Quinnipiac men’s ice hockey is set for Sioux Falls, S.D., in the NCAA Regionals March 26-28.

After falling to Clarkson in the quarterfinals of the ECAC Tournament, the Bobcats dropped to No. 10 in the NPI ranking, with a 55.344 power index.

The Bobcats will take on the Providence Friars in the Regional Semifinals, with the chance to advance and play in the Regional Final against the winner of North Dakota and Merrimack.

Last season, the Bobcats entered the national tournament No. 12 in the PairWise rankings, as the No. 3 seed in the Allentown Regional in Allentown, P.A. Similarly, this season, the Bobcats enter the Sioux Falls Regional as the No. 3 seed, with North Dakota (No. 1) and Providence (No. 2) sitting ahead of them.

Let’s preview what awaits the Bobcats in South Dakota, with hopes of advancing to the Las Vegas Frozen Four.

REGIONAL SEMIFINALS FROM THE SCORESHEETS

The Bobcats and Friars have a short history against one another, facing off only five times. Against the Friars, the Bobcats post a 2-4-1 record, most recently falling to Providence 2-1 in an exhibition game Oct. 5. However, the last regular season game between both teams was back in 2014, with the Bobcats getting shut out 4-0.

Yet, that was 12 years ago. Two completely different developed programs from the last time facing off.

Looking at this year’s squads, both teams ended the regular season with strikingly similar records: the Bobcats going 26-9-3, while the Friars went 23-10-2.

Both teams have faced off against several similar opponents this season, including Alaska Fairbanks, Maine, Merrimack, Boston College and Boston University. While both teams defeated and lost to similar opponents, Alaska Fairbanks would go 1-1 against Providence, while the Bobcats went 0-2 against them.

Despite the outcomes on the scoresheet, diving deeper into both teams’ player stats, Quinnipiac clearly has the upper hand by a landslide.

Providence’s squad lacks tons of offensive depth, with its leading point scorer, sophomore forward John Mustard, finishing the regular season with 28 points. For comparison, Quinnipiac’s freshman forward Ethan Wyttenbach leads the Bobcats and the nation, finishing the regular season with 58 points.

A strikingly drastic difference, to say the least.

Additionally, four other Bobcats wrapped up the regular season with 30+ points, including freshmen forwards Antonin Verreault and Markus Vidicek, sophomore forward Chris Pelosi and junior forward Mason Marcellus.

Coming down to a key aspect of both teams, possessing two semi-consistent netminders.

On the Bobcats’ goaltending side, juniors Dylan Silverstein and Matej Marinov hold down the crease. Across the 2025-26 season, Silverstein appeared in 16 games for Quinnipiac, while Marinov held the upper hand with 23 games played.

Appearing in fewer games than his goaltending partner, Silverstein averages 1.93 goals per game, with a .916 save percentage. On the other hand, Marinov averages 2.32 goals per game, along with a .899 save percentage.

While it is unknown which goaltender will earn the spot in the regional semifinals, with the back-and-forth appearances of each netminder, Silverstein recently appeared in the Bobcats two ECAC Quarterfinal matchups, getting swept in the series.

For the Friars, freshman Jack Parsons and senior Philip Svedebäck are the squad’s most consistent goaltenders, appearing in 19 and 18 games, respectively.

Delving into the two netminders stats, Parsons posted a .923 save percentage, averaging 1.99 goals per game at the end of the regular season. For Svedebäck, the Växjö, Sweden native wrapped up his season with a .918 save percentage, while averaging 2.32 goals per game.

With both squads evenly splitting time throughout the season between their top two goaltenders, it will come down to the wire, which netminder will look to hold down the fort for their respective squad.

JUNIORS CONNECTIONS

Despite Hamden and Sioux Falls being separated by 1,442 miles, two Bobcats have a close connection to the city in South Dakota: Pelosi and Wyttenbach.

During their junior hockey days, Pelosi and Wyttenbach played for the Sioux Falls Stampede in the United States Hockey League.

Pelosi competed for two seasons with the Stampede, in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons. During his first season in Sioux Falls, the Sewell, N.J. native appeared in 43 games, recording 13 goals and six assists, after coming from the Janesville Jets in the North American Hockey League.

Pelosi would return for his second season in Sioux Falls, sporting an “A” on his jersey, going on to record 21 goals and 34 assists in 56 games played.

Wyttenbach would play a lone season in Sioux Falls, a year after Pelosi, appearing in 44 games, recording 24 goals and 27 assists.

For Quinnipiac’s No. 1 and No. 3 goal scorers, the Sioux Falls Regional marks a deju-vous moment for the tristate area natives, returning to their pre-collegiate hockey days.

With two similarly appearing squads from the outside, Quinnipiac will need to prove itself and its spot in the nation after a tough ECAC Tournament.

Puck drop is set for 5 p.m. EST from the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center March 26.