Men’s and Women’s Hockey Ready for Second Half of Play

by npatano on February 7, 2022


Friar Sports


Friar Hockey Looks to End Season on High Note

Luke Sweeney ’24

Sports Staff

The Providence College Men and Women’s Hockey Teams have been fighting through the cold winter months as they both sit at the 17th rank in the nation in their respective seasons. 

All of Hockey East would enjoy a few weeks off before the grind of the rest of the season came back underway. For the Friars, after the Christmas holiday, they would head out to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to play in the Kwik Trip Holiday Faceoff. 

In their first game, the Friars played Bowling Green State University, and coach Nate Leaman’s team picked up where they left off before the break. They would defeat Bowling Green 6-2 behind Jamie Engelbert’s ’23 natural hat trick and Patrick Moynihan’s ’23 four-point night.  

The following night, the Friars battled against Wisconsin University in a tight contest. The game officially ended in a 2-2 tie, but the Badgers claimed the Holiday Faceoff title with a 2-1 win in the shootout.

Jaxson Stauber ’23 made 37 saves in the contest.

The Men’s team has their work cut out for them heading into the final stretch of the season, going 2-2 in the month of January so far. The boys finished up last week with two wins against the Boston College Eagles.

Great goaltending and goal scoring alike contributed to the past two wins over BC, as their first matchup on Jan. 21st ended in a 7-0 blowout with the Friars dominating all corners of the ice. Nick Poisson ’23 racked up two goals and an assist after four shots on goal during the game. Although coming off a few tough losses from the 19th ranked Merrimack College, the Friars were able to overcome their issues and collect themselves for a positive win and tie against Boston College the next week.

The Friars will be on the road this weekend with games at #9 University of Massachusetts Amherst on Friday and Boston University on Sunday.  

In recent news for the Providence College Women’s Hockey Team, the girls suffered two hard-fought losses to the powerful 12th ranked University of Vermont this past week. 

On New Year’s Eve, the Catamounts and Friars faced off at Schneider Arena where the Friars picked up a 3-1 victory. Sara Hjalmarsson ’22 scored a pair in the second period and Lily Martinson ’25 netted her first collegiate goal to secure the win for the Friars.  

Although it has been a tough season for the women Friars this year, they have earned big wins scattered throughout the season that has allowed them to remain in the top 20 teams in the country, including wins against Boston College, University of New Hampshire, and University of Vermont.

Additionally, the girl’s season has been riddled with cancellations and postponements due to the recent outbreak of the new COVID-19 strain. Four of their seven games over the winter break were postponed due to COVID-19. All said and done, the Friars have played extremely well given the hard conditions of playing in a COVID-19 season.

This week, the girls played Boston College on Tuesday in Chestnut Hill. After taking an early 1-0 lead heading into the second period thanks to Hayley Lunny ’22GS, the Friars were not able to hold on and after three third period goals from the Golden Eagles, the team fell to 8-10-5 on the season. 

Their season continues this coming weekend with two home games at Schneider Arena against the University of Maine for a Hockey East battle. 

 

Sports Shorts

by The Cowl Editor on November 18, 2021


Sports


By Justin Bishop ’24

Sports Staff

Men’s Basketball

The Men’s Basketball team kicked off their season on Tuesday, Nov. 9 when they matched up against Fairfield University. The Friars played at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center and in front of fans for the first time since the 2019-2020 season. The team was greeted with a warm welcome by the fans who were ecstatic to watch their team play in person. Providence did not disappoint the energetic crowd, posting an 80–73 win in the season opener. Nate Watson ’21 cashed in 22 points and Noah Horchler ’22GS put up 10 points along with 11 rebounds.

Men’s Hockey

The Men’s Hockey team had back-to-back wins on back-to-back nights. The team faced off against American International College and the University of Connecticut. Providence beat A.I.C. 2–1 in overtime where Cam McDonald ’23 sniped the top corner of the net to win the game. McDonald was responsible for both goals the team scored, and Jaxson Stauber ’23 stopped 19 of 20 shots he faced. The following day, PC took on Hockey East rival UConn, and they put up six goals in a 6–4 physical, high-scoring game. Nick Poisson ’24 had four assists and helped Providence improve to 8-5-0 on the year.

Women’s Hockey

The Women’s Hockey team faced Boston College for a home-and-home series that the teams split. Friday, Nov. 12 the team upset No. 7 BC 2 – 1 in Schneider Arena where Hunter Barnett ’22 scored two goals in the victory. Goalie Mireille Kingsley ’24 stood on her head and stopped all but one of the 43 shots she faced. The team then traveled to Chapel Hill in Boston to try and sweep the weekend, but came up short and lost 2–1 in overtime. The Eagles’ freshman Abby Newhook scored both of BC’s goals. The Friars currently sit at 4-4-3 (3-3-1) in a very tough Hockey East Conference.

Men’s Soccer

The Men’s Soccer team was defeated in the Big East Championship game by No. 7 Georgetown University 2–1 on Sunday, Nov. 14. The Friars tied the game late thanks to a goal from Brendan McSorely ’24, but it was not enough to steal the win. Georgetown’s Stephan Stojanovic ’23’s second goal of the game at 95’ gave the Hoyas the victory. The Friars were ranked No. 18 in the country as of Sunday, Nov. 14 and will face Marist University in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Nov. 18.

Men’s Hockey Update

by The Cowl Editor on November 4, 2021


Friar Sports


No. 8 Ranked Friars Staying in the Moment

The Providence College Men’s Hockey Team began their 2021-22 campaign on an upswing, defeating Army West Point 7-0 in their season opener. Since this victory, they haven’t turned back.

The Providence Friars have an overall record of 5-2 with a conference record of 2-0. Their impressive record has rewarded them with being ranked No. 8 overall in the country.

There have been many positives in the short season, most recently when the Providence Friars took on the No. 8-ranked Denver Pioneers.

The matchup against Denver has been the highlight of PC’s young season. The Friars defeated Denver 6-5 in a late night thriller. In the first period, goalie Jaxson Stauber ’23 was the star of the show. He stopped all 19 shots he faced, including several shots that came during a two-minute, five-on-three power play for the Pioneers. Stauber ended his night with an impressive 39 saves.

The Denver Pioneers scored early and often in the second period. Justin Lee and Cole Guttman gave the Pioneers a quick and early 2-0 lead. The lone highlight from the second period came when Max Crozier ’23 appeared in his first game of the 2021-22 season and scored. Unfortunately for the Friars, Denver scored two more goals in the second period, making it a 4-1 game.

The third period of the game is when things really got exciting. In the first five minutes of the third period, Providence exploded with three goals, including two from Nick Poisson ’24 and one from Jamie Engelbert ’23, who recorded his first goal of the season. Poisson and Engelbert made it a 4-4 game not long into the third period. It had turned into a shootout. Not long after, Denver’s Carter Savoie made it a 5-4 game on a Pioneers power play. Luckily for the Friars, Poisson responded with his own power play goal, tying the game at 5-5.

Nick Poisson
Photo Courtesy of PC Athletics

Brett Berard ’24 scored the game-winning goal with only 1:01 left on the clock. Berard’s sixth goal in six games capped off an amazing PC comeback victory.

Poisson was named the Hockey East Player of the Week on Oct. 25. A native of Vancouver, B.C., Poisson is one of the main reasons Providence was able to make a comeback against Denver. His third period rally against the No. 8-ranked opponent on Friday, Oct. 22 was by far his most impressive game of the season; Poisson had a hat trick and an assist. Poisson leads the Friars in scoring with 10 points, which ranks him second among all Hockey East players.

Another Friars honor was given to Men’s Hockey head coach Nate Leaman and Friar Director of Hockey Operations Theresa Feaster, who were both selected to be a part of the 2022 U.S. National Junior Team. Coach Leaman will return as the head coach of the team while Feaster returns as a video coach. The U.S. National Junior Team will take part in the 2022 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship on Dec. 26 to Jan. 5. Team USA looks to collect their sixth medal in seven years.

Looking back at the Men’s Hockey Team, the Friars currently sit in second place in the Hockey East Standings, only behind the University of Connecticut. The Friars look to move up in the standings this upcoming week as they have three matchups against the University of New Hampshire, followed by matchups against University of Massachusetts Amherst and the University of Connecticut.

Boston University and the University of Connecticut look to be Providence College’s toughest opponents early in the season. UConn is currently 2-1 and Boston University is right behind PC with a record of 2-2.

PC takes on UConn on Saturday, Nov. 13 at Schneider Arena. In order to keep the Huskies at bay, PC will have to keep senior forward Jachym Kondelik under control. Kondelik leads the Huskies with six points. He has two goals and four assists on the season. Another player to keep an eye on is UConn’s rising talent, sophomore forward Ryan Tverberg. The Ontario native sits right behind Kondelik with five points, including three goals and two assists.

Brett Berard
Photo Courtesy of PC Athletics

The Huskies should not be too much of a challenge for the Friars. When looking at the statistics, one can gather that PC has the advantage. On average, the Friars are scoring four goals per game while the Huskies are only scoring three. The Friars are also well adapting to capitalize during power plays. When given the opportunity to use a power play, the Friars are 10-29 in goal opportunities, while limiting opponents to only three goals in 25 opportunities.

For PC to defeat the University of Connecticut and all other tough opponents, they will have to stick to their game plan and continue to do what they do well. They will most definitely have to continue to capitalize during power plays. Goalie Jaxson Stauber has been performing extremely well all season. The Friars can look to Stauber and a well-rounded defense to limit opposing goals. If the defense does their job, Providence’s top scorers Bernard, Poisson, and Parker Ford ’23 will do their best to give the Friars the advantage.

Make sure to keep up with the PC Men’s Hockey Team; do not miss the great season that awaits!