#5 PC Hockey Tops Crosstown Rival Brown 2-0 for 8th Straight Win

#5 PC Hockey Tops Crosstown Rival Brown 2-0 for 8th Straight Win

The Friars hockey team took the bus across town to the East Side on Tuesday night to face off against their traditional cross-town rivals, the Brown Bears. The Bears played the nationally ranked Friars tough for two periods, as neither team could find the back of the net during the first two periods. Shots on goal at the end of two periods were almost even, with PC having a 26-22 edge.

Then, things changed in the third.

The Friars won 2-0.

GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST

Here Is How It Happened

The Friars had not played since December 29th and looked a tad slow in the first period.   Brown beat the Friars to most loose pucks, and PC’s passing was often off-target.  The Bears looked like the better team at the end of the first period with a 17-11 shots on goal margin. PC got energized in the second period and began to take over play, finding their legs, crashing the boards, and outshooting Brown 15-5. PC had several good chances to score but couldn’t get the puck in the net.

Both coaches decided to play their backup goalies, which was a bit of a surprise.  Brown’s starting goalie, sophomore Lawton Zacher, is 4th in the nation in save percentage at .938 and has a phenomenal 1.89 goals against average/game. Brown played senior Tyler Shea who came into the game with an 0-3 record, but with an solid 2.43 goals against average/game and an outstanding save percentage of .936.  PC rested Phil Svedeback who came into the game as Hockey East’s Goaltender of the Month for the month of December.  Backup goalie Zachary Borgiel, who hadn’t played any minutes in over a month, and was 3-1 on the year, played for the Friars.

Both backup goalies were tossing shutouts at the end of two periods.  The Friars took command; however, in the third period, they peppered Brown’s goalie with 17 shots on goal. The Friars got on the board quickly at the 0.24 second mark on a power play that carried over from the second period. Grad transfer Logan Will scored his 7th goal of the year and 18th point with a beautiful one-timer assisted by Andrew Centrella and Will Elger.  The Friars scored their 2nd goal at the 13:13 mark on another power-play goal.  Sophomore Hudson Malinoski scored his 4th goal of the year also with a nifty clean one-timer.

PC’s 3rd and 4th lines dominated Brown’s 3rd and 4th lines, particularly in the third period.  Brown has good skaters on its 1st and 2nd lines, but there is a big drop-off after that.  PC also dominated the face-off circle, winning face 42 face-offs and losing 29.  It was encouraging to see PC’s power play go 2-4 on the night.  The Friars’ power play has struggled mightily in the last several games, going 1-20.

Meehan Auditorium had its most fans of the season, with 1,793 in attendance, bolstered by several hundred PC fans.

The 5th-ranked Friars have their biggest weekend of the season coming up on January 17th and 18th when they play the 2nd-ranked Boston College Eagles in an RT 95 series.  PC will play at Conte Forum on Friday the 17th, and the Eagles will play at Schneider Arena on Saturday the 18th.  Just a few tickets remain for the BC game on the 18th.  We’ll preview that game and take a mid-season deep dive assessment of the Friars next week.