Friars Return to NCAA Men’s Hockey Tournament, Prepare for Denver in New Hampshire

GAME COVERAGE
Matchup: No. 2 seed Providence (21-10-5, 11-8-5 HEA) vs. No. 3 seed Denver (29-11-1, 15-8-1 NCHC)
Faceoff: 5:30 PM (Fri.) – SNHU Arena – Manchester, N.H.
U.S. Stream: ESPN+
Canadian Stream: TSN+
Play-by-play: John Buccigross, Color: Colby Cohen, Rinkside: Quint Kessinich
Radio: 790 The Score | Varsity Network | Play-by-play: Mike Logan, Color: Bridgette Proulx
Live Stats: NCAA.com
X: @Friarshockey

NCAA Tournament Quick Hitters
-The Friars are 7-7-0 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament across 10 appearances and have won their last two opening-round matchups.
-In their most recent appearance (2019), Providence defeated Minnesota State, 6-3, en route to a Frozen Four berth.
-Providence holds a 6-8-0 record in nine quarterfinal appearances, a 2-3-0 record in five semifinal appearances, a 1-1-0 record in two consolation games, and a 1-1-0 record in championship games.
-Five Friars have scored two goals in a single NCAA Tournament game. Rob Gaudreau holds the program record for goals in a single tournament (six in 1989) and career goals (eight).
-Mike Boback (1991) and Jake Walman (2015) share the program record for assists in a single NCAA Tournament game (three). Boback also holds the records for single-season and career assists, recording six twice for 12 total assists.
-Chris Terreri holds the Friars’ record for saves in a single NCAA Tournament game (62 vs. Boston College in triple overtime, 1985) and in a single tournament season (185), which is also an NCAA Tournament record.
-Hayden Hawkey is the only Friars goaltender to record multiple NCAA Tournament shutouts, posting one in both 2018 (vs. Clarkson) and 2019 (vs. Cornell).
-Nick Ellis holds the highest career save percentage by a Providence goaltender in the NCAA Tournament at .964.
-Kyle McKenzie and Anthony Florentino share the program record for most NCAA Tournament games played (eight).
-Providence scored 24 goals in the 1989 NCAA Tournament, the most in program history and tied for fourth-most all-time in NCAA history.
-The longest NCAA Tournament game in Friars history was a 4-3 triple-overtime victory over Boston College on March 28, 1985.

Scouting the Pioneers:
– Denver earned an at-large bid into the national tournament and has now made the NCAAs in 16-consecutive seasons and 34 times overall. The Pioneers have reached the Frozen Four in five of its last seven tournament appearances, winning championships in 2017, 2022 and 2024.
– The Pioneers lost 4-3 in double-overtime to Western Michigan in their last contest on Saturday night in the NCHC Frozen Faceoff Championship Game at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. DU defeated Arizona State 4-2 in the conference tournament semifinal on Friday in Minnesota.
– Denver boasts the nation’s top scorer in Jack Devine (13-43-56) and the fourth-highest scorer in Aidan Thompson (19-32-51). Sophomore Sam Harris leads the Pioneers with 22 goals, followed by Carter King (20) and Thompson (19). Sophomore defenseman Zeev Buium ranks first among all NCAA defensemen in scoring with 43 points on 11 goals and 32 assists.
– In goal, Matt Davis leads the country with 27 wins and has posted a 2.12 GAA and .920 save percentage in 37 games played for the Pioneers.

Series History vs. Denver (11-9-3, .543)
Providence and Denver will meet for the fourth-consecutive season on Friday night in Manchester. It will be the 10th overall meeting between the schools in the last 10 seasons and 24th meeting all-time. The Friars lead the all-time series 11-9-3. Providence earned a 4-3 victory over the Pioneers at Schneider Arena on Oct. 20, 2023. Denver swept a two-game series at Magness Arena from Oct. 21-22, 2022. Providence earned a 6-5 come-from-behind win at home on Oct. 22, 2021. The schools also met in a pair of two-game series in 2016 and 2018, where each team went 1-1-2. The only NCAA Tournament matchup came in 2015, as the Friars advanced to the Frozen Four with a 4-1 win en route to the national championship.

Connelly Wins Gold With the U.S. At The 2025 World Junior Championship
Freshman Trevor Connelly won gold with the United States at 2025 World Junior Championship after their 4-3 overtime win over Finland in the gold medal game on Jan. 5. Connelly finished the tournament with one goal, three assists and a +3 rating over seven games.

Leaman Hits Milestone
Head Coach Nate Leaman earned his 249th career victory at Providence on Nov. 11, 2023, passing Lou Lamoriello as the program’s winningest head coach all-time. On October 25, 2024, Leaman hit 400 career wins as a Division I head coach in Providence’s 3-2 overtime win at Vermont. Leaman is the only Hockey East coach to post a winning record in each of the last 12 seasons.

Leading the Pack
Through 36 games this season, Hudson Malinoski (11-12-23) and Tanner Adams (11-11-22) each lead the Friars with 11 goals apiece, followed by 10 from Graham Gamache (10-10-20) and eight from Logan Will (8-15-23), Will Elger (8-10-18), and Nick Poisson (8-8-16). Logan Will headlines the team in assists with 15 on the year, followed by John Mustard (7-13-20) and Austen May (0-13-13) with 13 assists apiece and four players with 12 assists on the season. Overall, Malinoski and Will pace the team with 23 total points each, followed by Adams with 22 points, Mustard and Gamache with 20 points. This season, 22 different players have tallied a point, including 14 players with 10+ points and eight players with 15+ points.

King of the Hill
Through all 24 conference matchups, Providence (21-9-5, 11-8-5 HEA) finished the regular season in fifth place in the Hockey East standings with 39 points. Boston College (26-6-2, 18-4-2 HEA) finished in first place with 55 points, followed by Maine (21-7-6, 13-5-6 HEA) in second place with 50 points, Boston University (20-12-2, 14-8-2 HEA) in third place with 46 points, and Connecticut (20-10-4, 12-8-4 HEA) in fourth place with 40 points.

Yoder Sets Program Record For Games Played
Appearing in his 163rd game as a Friar on Feb. 8, captain Chase Yoder stands along with the most games played in program history, passing former teammate Cam McDonald.

Quality Check
Following a road loss to UConn in the Hockey East Quarterfinals, the Friars are currently 8-10-3 record against opponents in the top-20 this season, including a 4-8-3 record in Hockey East action. On Friday, Providence battles No. 6 Denver in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Quick Draw
This season, the Friars have won 54.7% of their face-offs, good for second-best across the NCAA.

Three is the Magic Number
The Friars are 234-24-28 all-time under Nate Leaman when scoring three or more goals in a game.

After 40
The Friars are 208-12-22 all-time under Nate Leaman when holding a lead after two periods.

NCAA Notes
– Chase Yoder ranks second among active NCAA Tournament players with five career shorthanded goals and ranks third in games played with 171.
– Philip Svedeback ranks fifth among active NCAA Tournament goaltenders with 94 games played and seventh with 46 career wins. Zachary Borgiel ranks seventh in games played (83) and 10th in wins (39).
– Nate Leaman will make his eighth NCAA Tournament appearance and seventh at Providence which ranks fourth among the tournament head coaches. Leaman is one of four coaches in the tournament to win a national championship (David Carle, Greg Carvel and Rand Pecknold).
– The Friars boast the most seniors/graduate students in the tournament with 11 and rank third with nine freshmen.
– Providence’s freshmen class has recorded 89 points this season, fifth among NCAA Tournament teams.
– The 13 Friar alums who appeared in the NHL this season are tied for the sixth-most from a program in the NCAA.
– Trevor Connelly is one of 13 first-round NHL picks playing in this year’s tournament.

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