No. 12/13 Men's vs. Hockey Game Notes Vermont

PIN COVER

Matchup: #13/12 Providence (2-1-0, 0-0-0 HEA) vs. Vermont (0-2-1, 0-0-0 HEA)
Faceoff: 7:00 PM (Friday) Gutterson Fieldhouse Burlington, Vt.
Current: ESPN+

Radio: 790 The score | Varsity Network | Play-by-play: Mike Logan

Live stats: UVMAthletics.com

X:@Friarshockey

Faceoff: 6:00 PM (Sat.) Gutterson Fieldhouse Burlington, Vt.
Current: ESPN+

Radio: 790 The score | Varsity Network | Play-by-play: Mike Logan

Live stats: UVMAthletics.com

X:@Friarshockey

Last time out vs. Arizona State:

– The No. 14 Providence College men's ice hockey team completed a two-game sweep of the Arizona State Sun Devils after a 2-1 victory on Saturday, Oct. 19, at Schneider Arena. Zacharias Borgiel stopped 31 of 32 shots in his first start as a Friar, while Hudson Malinoski led the way with a goal and an assist.
– Neither team made any offense in the first 40 minutes, leaving the Friars and Sun Devils deadlocked in shots on goal at 20-20. Providence's efforts were highlighted by a Logan Will escape opportunity halfway through the first period and a Logan Sawyer escape opportunity that was thwarted in the second.
– Providence broke open the scoring at 5:54 of the third period, as Hudson Malinoski put away one Nick Poisson rebound for his second tally of the year. Tanner Adams also had an assist during the game.
– With just over four minutes to play, Hudson Malinoski recovered the puck on the wall in the offensive zone before finding it Taige Harding open on the blue line, who found a lane and connected for his first score of the 2024-2025 season.
With just over 30 seconds left in the third period, Arizona State found the scoresheet on a Ryan Kirwan goal, taking advantage of the extra attacker opportunity to reach the final 2-1 score.
– Zacharias Borgiel finished the night by stopping 31 of 32 shots, good for a .969 save percentage and his first win as a starter at Providence.
– Four Friars gained a point in the win, led by a one-goal, one-assist performance Hudson Malinoski.
-Providence improved to 4-1-0 all-time against the Sun Devils.

Seasonal outlook

– The Friars enter the season picked to finish third in the Hockey East Preseason Coaches' Poll after finishing fourth in the standings a year ago. The team returns its top five scorers from 2023-2024 Nick Poisson (9-15-24), Tanner Adams (6-15-21), Chase Yoder (11-9-20), Hudson Malinoski (9-9-18) and Guillaume Richard (3-15-18). Yoder and Poisson were named captains, while Richard and Connor Kelley were appointed alternate captains.
– The incoming freshmen consist of four NHL draft picks, three of which were selected in the 2024 NHL Draft held in Las Vegas in June. Trevor Connelly became the program's fifth first-round pick, joining Joe Hulbig (13th, 1992), Tom Fitzgerald (17th, 1986), Mark Jankowski (21st, 2012) and Jay O'Brien (19th, 2018) when he was selected by the Vegas Golden Knights 19th overall. On day two of the draft, Johannes Mustard was selected by the Chicago Blackhawks in the third round (67th overall) and Logan Sawyer was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in the third round (78th overall). Freshman Tomas Machu was a 2021 seventh-round selection (221st overall) of the New York Islanders.
– Providence also welcomed five graduate transfers Logan Will (F, Colorado College), Cam Gendron (F, New Hampshire), Karel Vis (D, Minnesota), Ryan O'Reilly (F, state of Arizona) and Zacharias Borgiel (G, Merrimack).

Exploring the Catamounts:

-Vermont (0-2-1, 0-0-0 HEA) enters their weekend series with the Friars after a home game with Clarkson on Saturday (Oct. 19) in which the Catamounts fell 3-1.
– Through three games this season, forward Colin Kessler (2-1-3) leads the team in goals with a pair. Including Kessler, six different Catamounts have lit the lamp this season.
– Defenseman Sebastian Törnqvist (0-3-3) leads Vermont in assists with three, followed by a pair from Joel Maatta (0-2-2) and Simon Jellus (0-2-2). Nine Catamounts have recorded an assist this season.
– This season, Törnqvist (0-3-3) and Kessler (2-1-3) pace the Catamounts in total points with three apiece, followed by four players with a pair of points and six individuals with one point on the year.
– Net, the Catamounts have turned to graduate student Keenan Rancier, who has posted an 0-2-1 record in three starts, good for a 2.95 goals against average and a .910 save percentage.
– Entering this weekend's game, freshman forward Colin Kessler is tied with Boston University's Devin Kaplan for a nation-leading 23 penalty minutes this season.
– On special teams, the Catamounts have a top-15 unit in penalty kills, surviving 93.3% of extra attacker opportunities, good for 13th nationally.
– On defense, the Catamounts are allowing an average of 34 shots per game, which ranks 10th nationally.
– Vermont has been one of the least disciplined teams in the country this season, averaging 14.3 penalty minutes per game, which ranks seventh nationally.

Series History vs. Vermont (36-28-12)

This weekend's matchup with Vermont marks the first conference action for both the Friars and Catamounts in the 2024-2025 season. Entering Friday's game, the Friars are riding a 14-game undefeated streak (10-0-4) against the Catamounts that dates back to the 2018-19 season. Vermont's last win over the Friars came on February 1, 2019, where the Catamounts defeated Providence 3-1 in a road game.

Eight former brothers earn spots on the NHL's opening night

The Friars had eight alumni appear on NHL opening night rosters – Noel Acciari (PIT), Jacob Bryson (BUF), Vincent Desharnais (VAN), Brandon Duhaime (WSH), Mark Jankowski (NSH), Kevin Rooney (CGY), Brandon Tanev (SEA) and Jake Walman (SJ).

Leaman reaches milestone

Head Coach Nate Leaman earned his 249th career victory at Providence on November 11, 2023, passing Lou Lamoriello as the program's all-time winningest head coach. Leaman has 399 wins as a Division I head coach. Leaman is the only Hockey East coach to post a winning record in each of the past twelve seasons.

Leading the platoon:

In three games this season Tanner Adams (3-1-4) and Hudson Malinoski (2-2-4) led the Friars in goals while Nick Poisson (0-3-3) and Malinoski lead the team in assists. Thirteen different Friars have registered a point this season.

Well disciplined:

Through three games this season, the Friars are averaging 4.7 penalty minutes per game, which ties them with North Dakota for the second-lowest total nationally this season, trailing only Wisconsin (3.5/game) .

Poisson among active leaders

With a three-assist weekend against Arizona State, graduate student Nick Poisson inches closer to the century mark in career scoring with 96 points. He aims to become the 55th member of the program to reach the 100-point milestone.

Svedeback and Borgiel earn Hockey East Co-Goaltender of the Week honors:

Philip Svedebäck from Providence College (Vaxjo, Sweden) and Zacharias Borgiel (Fort Gratiot, Michigan) was named Stop It Goaltending's Hockey East Co-Goaltenders of the Week on Monday, October 21. The tandem combined to stop 58 of 60 shots in the two-game sweep over Arizona State last weekend.

The new guys – fast hitters

Providence welcomes five transfer students and nine freshmen to the roster for the 2024-2025 season.

Logan Will (F)
– 7-11-18 in 37 GP with Colorado College (NCHC) in 2023-24
– Served as captain in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons

Cam Gendron (F)
– 1-2-3 in 10 GP with New Hampshire (HEA) in 2023-24

Karel Vis (D)
– 0-3-3 in 38 GP with Minnesota (B1G) in 2023-24

Zacharias Borgiel (G)
– 3.26 GAA, 0.890 SV% and 6-9-1 record in 16 GP with Merrimack (HEA) in 2023-24

Ryan O'Reilly (F)
– 6/9/15 in 37 GP with Arizona State (NCHC) in 2023-24
– Served as assistant captain in 2023-2024 season
– Drafted in the fourth round, 98th overall by Detroit Red Wings in 2018 NHL Draft

Tomas Machu (D)
– 1-16-17 in 60 GP with Youngstown Phantoms (USHL) in 2023-24
– Drafted in the seventh round, 221st overall by New York Islanders in 2021 NHL Draft

Alexander Balen (D)
– 3-4-17 in 34 GP with Tri-City Storm (USHL) in 2023-24

Braids Clark (F)
– 11-12-23 in 35 GP with Youngstown Phantoms (USHL) in 2023-24

Geno McEnery (F)
– 7-26-33 in 33 GP with Janesville Jets (NAHL), 25 GP with Oklahoma Warriors (NAHL) in 2023-24

Aleksi Kivioja (F)
– 9-9-18 in 45 GP with Omaha Lancers (USHL) in 2023-24

Will Elger (F)
– 16-17-33 in 62 GP with Omaha Lancers (USHL) in 2023-24

Trevor Connelly (F)
– 31-47-78 in 52 GP with Tri-City Storm (USHL) in 2023-24
– 4-5-9 in 7 GP, silver medal with USA at 2024 U18 World Championships
– Drafted in the first round, 19th overall by Vegas Golden Knights in 2024 NHL Draft

Logan Sawyer (F)
– 35-43-78 in 59 GP with Brooks Bandits (AJHL, BCHL) in 2023-24
– Drafted in the third round, 78th overall by the Montreal Canadiens in the 2024 NHL Draft

Johannes Mustard (F)
– 29-27-56 in 60 GP with Waterloo Black Hawks (USHL) in 2023-24
– Drafted in the third round, 67th overall by Chicago Blackhawks in 2024 NHL Draft
– USHL Rookie of the Year

Three is the magic number

The Friars are 219-24-24 all-time under Nate Leaman when scoring three or more goals in a match.

After 40

The Friars are 196-11-20 all-time under Nate Leaman if you have a lead after two periods.

Shot suppression

Providence finished second in the nation in shots allowed per game in 2023-24, averaging just 23.1 shots on goal.

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