#7 PC Hockey Faces #12 UMass Lowell this Weekend After Tough Losses to BC

#7 PC Hockey Faces #12 UMass Lowell this Weekend After Tough Losses to BC

Boston College Sweep

The much-anticipated home-and-home series last weekend between Friars skaters and the Boston College Eagles did not end well for Providence.  PC only scored one goal all weekend, losing 3-0 on Friday night at BC and losing 4-1 Saturday night at Schneider Arena.  Both games were closer than the scores indicated, as the final tallies included empty net goals on both nights by BC.

The Friars were on their heels for much of the Friday night game after playing only one game in the previous 19 days.  BC outshot Providence 38-24 for the night but only held a 1-0 lead after 2 periods.  Another goal in the third period put the game away before an empty netter.  The Saturday game at Schneider featured a sellout crowd of 3,030 fans, but the game showed why BC is the best team in the country.  They made a few mistakes, pounced on every PC misplay, spaced their players well in the offensive zone, and had a red-hot goalie in Jacob Fowler, who had a mind-boggling save percentage for the weekend of .981 %.  Providence’s only goal came early in the second period on a power-play goal by Will Elger.  PC had several near misses in the game but couldn’t find the back of the net the rest of the way.

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With the two wins, the Eagles moved into the top spot in national rankings this week, and with the two losses, Providence slipped to #7.  The Friars record fell to 15-5-2 with 3 of the losses coming against #1 Boston College.

 

National Rankings

CCHA=Central Collegiate Hockey Association; NCHC=National Collegiate Hockey Conference; ECAC=Eastern College Athletic Conference

Here are some quick observations about the national rankings:

--Hockey East is dominating the ratings.  Four of the top ten teams are from Hockey East and six of the top fifteen teams are from Hockey East.  This is extraordinary.  In non-conference play, Hockey East has a 62-41 record.  As Hockey East teams now play exclusively each other for the remainder of the regular season, it will be interesting to see if the pollsters ease their rankings of Hockey East teams.  The four Big 10 teams in the rankings are good, but there are no other Big 10 teams likely to crack the rankings.

--The NCHC was supposed to be the other dominant college hockey conference this year, but so far it is not the case.  Early contender North Dakota has fallen off the charts.  Colorado College, once ranked 8th, has slipped into oblivion.  Denver, of course, is still a national power and still a likely Final Four contender.  Surprisingly, Arizona State has shocked the college hockey world with its rise to prominence this year.

--Despite the emergence of Western Michigan into the #3 slot, BC, Michigan State, and Minnesota are the three best teams in the country right now.  They have each bounced around for the last month in the first three slots of the national poll rankings.

--The emergence of Connecticut as a top team is the biggest surprise of the rankings.  They are a relatively new Division One program but have really made a big jump this year.

 

PC vs. UMass Lowell

The PC Friars and the UMass Riverhawks square off this weekend in a home-and-home series.  Friday night’s game is at Lowell, and Saturday’s game is at Schneider, and the puck drop is at 4:30 PM.  Note the starting time.

Both PC and UMass are recovering from disappointing losses: the Friars were swept by BC, and UMass Lowell has lost three in a row—two at Maine and a shocking loss to independent Stonehill College, which has a 9-19 record.  The losses at Maine were closely contested and Maine is tough to beat at home, so the national pollsters have kept the Riverhawks in the top fifteen.

 

Here’s how PC and UMass Lowell stack up with each other.

 

 

The numbers reveal that the Friars and Riverhawks match up pretty evenly.  PC has a big edge in face-offs, but UMass Lowell has a more potent power play.

Both teams are desperate for wins this weekend.  We should see intense play from both teams as soon as the puck is dropped Friday night.  PC needs to figure out how to score goals again.  In their last three games against Brown and BC, they have scored a total of 3 goals.  That’s an average of 1 goal/game, 2 goals below their season average.  The Friars need to get at least a split this weekend against UMass Lowell.  The Hockey East schedule doesn’t get any easier in the remaining weeks.