“He spent a month away from his own team but built such a structure that they kept progressing toward a national championship and eventually made it happen.

“It’s an honor and a privilege, and I know it meant a lot to him to get a chance to represent his country as a coach,” Kelleher said. He’s had to work for everything he’s achieved.” The number of wins he has is incredibly impressive when you look at the way he worked his way up the Division I landscape. “He’s had such an exciting run, and it’s really gratifying to see him rewarded with a national championship and then to see recognition like this. “I think he’s extremely deserving of an award like this,” Fraser said. Pecknold turned Quinnipiac from a Division III and Division II hockey program -initially working out of a janitor’s closet and sharing a phone with other coaches - to the top team in NCAA Division I hockey. Pecknold has coached at Quinnipiac since 1994 and has won 615 games, first among active NCAA Division I coaches and ninth all-time.

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