The 2022–23 Providence Friars Men's ice hockey season was the 72nd season of play for the program and 39th in Hockey East. The Friars represented Providence College in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season, were coached by Nate Leaman in his 12th season, and played their home games at Schneider Arena.
Season Despite losing nearly half of the players from the previous season, Providence shot out of the gate with a tremendous start to the season. Using a very strong defense to insulate freshman starter Philip Svedebäck, the Friars won their first three games before dropping a weekend series with defending national champion, Denver. The losses didn't seem to slow them down since, as soon as they got back east, Providence went undefeated over a 9-game stretch. The streak included a sweep of then-#5 Massachusetts and put the Friars at the top of the Hockey East standings. The team ran into a little trouble just before the winter break but, as Christmas approached, Providence was well on its way to making the NCAA tournament.
While the first half of the season could hardly have gone better, the second half turned into a nightmare. The offense stalled in the back half of the year, averaging just over 2 goals per game and was shutout four times, as opposed to over 3 goals per game in the first half and no shutouts. While the goaltending was solid, if unspectacular, Providence's inability to score caused the team to tumble down the conference standings as the losses began to mount. A 5-game losing skid knocked the Friars out of the polls and their playoff chances dwindled. Providence finished the regular season by going 3–9–2 in its final 14 games and finished 1 game above .500.
When the team's postseason began, the Friars knew they had to win the conference tournament for any chance at an NCAA berth. The offense continued to be a problem when Providence took on a surging New Hampshire squad. The defense did its job and stymied the Wildcats, holding them to just 23 shot, but the offense needed extra time to get the game winner. Their quarterfinal game was eerily similar to the UNH match as Providence and Northeastern fought to a 1–1 draw after 60 minutes. Brady Berard's 1st goal of the season 4 minutes into overtime sent the Friars into the semifinal and a date with top-seeded Boston University. The PC defense continued to hold down the opposition's scoring chances, holding BU to just 15 shots in regulation. Unfortunately, the Friars were again only able to score once in regulation and a third consecutive overtime game was required. BU took over in the extra session and fired 10 pucks on goal in under 11 minutes. The final one got past Svedebäck and ended Providence's run.
Departures Davis Bunz Defenseman Graduation (signed with Wheeling Nailers) Austin Cain Goaltender Graduation (retired) Michael Callahan Defenseman Graduation (signed with Boston Bruins) Garrett Devine Forward Left program (retired) Alex Esposito Forward Graduation (signed with Iowa Heartlanders) Kyle Koopman Defenseman Graduation (retired) Matt Koopman Forward Graduate transfer to Massachusetts Tomáš Mazura Forward Transferred to St. Lawrence Ben Mirageas Defenseman Graduation (retired) Kohen Olischefski Forward Graduation (signed with Rochester Americans) Luke Perunovich Defenseman Graduate transfer to St. Thomas Jimmy Scannell Goaltender Graduation (retired) Jaxson Stauber Goaltender Signed professional contract (Chicago Blackhawks)
Recruiting Brady Berard Forward 18 East Greenwich, RI Jaroslav Chmelař Forward 19 Nové Město nad Metují, CZE; selected 144th overall in 2021 Chase Dafoe Forward 20 Beverly, MA John Driscoll Goaltender 22 Huntley, IL; sophomore walk-on Connor Kelley Defenseman 20 Maple Grove, MN; transfer from Minnesota Duluth; selected 204th overall in 2021 Austen May Defenseman 19 Woodhaven, MI Grant Porter Forward 20 Weston, MA Austin Roden Goaltender 24 Surrey, BC; transfer from Omaha Bennett Schimek Forward 19 Mendota Heights, MN Garrett Sundquist Defenseman 21 South Glastonbury, CT Philip Svedebäck Goaltender 20 Stockholm, SWE; selected 117th overall in 2021 Liam Valente Forward 19 Märsta, SWE
Roster As of August 22, 2022.
Standings
Schedule and results
!colspan=12 style=";" | Exhibition
!colspan=12 style=";" | Regular Season
!colspan=12 style=";" |
!colspan=12 style=";" | Regular Season
!colspan=12 style=";" |
Scoring statistics C/RW 37 12 14 26 22 LW 36 10 14 24 35 D 37 3 21 24 33 F 37 11 9 20 12 F 37 10 10 20 17 C 29 8 12 20 33 D 37 4 13 17 19 C 37 8 7 15 14 LW/RW 33 7 6 13 26 C/LW 30 3 8 11 10 RW 34 7 3 10 41 C 37 5 5 10 14 C 37 5 4 9 16 D 31 1 7 8 6 RW 25 2 5 7 4 D 29 1 5 6 28 D 37 1 5 6 15 D 21 0 6 6 10 RW 21 3 1 4 4 C 34 1 2 3 8 D 12 0 3 3 0 RW 8 1 1 2 2 D 2 0 1 1 0 RW 5 0 1 1 0 D 12 0 1 1 6 F 1 0 0 0 0 F 8 0 0 0 0 G 34 0 0 0 0 Total 103 164 267 375
Goaltending statistics 34 2013:08 14 11 7 73 733 1 .909 2.18 8 249:11 2 3 0 12 80 1 .870 2.89 Empty Net - 17:44 - - - 2 - - - - Total 37 2284:03 16 14 7 87 813 2 .903 2.29
Rankings
PollWeekPre123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627 (Final) USCHO.com15-16151113149108101012-11141217NRNRNRNRNRNRNRNR-NR USA Today15151615913т149981011121211151316NRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNR Note: USCHO did not release a poll in weeks 1, 13, or 26.
Awards and honors Max Crozier Hockey East Third Team Parker Ford
Players drafted into the NHL 2023 NHL entry draft 5 153 Hudson Malinoski † Toronto Maple Leafs † incoming freshman
References