2023–24 Providence Friars men's ice hockey season

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2023–24 Providence Friars
men's ice hockey season
Conference4th Hockey East
Home iceSchneider Arena
Rankings
USCHO#16
USA Today#16
Record
Overall18–13–4
Conference11–9–4
Home9–6–3
Road9–7–1
Coaches and captains
Head coachNate Leaman
Assistant coachesRon Rolston
Joel Beal
Joe Palmer
Captain(s)Cam McDonald
Chase Yoder
Alternate captain(s)Craig Needham
Nick Poisson
Providence Friars men's ice hockey seasons
« 2022–23 2024–25 »
Friars pose with the Mayor's Cup after defeating the Brown Bears 3-0.

The 2023–24 Providence Friars Men's ice hockey season was the 73rd season of play for the program and 40th in Hockey East. The Friars represented Providence College in the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season, played their home games at Schneider Arena and were coached by Nate Leaman in his 12th season.

Season[edit]

Providence began the year with a bit uncertainty as it had lost the top three scorers from the previous season. For a team that was already offensively challenged, that could have been more than they could afford, but the Friars were bent on exceeding their expectations. New starter Philip Svedebäck took to the college game immediately and posted one of the best starts to a career by going 8–1–2 in his first eleven games. In that stretch, the young goaltender allowed just 20 goals and was ranked among the best goaltenders in the nation in just about every category. He was aided, in no small part, by the defense who was the second-most effective in the nation; only Cornell allowed fewer shots against per game and the success of the early season lifted Providence up into the top-5 in the polls. The offense, too, was playing well in the first month and a half; new addition Tanner Adams fit in well with a diverse group that scored by committee rather than concentrate all of its firepower on one line.

However, just before Thanksgiving, The Friars went through their first rough patch of the season. Going through a stretch of five games against ranked opponents, Providence lost four of those matches, however, due to the strength of their opposition, Providence only slipped a few places in the rankings and they were still a top-10 team by the winter break.

In the five weeks after returning from their vacation, Providence posted a solid record and largely held their position. However, cracks were beginning to form in the team. Svedebäck had started showing some inconsistence in his game; he posted three shutouts in that stretch but also had a couple of bad games as well. The offense was mostly effective but began to falter in February. The scoring never went away but it definitely ebbed as the season progressed towards the playoffs. The Friars lack of offense began to cost the team and they were losing games even when Svedebäck was playing well. However, at the beginning of March, the team was still in the top 10 in the PairWise and all they had to do was win a game or two to guarantee themselves a spot in the NCAA tournament. Losses to Merrimack and Boston University were not offset by a tie with Northeastern and on the final week of the regular season, the Friars dropped from 10th to 14th.

Now on the very edge of the playoff picture (14 was the bare minimum for any chance at an at-large bid), Providence would have to face Massachusetts in the quarterfinals with both teams fighting for their lives. The Friars and Minutemen were bunched up in the mid-teens and, because several teams from other conference were also rated about the same, the loser of the game would knocked out of postseason contention. Providence didn't get off to a good start in the game and in less than 5 minutes the Friars were already down by 2 goals. The team desperately tried to climb back into the match but offense was not their strong suit and time ticked away on their season. In the later stages of the third period, UMass got a third goal but then took a penalty immediately afterwards. Svedebäck was pulled to make the power play a 6-on-4 and the extra skater allowed the Friars to score in just 4 seconds. With the faintest of hopes, Providence began to ratchet up their attack on the Massachusetts cage but their comeback was stopped almost as soon as it started. Guillaume Richard took a tripping penalty and forced the team to play defense for 2 critical minutes. Though they managed to kill off the infraction, the momentum had vanished and Providence was unable to conjure up another goal. The 1–3 loss brought the once-promising campaign to a close.[1]

Departures[edit]

Player Position Nationality Cause
Brett Berard Forward  United States Signed professional contract (New York Rangers)
Michael Citara Forward  United States Transferred to Merrimack
Max Crozier Defenseman  Canada Graduation (signed with Tampa Bay Lightning)
Chase Dafoe Forward  United States Transferred to Alaska
Parker Ford Forward  United States Graduation (signed with Winnipeg Jets)
Luke Johnson Defenseman  United States Graduate transfer to Robert Morris
Cody Monds Forward  Canada Transferred to Clarkson
Patrick Moynihan Forward  United States Graduate transfer to Notre Dame
Grant Porter Forward  United States Transferred to Canisius
Austin Roden Goaltender  Canada Graduate transfer to Clarkson
Uula Ruikka Defenseman  Finland Transferred to Augustana
Garrett Sundquist Defenseman  United States Transferred to Sacred Heart

Recruiting[edit]

Player Position Nationality Age Notes
Tanner Adams Forward  United States 18 Northport, NY
Marcus Brännman Goaltender  Sweden 20 Bromma, SWE
Andrew Centrella Defenseman  United States 19 Philadelphia, PA
Graham Gamache Forward  Canada 21 Edmonton, AB
Matt Hubbarde Forward  Canada 23 Pickering, ON; transfer from Dartmouth
Cal Kiefiuk Forward  United States 23 Macomb, MI; graduate transfer from Massachusetts
Luke Krys Defenseman  United States 23 Weston, MA; graduate transfer from Brown
Clint Levens Forward  United States 20 Windermere, FL
Hudson Malinoski Forward  Canada 19 Saskatoon, SK; selected 153rd overall in 2023
Austen May Defenseman  United States 20 Woodhaven, MI

Roster[edit]

As of September 26, 2023.[2]

No. S/P/C Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team NHL rights
1 Massachusetts John Driscoll Junior G 5' 11" (1.8 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 2000-04-09 Milton, Massachusetts Northeast (NA3HL) —
2 Connecticut Luke Krys Graduate D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2000-09-27 Ridgefield, Connecticut Brown (ECAC) —
4 Quebec Guillaume Richard Junior D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 2003-02-10 Cap-Santé, Quebec Tri-City (USHL) CBJ, 101st overall 2021
6 Alaska Cam McDonald (C) Graduate D 5' 9" (1.75 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 2001-02-03 Eagle River, Alaska Muskegon (USHL) —
8 Massachusetts Riley Duran Junior F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2002-01-25 Woburn, Massachusetts Youngstown (USHL) BOS, 182nd overall 2020
9 Saskatchewan Hudson Malinoski Freshman F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 184 lb (83 kg) 2004-05-19 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Brooks (AJHL) TOR, 153rd overall 2023
10 Rhode Island Brady Berard Sophomore F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 198 lb (90 kg) 2004-02-26 East Greenwich, Rhode Island NTDP (USHL) —
11 Alberta Graham Gamache Freshman F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 179 lb (81 kg) 2002-06-11 Edmonton, Alberta Tri-City (USHL) —
12 British Columbia Nick Poisson (A) Senior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2001-08-15 Vancouver, British Columbia Prince George (BCHL) —
13 Massachusetts Craig Needham (A) Graduate F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1999-03-31 Medford, Massachusetts Youngstown (USHL) —
14 Michigan Cal Kiefiuk Graduate F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2000-02-28 Macomb, Michigan Massachusetts (HEA) —
15 Sweden Liam Valente Sophomore F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 183 lb (83 kg) 2003-05-23 Märsta, Sweden Linköping J20 (J20 Nationell) —
17 Texas Chase Yoder (C) Senior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2002-05-28 Fairview, Texas NTDP (USHL) PIT, 170th overall 2020
18 Ontario Jamie Engelbert Graduate F 6' 4" (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 2000-06-21 Cobourg, Ontario Cobourg (OJHL) —
19 New York (state) Tanner Adams Freshman F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2005-09-02 Northport, New York Tri-City (USHL) —
20 Pennsylvania Andrew Centrella Freshman D 5' 9" (1.75 m) 177 lb (80 kg) 2004-01-29 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Youngstown (USHL) —
21 Ontario Matt Hubbarde Junior F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2000-04-15 Pickering, Ontario Dartmouth (ECAC) —
22 Florida Clint Levens Freshman F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 189 lb (86 kg) 2003-06-19 Windermere, Florida Sioux Falls (USHL) —
23 Minnesota Bennett Schimek Sophomore F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 188 lb (85 kg) 2003-04-15 Mendota Heights, Minnesota Sioux City (USHL) —
24 Michigan Austen May Sophomore D 5' 11" (1.8 m) 160 lb (73 kg) 2003-05-19 Woodhaven, Michigan Sioux Falls (USHL) —
25 Minnesota Connor Kelley Senior D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2002-01-30 Maple Grove, Minnesota Minnesota Duluth (NCHC) CHI, 204th overall 2021
27 Alberta Taige Harding Junior D 6' 7" (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 2002-01-03 St. Albert, Alberta Fort McMurray (AJHL) CHI, 91st overall 2021
28 Czech Republic Jaroslav Chmelař Sophomore F 6' 4" (1.93 m) 216 lb (98 kg) 2003-07-20 Nové Město nad Metují, Czech Republic Jokerit U20 (U20 SM-sarja) NYR, 144th overall 2021
29 Minnesota Will Schimek Junior D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 2001-05-22 Mendota Heights, Minnesota Sioux Falls (USHL) —
33 Sweden Marcus Brännman Freshman G 5' 11" (1.8 m) 166 lb (75 kg) 2003-04-06 Bromma, Sweden Dubuque (USHL) —
35 Sweden Philip Svedebäck Freshman G 6' 4" (1.93 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 2002-05-28 Växjö, Sweden Dubuque (USHL) BOS, 117th overall 2021

Standings[edit]

2023–24 Hockey East Standings
Conference record Overall record
GP W L T OTW OTL SW PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
#1 Boston College †* 24 20 3 1 1 0 1 61 105 56 39 33 5 1 179 87
#2 Boston University 24 18 4 2 1 1 1 57 104 53 39 28 9 2 162 95
#6 Maine 24 14 9 1 0 1 0 44 76 67 37 23 12 2 119 94
#16 Providence 24 11 9 4 3 1 2 37 66 58 35 18 13 4 100 83
#13 Massachusetts 24 12 10 2 4 2 0 36 57 62 37 20 14 3 108 105
#19 New Hampshire 24 12 11 1 1 0 0 36 69 56 36 20 15 1 106 90
Northeastern 24 9 14 1 1 3 0 30 65 71 36 17 16 3 113 97
Connecticut 24 9 14 1 1 1 1 29 49 77 36 15 19 2 90 105
Vermont 24 7 14 3 1 0 3 26 52 81 35 13 19 3 87 106
Merrimack 24 6 17 1 0 1 1 21 62 85 35 13 21 1 98 114
Massachusetts Lowell 24 4 17 3 1 4 0 18 39 78 36 8 24 4 72 113
Championship: March 23, 2024
† indicates regular season champion
* indicates conference tournament champion (Lamoriello Trophy)
Rankings: USCHO Division I Men's Poll; Updated: April 1, 2024

Schedule and results[edit]

Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Decision Result Attendance Record
Regular Season
October 7 7:00 pm at #2 Michigan* #18 Yost Ice Arena • Ann Arbor, Michigan BTN+ Svedebäck W 4–2  5,800 1–0–0
October 8 4:00 pm at #2 Michigan* #18 Yost Ice Arena • Ann Arbor, Michigan BTN Svedebäck L 4–5  5,419 1–1–0
October 13 7:00 pm Stonehill* #13 Schneider Arena • Providence, Rhode Island ESPN+ Svedebäck W 7–1  2,969 2–1–0
October 20 7:00 pm #2 Denver* #10 Schneider Arena • Providence, Rhode Island ESPN+ Svedebäck W 4–3  3,465 3–1–0
October 21 7:00 pm Rensselaer* #10 Schneider Arena • Providence, Rhode Island ESPN+ Svedebäck W 4–2  2,026 4–1–0
October 27 7:00 pm Vermont #7 Schneider Arena • Providence, Rhode Island ESPN+ Svedebäck W 4–1  2,074 5–1–0 (1–0–0)
October 28 7:00 pm Vermont #7 Schneider Arena • Providence, Rhode Island ESPN+ Svedebäck T 2–2 SOL 1,727 5–1–1 (1–0–1)
November 3 7:00 pm at #15 New Hampshire #7 Whittemore Center • Durham, New Hampshire ESPN+ Svedebäck T 1–1 SOW 6,501 5–1–2 (1–0–2)
November 4 7:00 pm #15 New Hampshire #7 Schneider Arena • Providence, Rhode Island ESPN+ Svedebäck W 2–0  2,850 6–1–2 (2–0–2)
November 10 7:00 pm Northeastern #5 Schneider Arena • Providence, Rhode Island ESPN+ Svedebäck W 2–1 OT 2,914 7–1–2 (3–0–2)
November 11 7:00 pm at Northeastern #5 Matthews Arena • Boston, Massachusetts ESPN+ Svedebäck W 5–2  3,391 8–1–2 (4–0–2)
November 16 7:00 pm #15 Massachusetts #5 Schneider Arena • Providence, Rhode Island ESPN+ Svedebäck L 2–3  2,828 8–2–2 (4–1–2)
November 18 4:00 pm at #15 Massachusetts #5 Mullins Center • Amherst, Massachusetts ESPN+ Svedebäck L 1–2 OT 4,670 8–3–2 (4–2–2)
November 24 9:00 pm at #13 Arizona State* #9 Mullett Arena • Tempe, Arizona   Svedebäck L 3–4 OT 4,990 8–4–2
November 25 3:00 pm at #13 Arizona State* #9 Mullett Arena • Tempe, Arizona   Svedebäck W 2–1  4,626 9–4–2
December 9 4:30 pm at #2т Boston College #9 Conte Forum • Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts ESPN+, NESN Svedebäck L 4–5  7,884 9–5–2 (4–3–2)
December 30 7:00 pm at Brown* #10 Meehan Auditorium • Providence, Rhode Island (Mayor's Cup) ESPN+ Svedebäck W 3–0  1,524 10–5–2
January 12 7:00 pm at #1 Boston College #9 Conte Forum • Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts ESPN+ Svedebäck L 1–7  7,489 10–6–2 (4–4–2)
January 13 6:00 pm #1 Boston College #9 Schneider Arena • Providence, Rhode Island ESPN+ Svedebäck W 4–3  2,904 11–6–2 (5–4–2)
January 19 7:00 pm Alaska Anchorage* #9 Schneider Arena • Providence, Rhode Island ESPN+ Svedebäck W 2–0  2,365 12–6–2
January 20 7:00 pm Alaska Anchorage* #9 Schneider Arena • Providence, Rhode Island ESPN+ Svedebäck L 0–4  2,415 12–7–2
January 26 7:15 pm at Massachusetts Lowell #10 Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts ESPN+ Svedebäck W 7–2  5,929 13–7–2 (6–4–2)
January 27 7:00 pm Massachusetts Lowell #10 Schneider Arena • Providence, Rhode Island ESPN+ Svedebäck W 4–3 OT 2,270 14–7–2 (7–4–2)
February 2 7:00 pm at Connecticut #10 Toscano Family Ice Forum • Storrs, Connecticut ESPN+ Svedebäck W 5–0  2,691 15–7–2 (8–4–2)
February 3 7:00 pm Connecticut #10 Schneider Arena • Providence, Rhode Island ESPN+ Svedebäck L 1–2  2,870 15–8–2 (8–5–2)
February 9 7:00 pm at #7 Maine #10 Alfond Arena • Orono, Maine ESPN+ Svedebäck L 1–2  5,043 15–9–2 (8–6–2)
February 10 7:00 pm at #7 Maine #10 Alfond Arena • Orono, Maine ESPN+ Svedebäck W 4–3 OT 4,745 16–9–2 (9–6–2)
February 16 7:00 pm #3 Boston University #10 Schneider Arena • Providence, Rhode Island ESPN+ Svedebäck T 2–2 SOW 2,865 16–9–3 (9–6–3)
February 17 6:00 pm at #3 Boston University #10 Agganis Arena • Boston, Massachusetts ESPN+ Svedebäck L 2–5  5,856 16–10–3 (9–7–3)
February 24 6:05 pm at Massachusetts Lowell #12 Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts ESPN+ Svedebäck W 2–1  5,342 17–10–3 (10–7–3)
February 29 7:00 pm at Merrimack #10 J. Thom Lawler Rink • North Andover, Massachusetts ESPN+ Svedebäck W 4–2  1,832 18–10–3 (11–7–3)
March 1 6:00 pm Merrimack #10 Schneider Arena • Providence, Rhode Island ESPN+ Svedebäck L 1–2  2,017 18–11–3 (11–8–3)
March 7 7:00 pm #2 Boston University #11 Schneider Arena • Providence, Rhode Island ESPN+ Svedebäck L 2–4  2,498 18–12–3 (11–9–3)
March 9 4:00 pm Northeastern #11 Schneider Arena • Providence, Rhode Island ESPN+ Svedebäck T 3–3 SOW 2,165 18–12–4 (11–9–4)
Hockey East Tournament
March 16 7:00 pm #16 Massachusetts* #13 Schneider Arena • Providence, Rhode Island (Quarterfinal) ESPN+, NESN+ Svedebäck L 1–3  2,644 18–13–4
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Eastern Time.
Source:[3]

Scoring statistics[edit]

Name Position Games Goals Assists Points PIM
Nick Poisson F 35 9 15 24 16
Tanner Adams C/RW 35 6 15 21 6
Chase Yoder C 35 11 9 20 26
Hudson Malinoski C 35 9 9 18 29
Guillaume Richard D 35 3 15 18 27
Bennett Schimek F 34 8 9 17 6
Luke Krys D 35 6 11 17 16
Riley Duran C 35 9 7 16 18
Jaroslav Chmelař LW/RW 26 5 10 15 29
Graham Gamache F 35 6 8 14 8
Austen May D 30 4 9 13 4
Connor Kelley D 34 1 11 12 12
Jamie Engelbert C 28 7 4 11 16
Craig Needham C 34 4 7 11 31
Cal Kiefiuk F 25 2 8 10 24
Liam Valente C/LW 29 4 5 9 10
Brady Berard C 27 2 6 8 16
Taige Harding D 34 2 6 8 12
Cam McDonald D 29 1 6 7 8
Andrew Centrella D 18 0 3 3 0
Clint Levens C 24 0 3 3 31
Matt Hubbarde C 13 1 0 1 2
Marcus Brännman G 2 0 0 0 2
Philip Svedebäck G 35 0 0 0 0
Total 100 176 276 359

[4]

Goaltending statistics[edit]

Name Games Minutes Wins Losses Ties Goals Against Saves Shut Outs SV % GAA
Philip Svedebäck 35 2072:21 18 13 4 80 717 4 .900 2.32
Marcus Brännman 5 44:51 0 0 0 3 9 0 .750 4.01
Empty Net - 13:18 - - - 0 - - - -
Total 35 2130:30 18 13 4 83 726 4 .897 2.34

Rankings[edit]

Main article: 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey rankings
Poll Week
Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 (Final)
USCHO.com 18 13 10 7 (1) 7 (2) 5 (1) 5 (3) 9 9 9 10 – 9 9 9 10 10 10 10 12 10 11 13 16 16 – 16
USA Today 20 15 12 8 9 6 5 (1) 9 9 10 11 11 – 9 9 11 10 13 11 11 10 10 14 16 16 16 16

Note: USCHO did not release a poll in weeks 11 and 25.[5]
Note: USA Today did not release a poll in week 12.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Hockey East Quarterfinals: Friars vs UMass Highlights". YouTube. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
  2. ^ "2023-24 Men's Ice Hockey Roster". Providence Friars. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
  3. ^ "2023-24 Men's Ice Hockey Schedule". Providence Friars. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
  4. ^ "Providence College 2023-2024 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
  5. ^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
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