No. 5 Men's Hockey Game Notes Vs. No. 14/15 UConn

GAME COVERAGE
Matchup: No. 5 Providence (22-9-2, 17-5-1 HEA) vs. No. 14/15 UConn (18-10-5, 12-8-3 HEA)
Faceoff: 4:00 PM (Sat.) – Schneider Arena – Providence, R.I.
TV: NESN
U.S. Stream: ESPN+ | Play-by-play: Bridgette Proulx, Color: Bob Deraney
International Stream: Stretch Internet
Radio: 790 The Score | Varsity Network | Play-by-play: Mike Logan
Live Stats: Friars.com
X: @Friarshockey

Last Game
- The No. 6 Providence College men's hockey defeated New Hampshire, 3-2 on Saturday (Feb. 28), to clinch the outright Hockey East Regular Season Championship for the first time in program history. Michael Simpson made 27 saves including 16 in the third period to close out the win for Providence.
- The Friars outshot the Wildcats by a 16-4 margin in the first period as Providence came out of the gate strong in the opening 20 despite not finding the back of the net.
- Providence finally broke though at 16:15 of the second period as Julius Sumpf one-timed a feed from Graham Gamache on a shorthanded break to give the Friars a 1-0 lead. Quinn Mantei also earned an assist on the play.
- New Hampshire responded on a power-play goal by Alex Carr just 13 seconds later to tie the game at 1-1.
- The Friars held a 25-11 shot advantage after 40 minutes of play.
- With the Friars on the kill, Will Elger beat Chauvette over the glove for his ninth goal of the season, the second shorthanded goal of the game to give the Friars a 2-1 lead.
- John Mustard extended the lead to 3-1 with his team-high 15th goal of the season just 2:59 later.
- Simpson stood tall in the third, making several key stops in the final 20 minutes for his second win of the season.
- The Wildcats cut the deficit to 3-2 with an extra attacker with 1:35 to play in regulation, but the Friars closed out the final 95 seconds to seal the win.
- Providence extended its program-record road winning streak to nine games and set the program record for Hockey East wins in a season with 17.

Scouting the Huskies:
- UConn snapped a five-game winless streak on Thursday with a 4-1 home win over New Hampshire. The Huskies currently rank second in Hockey East with 41 points.
- Senior Ryan Tattle leads the way for the Huskies with 29 points on 12 goals and 17 assists. Joey Muldowney (16-9-25) and Jake Richard (9-16-25) round out the top-three in scoring.
- In goal, senior Tyler Muszelik posted a 17-8-5 record with a 2.17 GAA and .929 save percentage this season.
- In his 13th season at the helm, Head Coach Mike Cavanaugh has posted a 199-204-47 record.

Series History vs. UConn (17-7-7, .661)
- Providence and UConn met for the third and final meeting of the 2025-26 season. The Friars earned a 4-1 road win and a 2-2 tie at home from Nov. 7-8.
- Last season, the Friars took four of six points over two meetings, a 3-3 shootout loss at Schneider Arena followed up with a 6-3 win at the XL Center in Hartford. The teams then met in the Hockey East Quarterfinals at the Toscano Ice Forum, where the Huskies prevailed by a 3-1 score.
- Over the last 10 meetings, the teams are dead-even at 3-3-4.

Leaman Records 300th Win At Providence
Head Coach Nate Leaman recorded his 300th win at Providence after the Friars' 5-2 win at Vermont on Feb. 20. The winningest coach all-time in program history, Leaman has now totaled 440 career victories at the Division I level between Union and Providence.

Road Warriors
The Friars boast a 13-3-1 record on the road this season, including an active program-record nine-game road winning streak. The team has averaged 3.76 goals per game and a +28 goal differential, while the goaltending room has combined for a 2.10 GAA and .928 save percentage on the road this season.

Friars Clinch First-Ever Outright Hockey East Regular Season Title:
The Friars clinched the program's first-ever outright Hockey East Regular Season crown with a 3-2 win at New Hampshire on Feb. 28. Providence earns its first No. 1 seed in the upcoming Hockey East Tournment and will host a quarterfinal game at Schneider Arena on March 14.

Svedeback To Be Honored For Senior Night:
Goaltender Philip Svedeback will be the program's lone honoree on Senior Night this Saturday. Svedeback ranks fourth on the program's all-time games played (112) and wins (54) lists by a goaltender.

Jack Parsons Earns National and Hockey East Goaltender of the Month Honors
Providence College freshman goaltender Jack Parsons (Cortland, N.Y.) was named HCA National Rookie of the Month and Stop It Goaltending Hockey East Goaltender of the Month for January. Parsons went a perfect 7-0-0, tied for the most wins of among all NCAA goaltenders in January, after stepping in the Friars net due to injury to Philip Svedebäck. He posted two shutouts and has Providence riding a nine-game winning streak, the current longest streak in the nation. Parsons registered a 1.87 GAA and .931 save percentage in eight games during the month of January. He is the first Friar rookie to earn National Monthly honors since Jon Gillies in 2013.

Former Friar Nick Saracino '16 Named To Italy's Roster For 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics
Former Providence College men's hockey national champion Nick Saracino '16 (St. Louis, Mo.) was named to Italy's roster for the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympic Games set to run from Feb. 5-19. Saracino becomes the second men's hockey player to participate in the Olympics for Italy, joining Gates Orlando (1992, 1994, 1998). Saracino appeared in three games for Italy, including the Qualification Round against Switzerland.

Goaltender Michael Simpson Added To The Roster; Earns First NCAA Win
Michael Simpson joins the Friars after spending this season with the Savannah Ghost Pirates of the ECHL. With Savannah, Simpson recorded a 2.63 GAA and .909 save percentage in 10 games played. He participated in training camp with the Florida Panthers prior to the start of this season. In 2024-25, he appeared in a total of 16 games split between Belleville (AHL) and Orlando (ECHL). Simpson stopped 17-of-18 shots to earn his first NCAA win against Northeastern on Feb. 14.

The two-time OHL Champion won titles with the Peterborough Petes in 2022-23, alongside current Friar Donovan McCoy, and a championship the following season with the London Knights in 2023-24. He earned the Wayne Gretzky 99 Award as OHL Playoff MVP with Peterborough in 2023 after turning in a pair of 50-save performances during the OHL Championship Series. He guided London to an OHL title and a runner-up finish in the Memorial Cup in 2024, winning the Happ Emms Memorial Trophy as the Most Outstanding Goaltender of the Memorial Cup. Simpson was a two-time OHL All-Star Team selection in 2023 (Third Team) and 2024 (Second Team).

Friars By The Numbers
The Friars are the ninth tallest roster in the NCAA (6'1"), seventh youngest (21.1 years). Providence is just one of only three programs to have one senior on their roster. The Friars boasted the sixth-most NHL players that appeared in games during the 2024-25 season with 14 total.

The Saskatchewan Connection
Three members of this year's roster hail from Saskatchewan - Hudson Malinoski, Roger McQueen and Quinn Mantei. Malinoski and McQueen are childhood friends and played together with the Saskatoon Blazers AAA squad in 2021-22. Mantei and McQueen were teammates with the Brandon Wheat Kings from 2022-25.

Drafted Friars
Providence boasts seven drafted players on the 2025-26 roster: Tomas Machu (NYI - 2021), Hudson Malinoski (TOR - 2023), John Mustard (CHI - 2024), Julius Sumpf (CHI - 2025), Roger McQueen (ANA - 2025), Logan Sawyer (MTL - 2024) and Philip Svedeback (BOS - 2021). McQueen became the highest draft pick in program history after being selected 10th overall by the Anaheim Ducks in 2025. Friar commit Everett Baldwin was also selected in the 2025 NHL Draft, going to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the fifth round.

Three is the Magic Number
The Friars are 255-24-28 all-time under Nate Leaman when scoring three or more goals in a game.

After 40
The Friars are 225-13-23 all-time under Nate Leaman when holding a lead after two periods.

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

No. 5 Men's Hockey Game Notes Vs. No. 14/15 UConn

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Will Elger

Graham Gamache

Tomas Machu

Hudson Malinoski

Quinn Mantei

Donovan McCoy

Roger McQueen

John Mustard

Jack Parsons

Logan Sawyer

Michael Simpson

Julius Sumpf

Completed Event: Men's Ice Hockey at #17 Maine on January 31, 2026 , Win , 3, to, 2 , (OT)

Completed Event: Men's Ice Hockey at New Hampshire on February 6, 2026 , Win , 6, to, 1

Completed Event: Men's Ice Hockey versus Vermont on February 7, 2026 , Win , 6, to, 1

Completed Event: Men's Ice Hockey versus Northeastern on February 13, 2026 , Loss , 2, to, 4

Completed Event: Men's Ice Hockey versus Northeastern on February 14, 2026 , Win , 4, to, 1

Completed Event: Men's Ice Hockey at Vermont on February 20, 2026 , Win , 5, to, 2

Completed Event: Men's Ice Hockey at Vermont on February 21, 2026 , Win , 5, to, 3

Completed Event: Men's Ice Hockey versus New Hampshire on February 27, 2026 , Loss , 0, to, 1

Completed Event: Men's Ice Hockey at New Hampshire on February 28, 2026 , Win , 3, to, 2

Upcoming Event: Men's Ice Hockey versus #14/15 UConn on March 7, 2026 at 4:00 P.M.

Providence College Athletics

No. 5 Men's Hockey Game Notes Vs. No. 14/15 UConn

Related News

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Will Elger

Graham Gamache

Tomas Machu

Hudson Malinoski

Quinn Mantei

Donovan McCoy

Roger McQueen

John Mustard

Jack Parsons

Logan Sawyer

Michael Simpson

Julius Sumpf

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