To anyone who might look at Providence’s schedule and see three straight losses as a cause for concern, coach Nate Leaman would like to point out an important fact.
“We only trailed six minutes of those three games,” Leaman said after the Friars earned a split of a weekend series at Arizona State with a thrilling 2-1 win on Sunday at Mullett Arena. “We’ve been playing some good hockey, (final scores) just haven’t been going our way.”
With a 9-4-2 record that includes four wins vs. teams currently ranked in the USCHO.com men’s Division I poll — at Michigan (B1G, 4-2 in the season opener Oct. 7), home vs. Denver (NCHC, 4-3 on Oct. 20), home vs. New Hampshire (2-0 on Nov. 4) and the aforementioned win vs. the Sun Devils — no one can besmirch the Friars’ performance so far this season. As Leaman noted, the Friars led or were tied for the vast majority of three straight losses (a weekend home-and-home sweep vs. Massachusetts and Friday night’s game at Arizona State), all three decided by a single goal.
Scoring has been a community effort for the Friars this season, with four players tied for the team lead in goals with five apiece. Junior forward Riley Duran notched his fifth of the season to put Providence on top 2-1 late in the second period at Arizona State on Sunday, a lead the Friars held on to thanks in large part to a 19-save effort from goalie Philip Svedebäck.
Also with five goals this season for Providence are sophomore forward Jaroslav Chmelar, senior forward Chase Yoder and freshman forward Hudson Malinoski, with Chmelar standing out as the team’s top overall scorer with nine assists (14 total points). Svedebäck has started every game in the Friars’ net, sporting a 1.94 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage.
“We’re a depth team,” Leaman said. “That’s just what we are. I don’t mean that to slight our guys. We got a lot of guys that can make a lot of plays. But I think we’re deep like that, and we’re big and we’re heavy like that. When we get to our game, we can be a real heavy team.”
Playing one of the toughest schedules in the country has only helped Providence. The Friars peaked at No. 5 in the USCHO poll before the three-game losing streak, and have since settled in at No. 9.
“We got better because we made this trip (to Arizona State),” Leaman said. “We got better because we went to Michigan. We’re not playing fluff teams, and I like that about us. We’re going out and we’re testing ourselves. And I think we got a lot better this weekend.”
Only a bye this weekend will give Providence a respite from its daunting schedule — the Friars face a major test when they travel to current No. 1 Boston College on Dec. 9. The BC clash is one of only two games Providence will play in December, a visit to cross-town rival Brown (ECAC Hockey) on Dec. 30 will close out 2023 for the Friars.
The Friars won’t return to their home rink of Schneider Arena until Jan. 13, the second game of a home-and-home weekend series vs. BC.
Leaman said the time away from Schneider can only be beneficial for his players.
“I think it’s going to bring our team together,” Leaman said after the Friars’ 3-2 home loss to UMass on Nov. 16. “I like the team. They’ve shown good toughness.”
