Quinnipiac played some of its best hockey down the home stretch of the ECAC’s regular season.
The story of Nick Jermain’s career as a Bobcat has followed a similar track. The Norwalk, Conn., native and former Brunswick School forward has played some of his own best hockey as a senior.
Rand Pecknold, the Bobcats’ 26th-year head coach from Bedford, N.H., wouldn’t have it any other way. Jermain has improved with each passing season on the ice and continues to serve as a valuable leader for his teammates in all aspects.
“Nick has been an excellent captain for us and we’re really happy with his leadership, but as a player he’s really blossomed offensively,” Pecknold said of Jermain, the 46th captain in Quinnipiac history and the first Bobcat from the Nutmeg State to wear the ‘C’ since Justin Nolan did so over his final two years at the Hamden school from 1996-98.
“He’s kind of shifted a little bit over his career. In his first three years, he was more of a depth player for us, but he’s kind of popped up and been a top-two line guy, power play and he’s killing penalties. He worked really hard at getting stronger and becoming a better athlete, so I think you’re seeing him get rewarded for that now.”
Indeed, Jermain’s numbers have taken a leap. And not by accident.
After scoring just 12 goals over his first three seasons, the 6-foot, 174-pound winger matched that with 12 goals this season alone (to go with nine assists, all in 34 games). Five of the nationally ranked team’s 21 game-winning goals came off his stick.
But his path to a successful senior year at Quinnipiac is a lesson for all young hockey players and his eight teammates who are experiencing the college level for the first time. The numbers don’t always tell the whole story. A growing confidence level has led to growing production and more success.
“Being here for four years now, I kind of know the ins and outs of conference play, my role on the team and what the coaches and my teammates expect of me,” Jermain said. “Going into last year, I was feeling really good and kind of expected to produce like I have been this year, but I think I might have been gripping the stick a little too tight. This year I got off to a good start and just built on that.”
Jermain knew he couldn’t hold back in preparing for this season and hopes there will be plenty of hockey played in March and April. The start of the season was a challenge as the Bobcats were just 6-7-2 overall and 2-3-1 in conference play, but they have lost just two ECAC games since and jumped right into the thick of all playoff conversations.
The No. 3 Bobcats play No. 7 Yale in the quarterfinals of the ECAC playoffs, starting Friday. (The ECAC playoffs are in a bit of uncertainty, however, with the cancellation Wednesday of the series between RPI and Harvard.)
This is his last chance to have an impact on a program that won at least 23 games in two of his first three years and made an NCAA tournament appearance last winter.
This is his last chance to help the Bobcats go further than they have each year since 2016, when they advanced to the NCAA Frozen Four before losing to North Dakota in the national title game. That year, the Bobcats’ roster included Jermain’s future teammates and defensemen Connor Clifton and Chase Priskie, who are playing professionally in the Boston Bruins and Carolina Hurricanes organizations, respectively.
Having the opportunity to make his own mark on a team that he watched while growing up less than an hour away was special.
“So many guys came into this program undrafted and have gone on to play professional hockey, and the way Rand develops you when you’re here is obviously a big part of that,” Jermain said. “He does take a lot of time personally to work with each kid and pushes you to be your best in all the right ways. Getting the details of my defensive game down was a big thing for me and that helped my offensive game come along.
“Initially, I never even thought I’d be on Quinnipiac’s radar. It’s been awesome to see (the program) grow like it has, and then to be a part of it has been very, very special.”
Jermain grew up playing youth hockey in the Mid Fairfield program before taking his game to prep school at Brunswick and then juniors with the EHL’s Connecticut Oilers and BCHL’s Merritt Centennials, so he’s a Connecticut kid through and through.
For his “hometown hero” status, Jermain was one of the stars of the show back in January when Quinnipiac took part in the first-ever Connecticut Ice Festival in Bridgeport, a Beanpot-like event that pitted the Bobcats against their Division 1 neighbors from Sacred Heart, UConn and Yale.
Although the Bobcats fell short of the unique championship, the tournament was a full-circle hockey experience for Jermain as the Webster Bank Arena stands were filled with kids whose dreams matched those of his past.
“I lived probably 20 minutes away so I would have been there, 100 percent, if that tournament was going on when I was a kid,” he said. “It was cool to see so many little guys running around, and hopefully some of them will be playing in it one day. For me, it was a great way to showcase Connecticut hockey in one centralized place because there are more and more great players coming out of the state and having success.”
Naturally, Jermain’s in-state background adds a little luster for local Quinnipiac fans and has an impact on the community. The coach remembers one instance several years back — an open skate with local youth when current Montreal Canadiens forward Matthew Peca was on campus — that put his team’s lasting impact into perspective.
“I’ll always remember, we had about 40 kids on the ice and almost all of them were wearing No. 20,” Pecknold said. “I was like, ‘Well, that’s odd. Why are they all wearing No. 20?’ I did the math and then I asked a couple kids and they were like, ‘Well, Matthew Peca wears No. 20.’
“That was an eye-opener for me as to how much of an impact our players have locally, so it’s even nicer to have a Connecticut kid like Nick as the leader. He’s been just great for us.”
@JoshuaKummins
