Friars To Open NCAA Play vs. Harvard at The Dunk

The Providence Friars hope to recapture some of that 2015 magic when they
open the 2017 NCAA Tournament vs. Harvard at The Dunk.

By Bob Phillips

The college hockey season kicks off in earnest this coming weekend as the NCAA Division I Regionals are set to take place and this year the 2015 national champion Providence College Friars will have a decided advantage when they take on Harvard, the top seed in the East. Although seeded No. 14 overall (No. 4 in the East Region), and scheduled to open NCAA play against the No. 1 seed in the East (and No. 3 overall), the Friars’ advantage is, simply put, home cooking.

The Eastern Regionals are being held at the cozy confines of the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in downtown Providence.

To quote Church Lady: “How Conveeeeeeeenient!!!”

This will be the fourth straight trip to The Dance for the Friars, whose 2015 charge to the national title also began at The Dunk. While not quite their home ice—the Friars, of course, call the Schneider Arena on campus their home—it’s as close as you can get to home without being home.

“It's part of the goals of the season to get here,” said PC head coach Nate Leaman, now in his fifth year with the Friars after having spent eight years at Union developing the Dutchmen into a national power. “Doing it four years in a row, we're very proud of that. It was just a matter of growing throughout the season to get to this point. We had a great second half. I'm happy for the team. Now it's about playing our best hockey at the right time,” said Leaman.

Harvard, which earned a No. 1 regional seed for the first time since 1983, hasn’t faced Providence since 1984 and never in the NCAAs. But the Crimson, who were one period away from winning the 1986 title, aren’t daunted by competing on what amounts to home ice for the Friars, who upended another No. 1 seed (Miami) there two years ago en route to the championship. The Crimson, who easily dispatched national power Quinnipiac in the ECAC semifinals, 4-1, before moving on and defeating Cornell in the ECAC championship game by the same score, will have their came faces on for the Friars, for sure.

“What we need to focus on is how we play,” said Crimson head coach Ted Donato.

Harvard enters the tournament as e the No. 1 seed in
the East, and No. 3 overall.

Harvard comes into The Dunk riding a 16-game unbeaten streak and which has picked up for trophies in the past five weeks. Indeed, the Crimson are as experienced—and explosive—as any group of players in college hockey today.

“They’re probably one of the best Ivy League teams in the last 20 years,” explained Leaman, a former Crimson assistant who was named USCHO Coach of the Year in 2015 after leading the Friars to the national championship. “We have a really big challenge.”

After being swept at Notre Dame in the Hockey East quarterfinals, the Friars were in a precarious position regarding making the NCAA’s at all. However, they got the break they needed when UMass-Lowell topped BC in the Hockey East final.

Harvard, meanwhile, had no such concerns about making the NCAA field. The Crimson have been simply en fuego since mid-January. In the past two months, they have won the Beanpot Trophy and the Ivy League title, tied Union for the ECAC regular season title, and won their second ECAC title in the past three years.

But Friar fans have something else working in their favor: history. After reaching the Frozen Four in 1994, the Crimson have gone one-and-out in the NCAA’s seven times. Last season, they were ousted by archrival BC in the first round. But Donato says his team will not be burdened by history as if it were some sort of Red Sox/Cubs curse.

“This is a new year; a new team,” he said.

First puck will drop at 4 p.m. on Friday. For anyone not able to be there in person, the game will be televised live on ESPNU.

2017 NCAA MEN’S HOCKEY TOURNAMENT FIELD

• ·         No. 1 seeds: Denver, Minnesota-Duluth, Harvard, Minnesota
• ·         No. 2 seeds: UMass-Lowell, Western Michigan, BU, Union
• ·         No. 3 seeds: Penn State, North Dakota, Cornell, Air Force
• ·         No. 4 seeds: Notre Dame, Providence, Ohio State, Michigan Tech

Television Schedule (all games will also be streamed on WatchESPN):

EAST REGIONAL (Dunkin’ Donuts Center, Providence)

Fri., Mar. 24

• ·         No. 1 Harvard (26-5-2) vs. No. 4 Providence (22-11-5), 4 p.m. (ESPNU)
• ·         No. 2 Western Michigan (22-12-5) vs. No. 3 Air Force (26-9-5), 7:30 p.m. (ESPN3)

Sat., Mar. 25

• ·         East Regional Championship, 8:30 p.m. (ESPNU)

NORTHEAST REGIONAL (SNHU Arena, Manchester, N.H.)

Sat., Mar. 25

• ·         No. 2 UMass-Lowell (26-10-3) vs. No. 3 Cornell (21-8-5), Noon (ESPN3)
• ·         No. 1 Minnesota (23-11-3) vs. No. 4 Notre Dame (21-11-5), 3:30 p.m. (ESPNU)

Sun., Mar. 26

• ·         Northeast Regional Championship, 3:30 p.m. (ESPNU)

MIDWEST REGIONAL (US Bank Arena, Cincinnati)

Sat., Mar. 25

• ·         No. 1 Denver (29-7-4) vs. No. 4 Michigan Tech (23-14-7), 1 p.m. (ESPNews)
• ·         No. 2 Union (25-9-3) vs. No. 3 Penn State (24-11-2) , 4:30 p.m. (ESPN3)

Sun., March 26

• ·         Midwest Regional Championship, 6 p.m. (ESPNU)

WEST REGIONAL (Scheels Arena, Fargo, N.D.)

Fri., March 24

• ·         No. 2 Boston University (23-11-3) vs. No. 3 North Dakota (21-15-3), 3 p.m. (ESPN2)
• ·         No. 1 Minnesota-Duluth (25-6-7) vs. No. 4 Ohio State (21-11-6), 6:30 p.m. (ESPNU)

Sat., March 25

• ·         West Regional Championship, 6 p.m. (ESPNU) 

The Frozen Four will be played April 7 and 9 at the United Center in Chicago.