by The Cowl Editor on April 19, 2018

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Sports

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By Jeremy Perrigo ’18

Sports Staff

The first round of the National Hockey League playoffs is underway, and as opponents have begun to compete in eight different best-of-seven series, it is starting to become clear as to which teams are be poised for a long postseason run.

Favorites heading into the first round of action ranged from the Winnipeg Jets and Nashville Predators in the Western Conference, to the Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning in the East. Each of these teams has lived up to expectations early on in the first round, as all four teams are leading their respective match-ups through three games.

However, one of these teams stands out among the rest.

No other team has managed to put forth an on-ice performance equal to that of the Boston Bruins. The Bruins won Games 1 and 2 of their series against the Toronto Maple Leafs by scores of 5-1 and 7-3 respectively.

In Game 2, 21-year-old Boston winger David Pastrnak recorded a point in six of his team’s seven goals, capping off the night with a hat trick and three assists.

Also in Game 2, Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask made huge saves to keep the Maple Leafs from mounting a comeback, stopping 30 of 33 shots en route to victory.

While Rask’s save percentage of .917 and goals against average of 2.36 appear to be, well, average over three games, the quality of the big saves he does make at key times in games is a large part of the reason why Boston finds themselves up 2-1 in the series heading into Game 5 Thursday.

Toronto is notoriously a high-powered offensive team lead by generational talent Auston Matthews. It speaks volumes that it took Matthews until Game 3 to record his first point; a goal that ended up becoming a game-winner in the Maple Leafs’ 4-2 victory Monday night.

While the Bruins took a step back in their third meeting with the Leafs, it is important to notice that the other Stanley Cup favorites that rival Boston have struggled as well.

After winning Games 1 and 2 of their series, Winnipeg traveled to Minnesota only to drop Game 3 by a score of 6-2. The Jets had only allowed three goals to the Wild in their first two games.

Nashville defeated the Colorado Avalanche 5-2 and 5-4 at home before traveling to the Mile High City to lose 5-3 to an Avalanche team that only managed to qualify for the playoffs in their final game of the regular season.

After it looked as though Tampa Bay would cruise to an easy series win over the New Jersey Devils, taking the first two games of the series by scores of 5-2 and 5-3, the Eastern Conference Champions, the Lightning traveled to Newark only to surrender four third period goals en route to a 5-2 Devils win.

Boston arguably has the hardest match-up of any of the powerhouse teams mentioned above, yet they have managed to score in big numbers, while maintaining reliable goaltending at the other end of the ice.

If the Bruins are able to sustain a steady scoring pace, and at the same time remain sound on the back end, then they should be a shoe-in to win the Stanley Cup regardless of their opponent.

by The Cowl Editor on April 12, 2018

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Sports

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By Sullivan Burgess ’20

Sports Staff

While the NBA’s Western Conference used to be dominated  by teams such as the Lakers, Spurs, and Warriors, this season has shown that any of the eight teams from the est have an equal chance to win the NBA Finals. However, this year’s champions of the 2018 NBA Finals should be the Portland Trail Blazers.

Currently sitting third in the western conference with one game left, behind the Rockets and the Warriors, Portland looks to be the underdog in a conference full of All-Stars. While the Rockets have the best record in the NBA, stars Chris Paul and James Harden do not have the track record to finish a series in their favor, and will most likely lose in the Western Conference Finals in six games.

The Warriors will most likely not be able to get far into the playoffs, despite Kevin Durant playing outstanding basketball this season.  They have no option in the guard area as Stephen Curry is still battling his MCL injury.

Point guard Damian Lillard and the rest of his team have the mindset to take over this year’s playoffs and prove they are championship team this season. Lillard has shaped himself into one of the best point guards in the NBA, averaging 26.8 points per game, 6.5 assists per game, and 4.5 rebounds, proving himself to be a top candidate for this year’s league MVP.

Lillard, in past experience, has had the ability to take over games in crunch time, and show up to be the closer to any opponent that stands in his way. Alongside Lillard is shooting guard CJ McCollum, who is averaging 21.4 points per game, elavating this duo to one of the best backcourt tandems in the NBA.

McCollum has the strength to throw off his defenders, making him one of the hardest players to guard, and the power to consistently make shots.

On the defensive end, Jusuf Nurkic stands out as one of the top 10 centers of the Western Conference as he averages nine rebounds per game. The bench has also come together to play good overall basketball as they prove to be reliable scoring options and defensive efforts to stop any team.

The Trail Blazers have shown throughout the season their ability to turn heads to prove them as the front runners of the west. The Portland Trail Blazers will go onto win the championship and bring the franchise’s second title in history.

by The Cowl Editor on April 12, 2018

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Sports

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By Ethan Ticehurst ’18

Sports Staff

This is the year that “the process” is finally going to pay off.

With the third seed in the East nearly locked up, it is easy to see that the 76ers have definitely had a successful regular season. Their season has become all the more impressive when looking at the standings from last season, when Philadelphia finished second to last in the Eastern Conference. Improving from their 28-54 season last year, to winning more than 50 games this year for the first time in nearly 20 years should be enough to convince anyone that the rebuild seems to be complete in Philly.

The path to the NBA Finals for the 76ers is far from daunting. The Raptors and the Celtics, the top two teams in the conference, have had pretty good regular seasons but will not present much of a challenge. The Raptors have had a tough time in the playoffs in recent years, losing some series that they probably should have won. The Celtics, who have had a good season and looked strong for most the year, have been riddled with injuries in the last month of the season and are now without their star player, Kyrie Irving.

The only real challenge that seems to remain in the East is the Cavaliers, who simply continue to remain a threat thanks to LeBron James. However, the 76ers have managed to split the season series with the Cavaliers, showing that they are evenly matched. If they can match up with LeBron well, they can manage to win. This is all assuming that the Cavaliers do not get knocked out in an earlier round.

Once the finals come around, the 76ers would have to face their toughest challenge yet. Whichever team comes out of the West, they will be challenging and fresh off winning what is shaping up to be a dogfight in the earlier rounds.   The assumption is that the West’s representative in the finals will most likely be the Houston Rockets, given their strong regular season, the assumed MVP James Harden, and the injury problems that currently face the Golden State Warriors. A matchup between the 76ers and the Rockets would be very entertaining finals, as they split the season series in two very close games. Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid, and the Phildelphia 76ers will be hoisting the Larry O’Brien trophy in the end.

by The Cowl Editor on March 15, 2018

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Sports

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by Max Anderson ’18

Sports Staff

Saying this college basketball season has been unpredictable and chaotic would be an understatement; the University of Virginia Cavaliers, a team that was not even ranked going into the season, is the number one overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, while five teams that were ranked in the Preseason AP Top 25 poll did not make the tournament all together. Therefore, it should not be surprising that I am choosing a four seed (not one, not two, not three) to win the NCAA Tournament. That team is the University of Arizona Wildcats, a team that I feel has underperformed at times, but also looked dominant at others.

In my opinion (and I feel this opinion is widely shared), Arizona is criminally underrated as a four seed; they have veteran leadership in guards Allonzo Trier and Rawle Alkins, one of the top head coaches in the country in Sean Miller, and arguably the number one overall pick (and player of the year candidate) in center Deandre Ayton. Arizona can perhaps chalk up their low seed to a disappointing start to the season, which saw the Wildcats lose three straight at the “Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament” and start off with a 3-3 record.

However, perhaps more influential on the Wildcats seeding is the recent scandal regarding Miller. Miller has been accused of offering to pay Ayton $100,000 to attend Arizona. This information is supposedly on wiretaps that the FBI has yet to release.

The scandal has hovered over Arizona for the past month like a dark cloud and resulted in Miller vehemently denying all accusations. With this scandal out of the picture for now, I believe this team is determined to stick it to the NCAA by winning it all.

At the end of the day, I think there are very few teams, if any, that can match Arizona’s talent on the court. Combine that with Miller’s coaching, as well as the fuel of a recent NCAA scandal, and I believe you will not get the Arizona team that dropped three straight games in Atlantis, but rather the Arizona team that went 24-4 in their final 28 games and dominated the Pac-12 Tournament. That team is good enough to beat anybody else in the country and will prove that when they are crowned NCAA Champions.

by The Cowl Editor on March 15, 2018

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Sports

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by Chris McCormack ’18

Sports Staff

The Conference Tournaments have officially ended, which means it is now time for the greatest sporting event of the year. NCAA March Madness holds a special place in my heart, especially when our own school is competing.

The field has a lot of strong teams as well as many teams that can make a few surprises. The top four seeds are the University of Virginia from the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Big East’s Villanova University and Xavier University and the University of Kansas out of the Big 12. All hold the capability of making a run but also will face tough competition with the two and three seeds.

However, the team with the best chance to win is the number one overall Virginia Cavaliers. They are coming into the tournament with only two losses and only one coming in arguably the best conference in the nation. They have gone 5-0 against the two seeds from the ACC, Duke and the University of North Carolina. Both teams also have solid title chances but the fact that the Virginia Cavaliers have been able to handle the strength of these teams with ease is the number one reason I think they are going to make a run at it all.

That said, however, no run at the championship ever comes easy and this is no exception. In their bracket they have a tough Cincinnati team at the two seed that they could possibly meet in the Elite Eight. Before that, they may have to play either University of Arizona or University of Kentucky.

Arizona has the best player in the NCAA with DeAndre Ayton who is projected to be the number one pick in the NBA draft. Kentucky is always a dangerous team in the tournament and riding a hot streak from the end of the regular season that ultimately ended with them winning the SEC Tournament.

Both teams could provide trouble for the Cavaliers but I think they will ultimately prevail as they are the best defensive team in the country. They have a way of controlling the pace of play in all their games that has caused teams issues all season. Another team that could be a surprise Cinderella story in Virginia’s bracket are the University of Nevada Wolf Pack.

The Wolf Pack come from the Mountain West Conference and have been in and out of the top 25 all season. They are the seventh seed in this bracket, but many experts think they deserve higher than that. It would be a very tough road for them as they would likely play Cincinnati in their second game, but if they are able to pull off the upset and meet Virginia in the Elite Eight then anything could happen.       

However, as I said before any team that is going to win this tournament is going to have a tough go and for that reason I think Virginia is the most fit to do so. They have great experience and as people have said for decades, defense wins championships.

by The Cowl Editor on February 15, 2018

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Men’s Lacrosse will Finish with the Best Record

by Max Anderson ’18

I believe this is the breakout year for the Providence College Men’s Lacrosse Team, which leads me to believe the team will finish as the spring sport squad with the best record.

As a senior, I have watched the lacrosse team progress every year. The 2015 season  saw the team have a final overall record of 5-9, with a 1-4 tally in Big East play. The team improved in 2016, finishing with a final record of 7-9 and again finishing with a record of 1-4 in conference play.

It was last year’s fini

sh, however, that has me confident in the lacrosse team this year; the team improved by three wins to finish with a final record of 10-7, including a 3-2 mark in Big East play, making it the first time that the team finished with a winning record since the 2005-06 season. Perhaps most impressive, however, is the fact that the team was able to advance to the Big East Championship game, where they lost by just one point to Marquette in a 10-9 nail biter.

 

While the 2006-07 team regressed after the superb 2005-06 season, I do not see that being the case with this year’s team. The team lost just 10 players to graduation last year, meaning a large portion of those who finished with a winning record for the first time in over a decade will be back. Among those returning are Brendan Kearns ‘19 and Nick Hatzipetrakos ‘19, the Friars two leading scorers from last year, who both finished the season with over 40 points. Along with Kearns and Hatzipetrakos, the Friars are returning nine of their ten leading point scorers from last season, meaning there will be no shortage of offensive power for the Friars this year. Along with the superb offense, the Friars also bring back goalie Tate Boyce ’19, who started all 17 games for the Friars last season and finished with over 1,000 minutes logged for the year. Boyce finished the season with final tallies of 178 saves to go along with a 56.9 percent save percentage.

With so many returning faces, I can easily see the Friars topping their 10-win mark from last year and picture them being the most successful team on campus this spring.

by The Cowl Editor on February 15, 2018

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Softball Will Finish With Best Record

by Ethan Ticehurst ’18

  The Providence College Softball Team is on track to have the best record out of all the spring sports this season. They are on the rise after an average 2017 season. They have steadily improved over the past few years, with a two game improvement in 2017 in their win total from the 2016 season. Building a strong team has taken time, but this team has done the work to be as strong as they can be.

  The work that they have done from previous seasons, coupled with the added familiarity that they now have with their relatively new field, is expected to bring them even more wins this year.

   The Friars kicked off the season last week down in Florida, where they proved through their win against the University of North Carolina that they are on track to having a successful season. Though they currently sit at a record of 1-4, they have already shown some flashes of good things to come while playing some pretty difficult teams. When the Friars kicked off their Big East season, the games will be more evenly matched between PC and their opponents. The first home game takes place on March 17 at 12 p.m.

   The team will have the advantage of a strong senior class this year, consisting of Paige Mulry ’18, Julianne Rurka ’18, Christina Ramirez ’18, and Brittney Veler ’18. All four of these players were a big part of last year’s squad, and played  a majority of games for the Friars. It is likely that the team will look to these seniors for their experience and their leadership as they go further into the season. In a sport where it is common to play over 40 games in a season, it comes down to having the endurance and energy to keep on going, qualities that these seniors have shown that they have.

   This year should be a good year for Friars softball as they play against a rather evenly matched Big East conference. Friar fans can look forward to an exciting season for the softball team as they look to improve upon last season.

by The Cowl Editor on February 8, 2018

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Sports

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by Jeremy Perrigo ’18

Sports Staff

Providence College has a host of intramural sports for students to play all year-long, no matter the season. Those sports include ping-pong, five-on-five basketball, water polo, and ultimate frisbee to name a few. However, one intramural sport stands out among the rest: intramural hockey.

 If you have been looking for a place to show up your buddies with some sweet dangles, look no further.

Maybe you dabbled in junior hockey, or simply got by as an Average Joe on your high school team. It could be that you just decided to strap on a pair of skates last week thinking to yourself “Hockey looks easy, let me give it a shot.” Sign up, there is a place for you.

Over the span of four to five games, PC’s finest are given the opportunity to blur the line between the glory days and men’s league as they compete against fellow classmates (both male and female) for the chance to win a coveted intramural T-shirt.

Whistles are blown infrequently, giving players the ability to expand their creativity, or simply realize that they should probably go to the gym one or two more times a week to work on cardio.

Goaltenders, be ready to face a barrage of shots, as offense is prioritized over defense. This means lots of two-on-ones, three-on-ones, and straight up breakaways.

There are few feelings as satisfying as gliding over a freshly resurfaced sheet of ice in Schneider Arena. As you float seamlessly over the reflective surface, you begin to imagine thousands of fans roaring your name from the stands as you cut through opposing players from one end to the other, all while doing your best impression of Bobby Orr.

Playing intramural hockey at PC means getting a glimpse into the exhilarating life of a perennial NCAA Championship men’s hockey team which won it all back in 2015.

You may not have what it takes to dangle, snipe, and celly with the best of them. You might not even be one of the top three fastest players on your team. But those 40 minutes of running clock tick by ever so slowly when you find yourself alone on a breakaway with a goaltender you know has been giving you an earful all night long. You are living in the moment.

In short, it is a great idea to be a well-rounded athlete that finds enjoyment in a variety of different sports and athletic activities. Just do not pass on the opportunity to lace up a pair of skates with a few of your closest puck junkies. Be sure to participate in PC’s intramural hockey league.

by The Cowl Editor on February 8, 2018

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by Sam Scanlon ’19

Sports Staff

Is there anything better than hitting a softball over the fence on Glay Field and off of the 5th floor of Suites? Intramural athletes long for the days when they were athletically relevant, so participating in the intramural softball league and reliving the glory days is just about the closest thing to it at this point. Softball stands alone as the best intramural sport due to the competitiveness surrounding it, as well as the pure excitement of playing softball on a state of the art field. It does not get much better than that for your typical washed up high school athlete.

Providence College has one of the nation’s most highly participated in intramural sports program, and that is mostly due to the large number of players that intramural softball attracts. With upwards of 30 teams participating in the league, softball can become extremely competitive as most of the student body competes to fight for the coveted intramural champion T-shirt for softball.

The high volume of students playing softball is a huge reason why it is the best intramural sport. The winners of this sport are truly some of the best players that the student body has to offer, so the satisfaction of winning the Championship makes it great. Everyone gives it their all on the softball field, usually resulting in extremely high scoring but close games. You will see a lot of jumping, yelling, screaming, smiling, and laughing on the softball field as emotions run high. You will really feel as if you are in a meaningful game and for us intramural hardos, there is nothing better than that.

Additionally, the participants are not only those who excelled in high school and gave up their dream upon coming to PC; since it is a spring sport that falls close to the end of the school year, the winter sports have ended and some varsity athletes create a team and join the league as well. If you are lucky, you have a chance to go up against some hockey and basketball players to prove that your team is in fact the best team at PC.

Baseball and softball are America’s pastimes, so coming together with your friends and hitting balls over the fence on your way to claiming PC’s most difficult T-shirt is what makes intramural softball far and away the best intramural sport to play.

by The Cowl Editor on February 1, 2018

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By Chris McCormack ’18

Sports Staff

With the Winter Olympics right around the corner, there is always some debate on which Games are better: Summer or Winter? With that in mind it is necessary to understand the basic facts of the two. The Summer Olympics have been around for over a century, starting in 1896 in Athens, Greece. The Winter Olympics have not been around for as long, dating back to the 1924 Games in Chamonix, France. The summer games also host more countries, 206 countries participated in 2016 compared to the 91 that are participating in this year’s games. With just history and the number of participants in mind, it is hard to see why one would prefer the winter games.

As Americans, however, we tend to like the winter games because of sports like ice hockey and games like the one in 1980, in which the U.S. defeated the Soviet Union. However, athletes like Michael Phelps, Simone Biles and Usain Bolt have increased the popularity the Summer Olympics with their incredible athleticism.

Another reason the summer games are more entertaining than the winter games is because of Team USA Basketball. With the NHL no longer allowing their athletes to participate in the games, USA Basketball is really our country’s only chance to see the professional athletes of our country participate against their worldwide counterparts. It is always enjoyable to see the best basketball players combine forces in super team fashion and compete.

For reasons that include history, inclusivity, and the inclusion of big name professional athletes, the Summer Olympics are more enjoyable than the Winter Olympics. Regardless of how you feel, however, it is always nice to see the increased patriotism around the times of the games and for that reason, it is hard to dislike either one.