GAME COVERAGE
Matchup: No. 7 seed Providence (16-13-7, 9-9-6 HEA) vs. No. 1 seed Boston Univ. (25-10-0, 18-6-0 HEA)
Faceoff: 4 PM (Fri.) – TD Garden – Boston, Mass. – Hockey East Semifinals
TV: NESN
U.S. Stream: ESPN+
International Stream: Stretch Internet
Play-by-play: Tom Caron; Color: Billy Jaffe; Rinkside: Meredith Gorman
Radio: NewsRadio 104.7 FM | Varsity Network App | Play-by-play: Mike Logan
Live Stats: GoTerriers.com
Twitter: @Friarshockey

Last Time Out…at Northeastern

– Brady Berard scored his first collegiate goal 4:00 into overtime as the No. 7 seed Providence College men’s hockey team defeated No. 3 seed Northeastern, 2-1, in the Hockey East Quarterfinals on Saturday (March 11) at Matthews Arena.

With Providence’s Will Schimek sent to the box for interference, the Huskies scored the opening tally of the game as Cam Lund gave Northeastern a 1-0 lead at 9:44 of the first period.

– The Friars established momentum in the second period, outshooting the Huskies by a 20-4 margin.

– Co-captain Parker Ford leveled the game at 1-1 at 13:11 of the second period on a great individual effort to work through the defense and beat Levi with a wrap-around for his 12th goal of the season. Taige Harding and Riley Duran earned the assists.

– Providence continued to generate good looks in the third period and nearly took the lead early on when Jaroslav Chmelar tried to finish in tight as the puck sat in the crease as a scrum ensued.

– For the 14th time this season and second-consecutive postseason game, Providence needed overtime to decide the game.

– Just 4:00 into overtime, Brady Berard finished off a rebound off the end boards from Guillaume Richard to send the Friars onto the semifinals.

 

Hockey East Tournament Notes

– Providence improved to 45-53-1 all-time in the Hockey East Tournament and 5-2 all-time in postseason play against Northeastern.

– Providence is now 33-37-1 all-time in the quarterfinal round. In the semifinals, the Friars are 5-12 all-time.

– Nate Leaman‘s Providence teams will appear in their seventh semifinal and 18th overall in program history. The Friars make their first semifinal appearance since 2021 and first appearance at TD Garden since 2018.

– Providence is 6-9 all-time in tournament games as the No. 7 seed. Providence has made the semifinals one other time as a No. 7 seed – Nate Leaman‘s first season in 2012.

– All-time against Boston University in the Hockey East Tournament, the Friars are 10-12 and 2-2 in the semifinal round. The team’s last postseason meeting was in the 2018 Hockey East Championship Game, where the Terriers earned a 2-0 win. The last semifinal meeting was in 1996, where Providence earned a 5-4 win and eventually went on to capture the Hockey East crown.

– Providence aims for its sixth appearance in the Hockey East Championship Game and second under Nate Leaman (2018).

 

Season/Tournament History vs. Boston Univ. (All-Time: PC trails 59-114-19, .357)

The Friars and Terriers will meet for the third time in just two weeks as the teams concluded the regular season with a home-and-home series. Boston University earned a sweep of the series, earning a 6-4 win at Agganis Arena on March 3 before shutting out the Friars, 2-0, on March 4 at Schneider Arena. Overall, the Terriers have won the last five matchups in the series. Friday marks the 14th Hockey East Tournament meeting and 23rd game overall. BU holds a 12-10 advantage in the Hockey East Tournament, including a 2-0 victory in the 2018 Hockey East Championship game in the last meeting.  This will be the fifth semifinal meeting and first since 1996, where Providence won 5-4.

 

Series/Tournament History vs. UMass Lowell (All-Time: PC leads 64-51-11, .552)

The Friars and River Hawks split a home-and-home series back in February. Providence won a 3-2 decision in overtime on Feb. 17 at home before the River Hawks split with a 2-1 victory at Tsgonas Center on Feb. 18. The teams last postseason meeting was in the 2016 Hockey East Semifinals when UML scored a 2-1, triple overtime victory at TD Garden in the 11th longest NCAA and second longest Hockey East Tournament game (112:27). The River Hawks hold a 7-3-1 mark over Providence in 11 postseason games.

 

Series/Tournament History vs. Merrimack (All-Time: PC leads 93-39-12, .688)

The Friars and Warriors could potentially meet for the fifth time this season after the teams have split the first four games. Merrimack won the first meeting at Schneider Arena, 3-2, on Dec. 10 before Providence scored a 6-1 non-conference win at the Ledyard Bank Classic hosted by Dartmouth on Dec. 31. The teams split a two-game series at Lawler Rink on Jan. 13-14 as the Friars won 8-3 in the first game with the Warriors responding with a 3-0 win the following night. The teams have only met once in Hockey East Tournament play, with Providence sweeping a best-of-three quarterfinal series back in 2016.

 

Parker Ford and Max Crozier Named Hockey East Third Team All-Stars

Providence College senior co-captains Max Crozier (Calgary, Alta.) and Parker Ford (Wakefield, R.I.) were named Hockey East Third Team All-Stars on Friday (March 10) as Hockey East unveiled its 2022-23 All-Star Teams. Crozier earns Third Team All-Star recognition for the second-consecutive season after posting a career-high in points this season with 24 on three goals and 21 assists. The 24 points were tied for fourth among all Hockey East defensemen this season. Crozier was a two-time Hockey East Defender of the Week selection and is currently a +9 rating with a team-high 59 blocked shots.

Ford earns his first career all-star recognition after leading the Friars in scoring this season with 26 points on 12 goals and 14 assists. The senior currently sits with a +18 rating and 440 wins at the faceoff dot, good for a 59.1% win percentage. Ford was also a runner-up for the Gladiator Custom Mouthguards Best Defensive Forward Award and the Len Ceglarski Sportsmanship Award.

 

Masters of Overtime

Providence leads the NCAA this season with 14 overtime games played. In those games, the Friars are 5-2-7, including a pair of postseason overtime victories against UNH (March 8) and at Northeastern (March 11). Five different players have tallied the OT winners – Brett Berard (Nov. 4 at UMass), Max Crozier (Nov. 18 vs. Vermont), Chase Yoder (Feb. 17 vs. UMass Lowell), Jamie Engelbert (March 8 vs. UNH) and Brady Berard (March 11 at Northeastern).

 

Eighteen Current, Former and Future Friars Appear in NHL Development Camps

The Friars boasted 18 past, present and future players that appeared in NHL Development Camps back in July. Brady Berard* (NYR), Brett Berard (NYR), Michael Callahan (BOS), Max Crozier (TB), Riley Duran (BOS), Jamie Engelbert* (BOS), Taige Harding (CHI), Connor Kelley (CHI), Clint Levens* (PHI), Patrick Moynihan (NJ), Kohen Olischefski* (BUF), Nick Poisson* (VGK), Guillaume Richard (CBJ), Austin Roden* (ARZ), Jaxson Stauber (CHI), Philip Svedebäck (BOS), Tyce Thompson (NJ), Chase Yoder (PIT). * – camp invitee

 

Shorthanded Success

With three shorthanded goals during the weekend of Dec. 30-31, the Friars now rank sixth in the NCAA in that category with six shorties this season – four behind leader Ohio State (10).

 

Crozier and Ford Named Captains; McDonald Added To Leadership Group

The Friars anointed seniors Max Crozier and Parker Ford as the team’s co-captains for the 2022-23 season. Both players were alternate captains last season. Prior to last Friday’s game at Boston College, senior defenseman Cam McDonald was named an alternate captain.

 

Seniors Shine Against UNH

Seniors accounted for both goals the Friars scored against UNH on Wednesday night – Craig Needham registered a goal and an assist, Jamie Engelbert scored the game-winning goal in overtime, while Patrick Moynihan and Max Crozier also earned assists.

 

Young Bucks

Providence ices the sixth youngest roster in the NCAA with an average age of 21.1 years and has a combined 16 first and second year players out of a 29-player roster.

 

Desharnais Makes NHL Debut With Edmonton; Stauber With Chicago

Former Friar Vincent Desharnais ’19 made his NHL debut with the Edmonton Oilers on Jan. 11 in Anaheim. Through 23 games, he has four assists with a +8 rating. Jaxson Stauber stopped 29-of-32 shots he faced and earned the win in his NHL debut in St. Louis on Jan. 21. He’s the fourth goaltender is Friar history to play in the NHL and the 45th overall player. Stauber was the first Blackhawks goaltender in team history to win his first three starts in the NHL after a 4-3 OT win over Arizona on Feb. 10. He’s 5-1 with a 2.88 GAA and .911 save percentage in six NHL games.

 

Friars at the World Junior Championships

Freshman Jaroslav Chmelar made his second appearance in the World Junior Championships with Czechia. Through seven games, Chmelar posted three goals and two assists  with a +8 rating and earned a silver medal after Czechia was defeated in overtime by Canada, 3-2, in the gold medal game.

 

Three is the Magic Number

The Friars are 205-21-23 all-time under Nate Leaman when scoring three or more goals in a game.

 

After 40

The Friars are 185-7-19 all-time under Nate Leaman when holding a lead after two periods.

For more updates on the Providence College men’s hockey program, follow the team on Twitter @FriarsHockey.