PC Hockey Clinches First Outright Regular Season Hockey East Title

PC Hockey Clinches First Outright Regular Season Hockey East Title

The Providence College hockey team beat the University of New Hampshire team Saturday night in Durham, NH, with an exciting 3-2 win over the Wildcats.  With the win, the Friars clinched the regular-season Hockey East crown for the first time since Hockey East was formed in 1983.

The first-place Friars have 51 points, and with one remaining Hockey East game, they can’t be tied or overtaken by the second-place Boston College Eagles, who stand at 39 points.  The Friars’ Hockey East record is 17-5-1, the most regular Hockey East wins by a PC sextet.  The win at UNH also gives the Friars nine straight road wins, also a new PC record.  Overall, PC is 22-9-2 and ranked #6 nationally.

The Friars had to battle a tenacious UNH team until the last second of Saturday’s game to clinch the Hockey East title.  The Friars lost a tough 1-0 game to the Wildcats on Friday night at Schneider Arena.  UNH scored the only goal midway through the second period on a wrist shot from the high slot by Brendan Fitzgerald through a maze of players that found the back of the net that goalie Jack Parsons had no chance to stop.

GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST

In the first two periods of the 1-0 loss, PC was uncharacteristically sluggish and not in synch.  UNH outskated the Friars and won most of the puck battles along the boards.  The Friars were not connecting on passes and fanning on shots.  In the third period, the Friars woke up, had several good scoring opportunities, but couldn’t beat UNH’s goaltender Kyle Chauvette.

It was a tough loss for the Friars to eat as they held UNH to only 10 shots on goal in the game, including no shots on goal in the third period.  I have never seen a Hockey East team held to no shots on goal for an entire period.

The Friars came out smoking in the first period of the Saturday tangle with the Wildcats, pouring 16 shots on goal but getting nothing to show for it. Once again, Chauvette, UNH’s netminder, was in a zone frustrating PC.  The Friars’ goalie for this game, freshman Michael Simpson, was equally effective, blanking the Wildcats. PC finally scored the first goal of the game at 16:15 of the second period on a short-handed goal by Julius Sumpf, but the Wildcats, on the same power play, evened the score at 1-1 thirteen seconds later.

PC built went ahead in the final period with another short-handed goal, this time by Will Elger at 6:57. They built some cushion on a blistering wrist shot from John Mustard three minutes later to go up 3-1.  It was sophomore Mustard’s team-leading 15^th goal of the season.  UNH didn’t give up as they scored an extra attacker goal with 1minute and 35 seconds to play.  PC’s goalie Simpson turned back all UNH’s desperate shots in the final 95 seconds of play.

PC’s final regular-season Hockey East game against the UConn Huskies at Schneider Arena is on Saturday, March 7^th, with a 4:00 puck drop.  It will be senior night, and PC’s only senior, Phil Svedeback, a native of Sweden, will be recognized by the PC hockey program.  Svedeback, a draft pick of the Boston Bruins, has tended net for 3 ½ seasons for the Friars but has been injured for the last several weeks.  It is somewhat sad and disappointing that he wasn’t in goal for the Friars as they clinched the Hockey East title.  

Let's hope Schneider is filled on March 7^th so that PC fans show their appreciation for Svedeback, who was in the net for 55 PC wins over the course of his 3 ½ seasons for the Friars.