ECH “Out East” WEEK 2: PROVIDENCE TAKES 2 FROM ARIZONA STATE
BY Brendan locke - october 25, 2024This was one of the games I circled when I pitched the idea of covering Hockey East on the blog. Because I was so interested in Arizona State, I had no sense of how they play, what they look like, or how they operate. I was curious to see how a school, now in the ninth year of Division 1 and officially in a conference, would match up with a perennial top-15 team in the country.
It did not go great… By the end of Saturday night, the Sun Devils were looking to get out of Providence faster than Ed Cooley.
However, before we get to the hockey, I do need to cover a few bases. I am a born and raised native of Massachusetts, I love my state and everything that comes with it. However, I feel like an adopted Rhode Islander, and certain stops must be made before we get to any sort of hockey.
3 all the way and a coffee milk.
If you know you know.
Ok back to your regularly scheduled programming.
PC is a big deal in Providence, really they’re the only deal in Providence. The people love their Friars and as you drive into the city billboards with “Welcome to Friartown” dot the highway.
This past weekend was homecoming, alumni and parents weekend all rolled into one. So, I had my expectations fully set for a rocking and rolling Schneider Arena.
I was wrong.
A half-empty rink on a Friday night in “Friartown”
I know that the basketball team is the main attraction, but people were not even aware that there was a hockey game happening. The rink is on campus, unlike the basketball team playing at the Amica Mutual Pavilion (it’s The Dunk and everybody knows it) and the hockey team has had more national success than the basketball team! The 1st game on a Friday night should be packed with students, parents, and alumni to kick-start the weekend. But not even having a student section that is standing or chanting is shameful!
For shame Friartown!
Look at the energy they bring to the hoops games:
It could be an electric Hockey East atmosphere, I’m just saying.
Ok, how about we talk about some actual hockey now, shall we?
PC came into this game after a 1 game road trip to North Dakota where the Fighting Hawks jumped on them and beat them up to a tune of 5-2. The Friars had a disappointing finish to the season last year going 4-5-2 in February to close out the season followed up by a first-round exit at the hands of UMass in the Hockey East tournament. But, Nate Leaman’s squad has reloaded and is ready to establish themselves as one of the top dogs in the conference once again.
Arizona State was an interesting case, I had no idea what to expect from basically anything they did on the ice, and I had no sense of the type of players that they recruited nor the style of hockey that they played. The Sun Devils had a record of 24-8-6 last season, including an overtime win over eventual national champion Denver. This record did however include playing the Alaska schools (Fairbanks and Anchorage) 11 times throughout the year, along with having nearly every new NCAA team on the schedule with games against Stonehill, Augustana, Lindenwood, and Long Island University. This season, ASU made a massive leap into the college hockey landscape, the Sun Devils joined the NCHC (National Collegiate Hockey Conference) what is likely the deepest conference in the nation, featuring the likes of Denver, North Dakota, Minnesota Duluth, and Nebraska Omaha.
There is not one weekend off in the NCHC and having to play some of the best teams in the country week in and week out is going to be a big change. I have a feeling the Sun Devils are in a little dose of reality when it’s the middle of January and you have to go North Dakota to go play in front of 18,000 at the Ralph. As for the team itself I was told to watch Cullen Potter, a 17-year-old out of the NTDP who de-committed from Michigan State because they would not enroll him a year early, Arizona State scooped him up. Massive recruit for ASU top 10 pick ceiling and low 1st round floor. The kid is uber-talented, but more on him later.
Game 1
PC was the one who came flying out of the locker room to get the game started. Less than 4 minutes into the game the Friars struck first, an aggressive forecheck forced the Sun Devils to make a mistake, and if we know anything about Nate Leaman’s teams it’s that if you make a mistake, they will absolutely kill you. Sophomore Tanner Adams was the beneficiary of Tony Achille turning the puck over in the defensive zone and from there the Friars went to work waking it 1-0 less than 4 minutes into the game.
ASU was able to put a response together and gain some pressure but Boston Bruins draft pick Phil Svedback has the chance to not only be one of the best goalies in Hockey East but in the country, he would need to be challenged more for the Sun Devils to break through.
The challenge would get significantly more difficult in the 2nd as Tanner Adams is once again on the receiving end of a goal, this time via one the most bizarre bounces you will ever see but Adams won’t be complaining.
I mean come on… straight up into the air and onto the stick?
ASU would have almost nothing going for them for the remainder of the period forcing Svedback to make just 8 saves in the entire period. On the other end for PC Trevor Connolly, a 1st round pick of the Vegas Golden Knights is unequivocally the best player on the ice. The freshman is prepared and outskates nearly everybody on the ice. Extremely impressed with him.
Things turned out to be significantly different for the Sun Devils as they came out in the 2nd period and looked like a hockey team that could compete.
They rang a shot off the crossbar in the opening minute of the period and started to gain some momentum after a spell of good play resulting in Svedback having to make multiple high-leverage saves in the opening 5 minutes. However, what good teams do is make you pay, and that is exactly what PC did, after registering just 1 shot in 10 minutes, they scored on their 2nd. And it was a beauty, Logan Will stretched the lead to 3-0, he’s got a highlight for life with this. Fitting it into a tuna can in between Gibson Homer and the crossbar.
Goodness gracious.
ASU had pulled themselves into the pace of the game yet they looked up at the board and found themselves down another goal. The only reason ASU was in the game was Gibson Homer who had been beat on unbelievable shots on the goals but had been up to the task throughout the game.
Nothing came for ASU in 3rd.
Trevor Connolly was taken down by a leg check in the neutral zone and did not return to the game after his opening shift in the 3rd. He received an MRI on Monday after Nate Leaman said that “it doesn’t look bad long term” There were reports this week that he is out for at least 3 weeks (via Mark Divver) if true or even potentially longer, that is a massive loss for the Friars. Losing a top 6 forward is always difficult but one of that talents for PC is going to leave a large gap that will require some shuffling until Thanksgiving.
ASU would break up Svedback’s shutout in the 3rd with a goal from Ryan Kirwan who would capitalize on a broken play.
PC would tack on an empty netter by none other than Tanner Adams for the first hat trick for a Friar since 2022. But not 1 hat was launched onto the ice by the remaining crowd at Schnider Arena. Another massive indictment on the “Friar Fanatics”
Game 2 was set for a 4:00 puck drop squeezed in before “late night madness tipoff with Zac Brown Band”
Now my question is, does Zac Brown Band really move the needle that much in 2024?
They haven’t released an album with a single song that anybody knows in a decade. Listen, I love “The Foundation” as much as anybody, but if you went to a Zac Brown Band concert in 2016, 2019, 2022, or 2024 it’s all the same! Nobody knows their new songs!
Disregarding that tangent, (truth). I spent about an hour trying to find a parking spot ahead of the game. People were parking around the hockey rink, probably walking right past it! Just show some support you have a really good team that can contend and make a run. Support them!
Game 2
Saturday afternoon was a slightly different story that ended with the same result, ASU brought their skating legs in the 1st period, and it resulted in a scoreless 1st period with both teams knotted at 0. The difference in the period was an outrageous paddle save on a 2-on-1-as Luke Pavicich denied Clint Levens of his 1st career goal.
Another scoreless period in the 2nd, this time, for the 1st time the entire weekend, ASU controlled an entire 20-minute period. The difference was when Providence started chasing the puck they would settle get a clearance and head to the bench. When things start moving badly for Arizona State they start acting like Ricky Bobby when he thinks he’s on fire.
Despite the good play, the Sun Devils could not find their 1st lead of the series and you could just feel that if PC could get 1 goal then that would be what they would need to get the sweep. PC responded coming out of the locker room in the 3rd and dominating the opening stages, they were able to get the crucial 1st goal. Hudson Malinsoki capitalized by going hard to net with his stick down and banged home a rebound to make it 1-0.
PC would add another goal via an ASU turnover Taige Harding would get his first goal of the season on a seeing eye that made its way through a mass of bodies to beat Pavicich. The defensemen did not even know that it went in but the Friars were up 2-0 with 6:00 remaining it had to feel like 6-0 for ASU. The Sun Devils really struggled when they were down to create chances and use the skill and speed that they do have.
ASU would tack on a goal with less than a minute remaining to break up backup goalies Zach Borgiel’s shutout. But all being a moot point because the Friars would sweep the weekend and that is a long flight back to Tempe.
Weekend Takeaways
Providence is going to be a tough out in Hockey East this season. A significant amount of their production is going to be lost for about a month with Trevor Connelly being out for that time. Where this team is truly great is on defense, their top D pair with Guillaume Ricard and Connor Kelley is as good as any pairing in the country. Each with over 100 games played in their career and the pair completely dictates the tempo and style of the game when they are on the ice. Same concept for the secondary pairing of Taige Harding and Austin May both upperclassmen that have played a lot of hockey. This group for PC is deep, experienced, and big they knock away pucks with ease and aren’t afraid to shoot either. With a young group of forwards up front, this group of defensemen is going to be the key to stabilizing this PC squad. Nate Leaman has seldom has 2 goalie system, but he may have to look into one this season, Phil Svedback is already one of the best in the country and if Zach Borgiel could provide a nice change of pace on certain weekends to offset the Bruins draft pick “it’s a nice problem to have, that’s what the Friars need” Leaman added when asked about a potential goalie tandem.
Arizona State may be one of the oddest teams that I have ever seen in my life. They are exceptionally skilled, with some nice pieces. Noah Beck is a graduate transfer from Clarkson who provides a lot on the backend and has played a lot of hockey. Sam Court is a freshman defensive who can absolutely fly when he joins the rush, but everything is centered around Cullen Potter the 17-year-old who is the biggest recruit in the program's history. I watched him for 2 games, he’s as good of a skater as you’ll see, especially for his group. In his draft year he was described to me as the best skater in the class, he’s incredibly skilled and will dazzle on certain shifts given the space to create. The problem, he’s listed at 5’9 but plays even smaller against a big and heavy team like PC they gave him almost no room and ran him into boards more than a few times. To his credit, he would always pop right back up. But he has shifts where it is virtually invisible. Almost unnoticeable in game 1 if he does not have his best stuff he brings very little to the table. So was he right to de-commit from Michigan State because they thought he wasn’t ready, no they were probably right. He has a lot to work on if he wants to produce a high level this season and beyond for the Sun Devils. As for the team itself, I have no idea how they are going to play a gauntlet schedule in the NCHC. This team does not look physical enough, big enough, or experienced enough to make a lot of noise in the deepest conference in college hockey.
