Friars Skate to Tie, Loss with No. 4 Wildcats

The weekend began with excitement and it stayed that way throughout the two-game series between PC and UNH Wildcats. The No. 14 Providence College Men's Hockey team played last weekend's home-and- home match-up against Hockey East leader No. 4 New Hampshire. While the Wildcats took three of four points this weekend, the Friars played well, further proving they can play with the best.

On Friday, Feb. 15, a decent-sized crowd entered Schneider Arena. Though the place was not completely sold out, there was a good amount of energy in the building. The Friars responded, playing a tough, hard-fought game against one of the nation's best. The two teams battled for 60 minutes, but it was not enough. After three periods, regulation ended in a 1-1 tie. Five minutes of overtime couldn't decide it either; the game ended in a 1-1 deadlock.

Special teams were a factor early on in the contest. In the first period, UNH took advantage of a power play when Danny Dries scored off a rebound. Both sides had their opportunities in the first, but no more would be converted.

The Friars evened things up at 13:39 in the second. Sophomore John Cavanagh scored on assists from junior John Mori and freshman Ian O'Connor. This would end up being the final goal of the game.

In the extra frame, both sides again had their chances, but nothing got past either goalie.

The play of New Hampshire goalie Kevin Regan was certainly the story of the game. He stopped all but one of the Friars' 53 shots, en route to a career-high 52 saves. The Friars had some great chances and really opened up the play, but they could not get past Regan. His performance earned him Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week honors.

Friar senior goalie Tyler Sims played a good game as well. He stopped 28 of the Wildcats' 29 shots, including several on the breakaway.

On Saturday, Feb. 16, the Friars traveled to one of the most difficult places to play, New Hampshire's Whittemore Center. UNH started off strong, taking a 2-0 lead.

Joe Charlebois scored four minutes into the game. Matt Fornataro scored the Wildcats' second goal, this one on the power-play, 10 minutes later.

UNH carried this lead into the locker room after the first period. In the opening minutes of the second, however, the Friars cut the deficit in half. Junior Pierce Norton scored on a one-timer from classmate Cody Wild. He scored again later in the period, off a rebound of freshman Joe Lavin's shot, to even the score 2-2.

Two minutes later, the Wildcats fired back when Mike Sislo scored. They took their 3-2 lead into the third period.

Midway through the third, Providence freshman Jordan Kremyr scored his first collegiate goal to tie the game at 3-3. His classmate Kyle MacKinnon got the assist.

The game was even for much of the remainder of the period. However, in the late minutes of regulation, a five-minute major penalty gave the Wildcats a power- play. With just three minutes to play, Mike Rajda scored, giving them the 4-3 lead and ultimately the win.

Though the Friars took only one point last weekend, they played tough the whole way, proving they belong in the national rankings and the NCAA Tournament discussion.

They retained their No. 14 ranking and find themselves in fourth place in Hockey East. The Friars are one point behind Northeastern, though PC does hold the advantage in the season series.

The conference continues to be tight, with just six points separating teams two through seven.

Anything can happen. The Friars have a good chance to finish in the top four of the league, but can also fall to the bottom four as well.

The Friars just need to continue playing good hockey, as they did this weekend. A bounce here or there and they would have won some more points against the first place Wildcats.

Over the upcoming spring break, they will play two big home-and-home series. This weekend will be against cellar-dweller Merrimack. Though their position in the standings is low, the Warriors are usually a challenging team. The two tied earlier this season. The Friars will need to play their tough, up-tempo hockey to win on Friday, Feb. 22, and Saturday, Feb. 23.

The weekend after that is a crucial home-and-home against second place Boston College. The Friars beat the Eagles earlier this year, so winning one of two would be a tremendous advantage in the race for home ice. The home game in this series takes place Saturday, March 1, and would be worth coming back early from Spring Break to see.

The Friars control their destiny here. If they continue to play to their capability and win, they will get home ice in the Hockey East playoffs and a possible NCAA bid.