Friars back in familiar spot
No. 4 PC begins quest for NCAA title Friday vs. Harvard
PROVIDENCE — The Providence College hockey team is a No. 4 seed playing in the East Regional at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center coming off an early defeat in the Hockey East Tournament.
The Friars are facing a top-seeded conference tournament champion that has its eyes set on a trip to the Frozen Four. Does the scenario sound familiar? Just like in 2015, when the Friars began what turned into a National Championship campaign as a No. 4 seed at The Dunk, PC will begin NCAA Tournament play Friday at 4 p.m. at their home away from home against top-seeded Harvard, the champion of the ECAC and the Beanpot.
“I think it can help because we have a lot of our fans around,” Providence coach Nate Leaman said Thursday afternoon about playing at home. “It can help build confidence that way. The other aspects are a little overrated. Having our fans around will give us confidence. Being able to travel down the street, knowing our town and where the restaurants are and where we’re walking to, those things are great.
“They’re familiar. You can also have a lot of distractions at home and those up this week with the number of people that are looking for tickets. You’ve got to get those distractions out of the way.”
“Not having to travel that far is really nice, just coming down the street,” PC defenseman Josh Monk said. “Being here two years ago, we have a lot of guys who have been through this before and playing in this building. Having been through this experience helps our team and allows us to help the younger guys.”
“Being here two years ago, we have a lot of guys who have been through this before and played in this building.” – PC’s Josh Monk
If Harvard coach Ted Donato feels aggrieved to have to travel to the No. 4 seed’s backyard, he wouldn’t admit it publicly. Donato, who played the final 15 games of his career with the AHL’s Providence Bruins in 2003-04, said his squad was simply focused on winning a tournament game for the first time since the Crimson beat New Hampshire in the 1994 quarterfinals.
“At this point, our focus is truly on playing our best hockey against a very good Providence team,” Donato said after his team’s first skate at The Dunk. “No matter where you go, you’re going to play a very good team. Is there a benefit being so close to their campus? Absolutely, it’s a good challenge for us.”
Two years ago, the Friars knocked off a Miami (Ohio) squad, 7-5, that had just won the National Collegiate Hockey Conference title. With all due respect to the Redhawks, Friday’s challenge, which will be televised on ESPNU, is much more difficult considering the superb season the Crimson put together.
Donato’s bunch ended Commonwealth Avenue’s hegemonic hold over the Beanpot by defeating Boston University, 6-3, at the TD Garden on the second Monday in February. It was the team’s first Beanpot title since 1993.
The Crimson have won their last 14 games, including last weekend’s triumph over Cornell in Lake Placid, N.Y. to claim the ECAC title for the second time in three seasons.
“People have talked about (how winning the Beanpot) can kick start your season and be a momentum push going into the playoffs,” Harvard forward Alexander Kerfoot said. “To be honest, I didn’t really buy into it… Now, it’s hard to deny that we’ve been rolling since that.”
Harvard (26-5-2) is blessed with six players who have scored at least 36 points this season. Sophomore forward Ryan Donato leads the team with 20 goals, while Sean Malone leads the way with 43 points. Tyler Moy and Kerfoot each have 42.
Leaman said his biggest concern is controlling Harvard’s speed. Leaman said the Crimson have two very talented forward lines.
Leaman said his team needs to play disciplined hockey because the Crimson have converted on 26.5 percent of their power-play chances. PC, which has converted on 18.5 percent of its extra-man chances, has killed off 85.9 percent of power plays.
“I think they have two lines that can really go,” Leaman said. “You’re not going to change too much with your team within a week. There’s some minor adjustments that we’ll make, but the guys know how we want to manage this game and we want to go out and get after it. I really like what I saw in practice today. They’re chomping at the bit.”
Providence (22-11-5) has also played its best hockey in 2017. Outside of three losses and a tie in road games against Notre Dame, the Friars have won 13 straight contests. The Friars have righted their season with defense, as goalie Hayden Hawkey allowed two goals or fewer in nine of the 13 victories.
Hawkey, who only appeared in five games last season, is aided by a strong blue-line corps led by thirdround St. Louis Blues pick Jake Walman, Anthony Florentino, Monk and Vincent Desharnais, a seventhround pick of the Vancouver Canucks.
“We’re a young team with a lot of guys that haven’t played together,” Hawkey said. “We have a lot of new faces. We got to know each other a lot better as the year went along and we knew what to expect from each guy.”
The winner of Friday afternoon’s contest will play either No. 2 Western Michigan or No. 3 Air Force for a spot in the Frozen Four Saturday night at 8:30 p.m.