Quinnipiac’s Rand Pecknold a coach on top of his game; tackling prop betting, where have Andre Jackson Jr.’s minutes gone? … and more

During the runup to the NCAA men’s hockey tournament, Quinnipiac coach Rand Pecknold was asked for a fun fact about himself.

“My wife has two dogs, they’re little Shih Tzus,” he told reporters in Providence. “About eight pounds. I guess they’re my dogs, too. That’s the best I could come up with.”

So permit me to offer a fun fact or two. This time of year has become an annual reminder that Pecknold is one of the most effective coaches in U.S. college athletics today. Note the word athletics. Any sport.

Maybe he doesn’t have the high profile, Geno Auriemma’s big personality or Dan Hurley’s colorful quirks, but Pecknold has Quinnipiac, the defending national champs, on the trail of a repeat with a stirring start in an overtime win over Wisconsin on Friday. The Bobcats face a big hurdle in top-ranked Boston College with a trip to the Frozen Four on the line Sunday, but observers have certainly learned by now that Pecknold’s teams should never be written off, that big games, big brands and blue bloods don’t scare Quinnipiac, even if some announcers still struggle to pronounce it correctly.

THE BOBCATS LOVE OVERTIME GAME WINNERS!!!!!!! 😼

Victor Czerneckianair puts it away for Quinnipiac!!! #NCAAHockey x 🎥 ESPNews / @QU_MIH pic.twitter.com/oG7OytvGcn

— NCAA Ice Hockey (@NCAAIceHockey) March 30, 2024

“He’s the ultimate pro, on and off the ice,” Quinnipiac forward Sam Lipkin said. “He has a lot of pro habits. He comes to the rink with a great attitude every day and that definitely trickles down throughout the whole lineup. … How honest he is; he tells you how it is. From a coach, that’s all you ask for.”

Pecknold, 57, is a self-made coach. Played Division III hockey at Connecticut College and was only 27 when he took over at Quinnipiac, still a D-III program, in 1994. He taught history at Griswold and North Haven highs during the day, coached and recruited nights and weekends.

“It was a strength and a weakness to become a head coach at 27,” he said. “There are some great things about it, you learn by fire, and there are some bad things about it, I probably didn’t know enough when I came into it. I had to learn a little bit under fire, but I do a little bit of everything to try to stay on top of it.”

Each summer, Pecknold does a coaching exchange with NHL teams, though he took last summer off, he plans to resume after this college season is over. With his demeanor, one could easily envision…