PC Hockey to Face Quinnipiac in the NCAAs in Sioux Falls, SD

PC Hockey to Face Quinnipiac in the NCAAs in Sioux Falls, SD

The Providence College Hockey Friars will face the Quinnipiac Bobcats in Sioux Falls, SD, on Thursday night in the opening round of the 2026 NCAA hockey championship.  Sixteen teams will compete in the NCAA tournament.  The NCAA selections were announced on Sunday afternoon on ESPN+.

PC is one of three Hockey East (HE) teams selected, along with Connecticut and upstart Merrimack, which just won the Hockey East tournament.  The Big 10 and the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) each have four teams in the tournament.

The final seeding of the 16 tournament teams wasn’t determined until the completion of Saturday night’s games.  Here are the regional sites, regional seedings, and matchups:

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Sioux Falls, SD Regional—First Round-Thursday; Finals-Saturday

#1 North Dakota vs #4 Merrimack                                

#2 Providence College vs #3 Quinnipiac

Worcester, MA Regional—First Round-Thursday; Finals-Saturday

#1 Michigan State vs #4 Connecticut

#2 Dartmouth vs #3 Wisconsin

Albany, NY Regional—First Round-Friday; Finals-Sunday

#1 Michigan vs #4 Bentley

#2 Minnesota Duluth vs #3 Penn State

Loveland, CO—First Round-Friday; Finals-Sunday

#1 Western Michigan vs Minnesota State

#2 Denver vs #3 Cornell

The placement of the top eastern hockey schools outside of the Worcester and Albany regions was baffling to the fans at the PC Watch Party at McPhail’s Pub on Sunday afternoon.  PC Coach Leaman, in remarks after the selection, was also puzzled why the NCAA seemed to be writing off the eastern schools in the placement process. He felt that PC belonged in the Albany or Worcester regionals.

“I guess the NCAA feels that North Dakota will fill the Sioux Falls arena both nights.  They don’t seem to care about attendance from the eastern schools.”

Asked if the lack of PC fan support in Sioux Falls will affect the team, Leaman added, “Look, we’re a great road team, one of the best in the country.”  For you PC road warrior fans, it’s only a 1,542-mile trip by car. And if you are young and can drive straight through, it’s 23 ½ hours.  Or you can fly out to Joe Foss Airport in Sioux Falls for only $990 round trip.  The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ at 5 PM Providence time.

PC’s matchup against Quinnipiac should be a good one for the Friars. Stat-wise, however, the Bobcats appear to have the edge in a number of categories:  Goals/game-4.13 to 3.37, power play success-22.2% to 20.6%, and penalty kill-85.1% to 81.3%.  And the Bobcats have a slightly better record: 26-9-3 to PC’s 23-10-2.  The Bobcats’ leading scorer is Ethan Wyttenbach with 24 goals and 58 points. PC is led by John Mustard with 16 goals and 28 points.

The difference in these statistical categories, however, can be accounted for by the difference in leagues.  PC plays in a much tougher league, top to bottom, Hockey East.  While the Bobcats play in the ECAC, which this year featured five teams with overall losing records.  The Bobcats beat Brown 9-0 and Yale 8-0, for example, on consecutive nights this season.

Neither the Friars nor the Bobcats have played in over a week because of early tournament losses.  So, both teams are going to be a little rusty in the first period of Thursday’s game. PC has the edge in goal tending.  The Bobcats have given up 2.32 goals per game, while PC’s starting goalie for this game, Jack Parsons, has given up only 2.0 goals per game since taking over for the injured Phil Svedeback in January. PC will be able to win this game if they can win the special teams play.

It would be sweet revenge for the PC team, in view of the NCAA selection committee, if we get a PC-Merrimack regional final matchup.

Additional Slap Shots

--PC lost in the first round of last year’s NCAA tournament to Denver, 5-1.

--Dartmouth is in the NCAA tournament for the first time in 46 years.

--This is the first time since 2022 that both Boston College and Boston University have failed to make the NCAA tournament.

--Coach Nate Leaman was just named Hockey East Coach of the Year.

--The defending NCAA champion is Western Michigan, which features a PC transfer from two years ago, Liam Valente.  Now a senior forward for the Broncos, Valente is second on the team in goals with 20.