Pecknold Honored as Elm City Legend

Quinnipiac head coach Rand Pecknold (right) and ESPN's Mike Golic were honored at the Inaugural Elm City Legends event to benefit March of Dimes.

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Quinnipiac University men’s ice hockey head coach Rand Pecknold was honored on Monday, Nov. 3 as one of seven coaches and media personalities to form the inaugural class at the Elm City Legends ceremony. Elm City Legends was hosted at the Omni Hotel in downtown New Haven by the March of Dimes, which raised more than $50,000 to assist families and fund research for the prevention of premature births and birth defects.

Award winners were selected based on their outstanding service to the Greater New Haven community and commitment to acting as a positive role model for student-athletes, in addition to their success in the sports field.

The event also honored former Daniel Hand High School football head coach and current Yale assistant coach Larry Ciotti, legendary New Haven radio personality “The Coach” George DeMaio, former University of Notre Dame football captain and co-host of ESPN’s “Mike & Mike in the Morning” Mike Golic, Olympian and Southern Connecticut State University gymnastics head coach Abie Grossfeld, Hill House High School track coach Gary Moore and longtime Notre Dame High School of West Haven coach and athletic director Joe Tonelli.

“This is a great honor for me,” Pecknold said. “To be included on a list with the other individuals honored here tonight is very special. I’ve been fortunate to have the support of Quinnipiac University, to have a great staff and some great players. I thank the committee for this honor.”

Pecknold began his 15th year behind the bench for the Bobcats. The all-time winningest coach in Quinnipiac men’s ice hockey history, Pecknold carries a 265-167-47 (.602) mark all-time including a 216-125-39 (.621) record at the Division I level. Last season, Quinnipiac posted a 20-15-4 mark for their 12th consecutive winning season and their ninth 20-win season in the past 10 years. Since joining the Division I ranks, Pecknold has guided the Bobcats to the fifth best win total (265) and sixth best win percentage (.604) among all Division I men’s ice hockey schools in the country.

Last season also brought another milestone to the Quinnipiac program as the Bobcats reached their highest ranking all-time in a national poll. On January 21, 2008, Quinnipiac was ranked 10th in the InsideCollegeHockey.com poll.

Former men’s ice hockey All-American Reid Cashman (’07) was featured in the event program with a recollection of his former coach:

“On November 19, 2005 my relations with Coach Pecknold changed forever. That day he became much more than just a coach to me. We played a game versus Bentley that night. The day before, one of my best friends suddenly lost a battle to cancer and passed away. It was something I was not ready to cope with. I did not tell anyone before the game. After the game I dreaded getting on the bus because I was in tears and really a mess. As I stepped on the bus, Coach clearly could see something was wrong and asked me to sit with him. He asked what was going on and I proceeded to cry there next to him for the next 20 minutes or so without being able to get a word out. I remember him comforting me, telling me to take my time and talk when I was ready.

We spent the rest of that trip talking about what I was feeling and going through. He talked about personal experiences of his own and talked about twists of fate that life throws at you, and how to handle them. For that short bus trip Coach was just a friend and confidant, and out relationship has grown ever since. I could tell a number of stories about Coach getting on the ice early to work on individual skills, or advice he’s given in the locker room to make his players better...but that wouldn’t do him justice in regard to the impact he has made on his players. His door is always open no matter what your status is on the team. His hockey record speaks for itself but I will always be thankful for that Friday night when he took care of me and the relationship we have built ever since.”