pecknold on top of the college hockey world, those thoughts were racing and colliding.
“I’m usually pretty good at talking,’’ Pecknold said in the postgame news conference. “I don’t even know what I’m saying right now.’’
Actually, words couldn’t do justice to the 75th Frozen Four. Tampa Bay’s third crack at hosting the men’s hockey championship was the best of all — and probably one of the best overall sporting experiences for an area accustomed to big-time events such as the Super Bowl, Final Four, NHL All-Star Game, College Football Playoff title game and conference championship events.
“This was absolutely perfect,’’ Tampa Bay Sports Commission executive director Rob Higgins said. “You can never have a perfect event, but this was as close as you could come, from the moment the teams touched down, to the weather, to the fans, to the incredible competition. This was one we’ll never forget.
“You think back to the faith that the NCAA (Men’s Hockey) Committee had in us when we were selected in 2005 to get our first Frozen Four (in 2012). There was a lot of skeptics. But all of that paid off with an incredible night like this. They call us a non-traditional site. Well, when you’re non-traditional, you get non-traditional results.’’
It was a star-studded, action-packed weekend — which also included Michigan and Boston University — and it produced a dream championship-game matchup between the overall No. 1 seed (Minnesota) and No. 2 seed (Quinnipiac).
The Gophers, the wire-to-wire No. 1-ranked team featuring a lineup filled with future NHL players, seemed to have a stranglehold on the game after taking a 2-0 second-period advantage.
But slowly, the game turned. Christophe Tellier kept Quinnipiac in it with a second-period goal. The Bobcats dominated the third (outshooting Minnesota 14-2 in the period), but couldn’t find the net and time was running out.
Then Pecknold made a bold decision.
With Quinnipiac already on the power play after a high-sticking call on Minnesota star Logan Cooley, Pecknold called a timeout with 3:28 to play. He opted to pull his goaltender, Yaniv Perets, to give Quinnpiac a 6-on-4 power play.
Five seconds after the power play ended, Bobcats forward Collin Graf squeezed in a shot from the left side, through Close’s pads, and the game was tied 2-2 with 2:47 remaining in regulation.
Quinnipiac’s third-period work paid off with Quillan’s OT winner.
As the Bobcats mobbed Quillan, as Quinnipac fans devolved into bedlam, some Gopher players threw down their sticks in disgust, while others collapsed into emotional exhaustion.
“We had it … we had it … we had it,’’ said Minnesota coach Bob Motzko in the somber Gopher news conference. “This one is gonna sting. It’s a crusher. I’m just crushed for them (players). We had no hiccups all year. Not one. This one is just a crusher.’’
Gopher agony was contrasted by Bobcat ecstasy.
Pecknold was a member of the NCAA selection committee when Tampa Bay held its first Frozen Four in 2012. His Bobcats reached the 2016 final at Amalie Arena. And now, with a championship clinched in Tampa Bay, you can practically elect Pecknold to the area’s permanent Chamber of Commerce.
“I love this place,’’ Pecknold said as he emerged from the locker room and headed back to the Quinnipiac hotel. “This event needs to come back here. Every four years. Every three years. Something like that. This area has so much to offer. Of course, everyone from Quinnipiac will always have great memories of Tampa Bay. The Frozen Four will be back here, no doubt about it.’’
The next bidding cycle will be for Frozen Fours in 2027-31. Saturday night’s crowd of 19,444 was the second-largest for a championship game in an arena, behind the 2017 final at Chicago’s United Center (19,783). Detroit’s Ford Field, a football stadium, drew a record 37,592 in 2010.
“We are really pleased with the performance of the arena, the community and everyone who worked so hard at the Tampa Bay Sports Commission,’’ said NCAA men’s ice hockey selection committee chairman Jeff Schulman, athletic director at Vermont. “Everyone had a wonderful time and we’ve had a great tournament.’’
“We want it back here as early as possible,’’ Higgins said. “We love everything about it. It could not have worked out better.’’
This one had it all.