PC seniors leave winners
Group won 97 games, national championship
PROVIDENCE — The Providence hockey team found itself in the same position as the Friars’ men’s basketball team entering this season – unsure of where they stood in a deep conference after the loss of a number of talented players.
Unlike the basketball Friars who lost underclassmen Kris Dunn and Ben Bentil to the NBA, the Friar hockey team graduated eight seniors who were a big part of the 2015 national championship team.
“Our class last year was so big,” Providence coach Nate Leman said. “You have 18 scholarships and that class was so big, you quoteunquote. have a lot of money tied up in that class. This was our second class that we recruited. We didn’t have a lot of scholarship money, but that class had a lot of heart.”
After graduating eight seniors, Leaman wasn’t sure what to expect from a senior class led by defensemen Josh Monk, Anthony Florentino, Kyle McKenzie and forwards Niko Rufo and Connor MacPhee.
All the quartet did was help the Friars finish fifth in Hockey East during the regular season and secure a spot in the NCAA Tournament for the fourth straight season, something only Denver and North Dakota can say they’ve done over the same span.
The journey for the seniors came to an end with Friday night’s 3-0 loss to top-seeded Harvard in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center.
“There were a lot of doubters from us last year,” Leaman said. “That’s the first thing I said to the team afterwards. Monker and McKenzie
“Monker and McKenzie and MacPhee and Rufel and Florentino, they gave us everything they had.” – PC coach Nate Leaman
and MacPhee and Rufel and Florentino, they gave us everything they had. They got the team to this point and I thought we played well to advance tonight.”
While the group wasn’t the most talented in Friar history – only Florentino has been drafted by an NHL team and that was by the Buffalo Sabres in the fifth round in 2013 they helped PC recover from a 4-63 start. The Friars went 16-3-2 over the final 21 games of the regular season before sweeping UMass in the first round of the Hockey East playoffs.
Monk was the top scoring senior with 20 points in 28 games, while Florentino added 17 points. Florentino delivered a senior-leading nine goals.
Monk credited Leaman, who just finished his sixth season, for developing him as a player and person. The Friars posted their first 20-win season under Leamen when the current group of seniors were freshmen. In their four years, the quintet won 97 games, a national title and a share of the Hockey East regular-season title in 2916.
“He develops players and he develops teams,” Monk said of Leaman. “I think anybody you talk to, he’s probably one of the best coaches in college hockey and there’s a reason for that; the way he prepares the teams to play, the way he prepares players to move onto the next level.
“He does a great job. He gave our team a chance to win tonight and we had a game plan that was very good, and I thought we executed very well. Unfortunately, we just pulled up short.”
Why was Providence, which was seeded fourth in the East Region, sent just a few miles east of campus to play the top-seeded Crimson? The number 6,543 is a good reason why.
That was the number of fans who walked into the Dunkin’ Donuts Center to watch the Friars play the Crimson and Air Force defeat Western Michigan, 5-4, in the nightcap.
Leaman, whose team won a pair of NCAA Tournament contests at The Dunk in 2015, had nothing but praise for the event.
“I also want to thank Brown,” Leaman said. “I thought Brown did a heck of a job. It kind of stinks that we had to bow out early, but I thought the building was outstanding tonight. I thought it was a great crowd and we couldn’t ask more for a regional and I want to thank Brown, the NCAA and the Dunkin’ Donuts Center because they did an outstanding job.”
Providence entered Friday’s game with a record of 1-9-3 when they were held under three goals. Make that 1-10-3 after Harvard’s Merrick Madsen turned away 41 shots in the shutout victory. As a matter of fact, the Friars combined to score just three goals in their last four losses.
On the other side, the ECAC and Beanpot champions improved to 23-0 when leading after the second period. The Friars had chances to break that streak – PC’s Scott Conway run Madsen’s post late in the game – but the Crimson skated away with the victory.
“Going in 2-0, we talked about playing on our toes, not our heels and trying to win the period, so that one bounce or one call didn’t go against us and change the game,” Harvard coach Ted Donato said. “I give Providence a lot of credit. I think they kept coming and did a lot of good things and I think they were able to get some good momentum, especially on their power plays in the third.”