Rand Pecknold, the men’s hockey coach at Quinnipiac University and a Bedford native, was named an assistant coach for the USA Hockey team ahead of the 2017 IIHF Men’s World Championship on Thursday.
Pecknold is making his coaching debut for Team USA after 23 years as head coach at Quinnipiac. He will be under the direction of Jeff Blashill, head coach of the Detroit Red Wings, when the international championship gets underway May 5 in Germany and France.
Pecknold played two years (1982-83) at Manchester West High School before going off to Lawrence Academy, where he graduated from in 1986 before attending Connecticut College. He’s led the Bobcats to NCAA Tournament appearances in four of the last five seasons and a title game appearance in 2013. Pecknold won the national Coach of the Year award in 2016.
Team USA will open the tournament May 5 against Germany in Cologne, Germany, at 2:15 p.m.