# 2021–22 Providence Friars men's ice hockey season

The 2021–22 Providence Friars Men's ice hockey season is the 71st season of play for the program. They represent Providence College in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season and for the 38th season in the Hockey East conference. They are coached by Nate Leaman, in his 11th season, and play their home games at Schneider Arena.

## Season

Providence began the season well, winning its first three games and headed into the Ice Breaker Tournament ranked in the top 10. Unfortunately, when the Friars faced other highly ranked opponents, they weren't able to sustain the same level of success. They finished last in the tournament but recovered a week later with a win over Denver. They regained their spot in the top-10 and held it until early November when they were swept by defending national champion Massachusetts. The two losses were very harmful to Providence since their record left them with little opportunity for improvement over the next month. The Friars did win the succeeding six games, however, because all of them were to unranked teams (some of whom had terrible records) they actually fell in the rankings, dropping down to 13th by the beginning of December.
The team finally got a chance to climb back into postseason contention when they met Northeastern. Unfortunately, just as they had against the Minutemen, Providence dropped both games to the Huskies and fell further down the standings. The Friars performed well in their four other games during the month but none were against ranked teams.
COVID-19 ended up causing Providence to cancel a few games at the beginning of January and the team looked out of sorts afterwards. Providence played inconsistently over the second half of the year. While the team did record impressive wins against upper-echelon clubs, the bright spots couldn't cover up the fact that, in a down year for Hockey East, the Friars finished in the bottom half of the standings.
Providence entered postseason play with only a slim chance for an at-large bid. The Friars would likely need to make the conference championship game to have any hope at making the tournament but even that would not be a guarantee. They dominated Vermont in the opening match, outshooting the Catamounts 40–18, but only scraped by with a 2–1 victory. The lack of scoring continued in the quarterfinals when they took on Massachusetts. They continued to send a barrage of shots on goal, firing 47 in total, but again could only manage 2 goals. The Minutemen, however, had no trouble getting the puck past Jaxson Stauber and notched 4 on only 19 shots and ended the Friars' season.

## Departures

| Player | Position | Nationality | Cause |
| Jack Adams | Forward | United States | Graduate transfer to Notre Dame |
| Anton Martinsson | Goaltender | Sweden | Graduation (retired) |
| John McDermott | Forward | United States | Graduation (retired) |
| Gabriel Mollot-Hill | Goaltender | Canada | Graduate transfer to Guelph |
| Albin Nilsson | Forward | Sweden | Transferred to Niagara |
| Jason O'Neill | Forward | United States | Graduation (retired) |
| Greg Printz | Forward | United States | Graduation (signed with San Diego Gulls) |
| Tyce Thompson | Forward | United States | Signed professional contract (New Jersey Devils) |
| Matt Tugnutt | Forward | Canada | Graduation (signed with Idaho Steelheads) |

## Recruiting

| Player | Position | Nationality | Age | Notes |
| Austin Cain | Goaltender | Canada | 25 | Ottawa, ON; graduate transfer from Western Michigan |
| Michael Citara | Forward | United States | 19 | New Hope, PA |
| Riley Duran | Forward | United States | 19 | Boston, MA; selected 182nd overall in 2020 |
| Alex Esposito | Forward | United States | 25 | West Haven, CT; graduate transfer from Vermont |
| Tomas Mazura | Forward | Czech Republic | 21 | Pardubice, CZE; selected 162nd overall in 2019 |
| Cody Monds | Forward | Canada | 20 | Brockville, ON |
| Kohen Olischefski | Forward | Canada | 23 | Abbotsford, BC; graduate transfer from Denver |
| Guillaume Richard | Defenseman | Canada | 18 | Quebec City, QC; selected 101st overall in 2021 |
| Will Schimek | Defenseman | United States | 20 | Mendota Heights, MN |

## Roster

As of August 12, 2021.

## Standings

2021–22 Hockey East Standingsvte :
| | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record |
| | GP | W | L | T | OTW | OTL | SOW | PTS | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA |
| #12 Northeastern † | 24 | 15 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 47 | 68 | 46 | 39 | 25 | 13 | 1 | 99 | 68 |
| #10 Massachusetts * | 24 | 14 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 46 | 77 | 54 | 37 | 22 | 13 | 2 | 117 | 88 |
| #13 Massachusetts Lowell | 24 | 15 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 46 | 62 | 48 | 35 | 21 | 11 | 3 | 102 | 74 |
| #19 Connecticut | 24 | 14 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 41 | 73 | 61 | 36 | 20 | 16 | 0 | 109 | 89 |
| Boston University | 24 | 13 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 41 | 69 | 58 | 35 | 19 | 13 | 3 | 107 | 89 |
| Merrimack | 24 | 13 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 41 | 70 | 70 | 35 | 19 | 15 | 1 | 109 | 99 |
| #20 Providence | 24 | 12 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 38 | 61 | 52 | 38 | 22 | 14 | 2 | 118 | 82 |
| Boston College | 24 | 9 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 32 | 67 | 77 | 38 | 15 | 18 | 5 | 114 | 123 |
| New Hampshire | 24 | 8 | 15 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 25 | 47 | 71 | 34 | 14 | 19 | 1 | 76 | 95 |
| Vermont | 24 | 6 | 16 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 20 | 41 | 72 | 35 | 8 | 25 | 2 | 59 | 101 |
| Maine | 24 | 5 | 17 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 19 | 54 | 80 | 33 | 7 | 22 | 4 | 74 | 111 |
| Championship: March 19, 2022 † indicates regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion (Lamoriello Trophy) Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll ||||||||||||||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date | Time | Opponent$^#$ | Rank$^#$ | Site | TV | Decision | Result | Attendance | Record |
| Regular Season ||||||||||
| October 2 | 4:00 PM | Army* | #12 | Schneider Arena • Providence, Rhode Island | | Stauber | W 7–0 | 0 | 1–0–0 |
| October 7 | 7:00 PM | Merrimack | #11 | Schneider Arena • Providence, Rhode Island | NESN | Stauber | W 5–2 | 2,587 | 2–0–0 (1–0–0) |
| October 9 | 7:05 PM | at American International* | #11 | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts | | Stauber | W 5–1 | 577 | 3–0–0 |
| Ice Breaker Tournament ||||||||||
| October 15 | 5:07 PM | vs. #1 Minnesota State* | #10 | AMSOIL Arena • Duluth, Minnesota (Ice Breaker Semifinal) | | Stauber | L 2–5 | — | 3–1–0 |
| October 16 | 8:37 PM | at #5 Minnesota Duluth* | #10 | AMSOIL Arena • Duluth, Minnesota (Ice Breaker Consolation) | | Stauber | L 2–3 | 5,738 | 3–2–0 |
| Regular Season ||||||||||
| October 22 | 7:00 PM | #8 Denver* | #12 | Schneider Arena • Providence, Rhode Island | | Stauber | W 6–5 | 2,637 | 4–2–0 |
| October 24 | 5:00 PM | at New Hampshire | #12 | Whittemore Center • Durham, New Hampshire | | Stauber | W 2–0 | 3,458 | 5–2–0 (2–0–0) |
| October 29 | 7:00 PM | New Hampshire | #8 | Schneider Arena • Providence, Rhode Island | NESN+ | Stauber | W 6–1 | 2,227 | 6–2–0 (3–0–0) |
| October 30 | 7:00 PM | at New Hampshire | #8 | Whittemore Center • Durham, New Hampshire | | Stauber | L 1–2 | 3,134 | 6–3–0 (3–1–0) |
| November 5 | 7:00 PM | at #12 Massachusetts | #7 | Mullins Center • Amherst, Massachusetts | NESN | Stauber | L 0–1 | 4,485 | 6–4–0 (3–2–0) |
| November 6 | 7:00 PM | #12 Massachusetts | #7 | Schneider Arena • Providence, Rhode Island | NESN+ | Stauber | L 1–5 | 3,169 | 6–5–0 (3–3–0) |
| November 12 | 7:00 PM | American International* | #12 | Schneider Arena • Providence, Rhode Island | | Stauber | W 2–1 $^{OT}$ | 1,753 | 7–5–0 |
| November 13 | 7:00 PM | Connecticut | #12 | Schneider Arena • Providence, Rhode Island | | Stauber | W 6–4 | 2,572 | 8–5–0 (4–3–0) |
| November 19 | 7:35 PM | at Vermont | #12 | Gutterson Fieldhouse • Burlington, Vermont | | Stauber | W 4–3 | 2,421 | 9–5–0 (5–3–0) |
| November 20 | 7:05 PM | at Vermont | #12 | Gutterson Fieldhouse • Burlington, Vermont | | Stauber | W 2–0 | 2,298 | 10–5–0 (6–3–0) |
| November 26 | 4:00 PM | Dartmouth* | #14 | Schneider Arena • Providence, Rhode Island | NESN | Stauber | W 7–4 | 1,969 | 11–5–0 |
| November 27 | 7:00 PM | at Brown* | #14 | Meehan Auditorium • Providence, Rhode Island (Mayor's Cup) | NESN+ | Cain | W 4–0 | 842 | 12–5–0 |
| December 3 | 7:00 PM | #16 Northeastern | #13 | Schneider Arena • Providence, Rhode Island | | Stauber | L 0–2 | 2,762 | 12–6–0 (6–4–0) |
| December 4 | 7:00 PM | at #16 Northeastern | #13 | Matthews Arena • Boston, Massachusetts | NESN+ | Stauber | L 1–4 | 2,638 | 12–7–0 (6–5–0) |
| December 10 | 7:00 PM | Princeton* | #16 | Schneider Arena • Providence, Rhode Island | NESN+ | Stauber | W 7–0 | 2,129 | 13–7–0 |
| December 11 | 7:00 PM | Princeton* | #16 | Schneider Arena • Providence, Rhode Island | | Stauber | W 3–2 | 1,920 | 14–7–0 |
| Holiday Face–Off ||||||||||
| December 28 | 5:07 PM | vs. Bowling Green* | #16 | Fiserv Forum • Milwaukee, Wisconsin (Face–Off Semifinal) | BSD, BSN, BSO, BSW | Stauber | W 6–2 | - | 15–7–0 |
| December 29 | 8:37 PM | vs. Wisconsin* | #16 | Fiserv Forum • Milwaukee, Wisconsin (Face–Off Championship) | BSN, BSO, BSW | Stauber | T 2–2 $^{SOL}$ | 6,225 | 15–7–1 |
| Regular Season ||||||||||
| January 14 | 7:00 PM | at Merrimack | #17 | J. Thom Lawler Rink • North Andover, Massachusetts | | Stauber | L 2–3 | 1,587 | 15–8–1 (6–6–0) |
| January 15 | 5:30 PM | Merrimack | #17 | Schneider Arena • Providence, Rhode Island | | Stauber | L 1–2 | 2,128 | 15–9–1 (6–7–0) |
| January 21 | 7:00 PM | Boston College | #18 | Schneider Arena • Providence, Rhode Island | | Stauber | W 7–0 | 5,390 | 16–9–1 (7–7–0) |
| January 22 | 7:00 PM | at Boston College | #18 | Conte Forum • Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts | NESN | Stauber | T 1–1 $^{SOW}$ | 3,187 | 16–9–2 (7–7–1) |
| January 28 | 7:00 PM | at #9 Massachusetts | #17 | Mullins Center • Amherst, Massachusetts | NESN+ | Stauber | W 2–1 | 4,493 | 17–9–2 (8–7–1) |
| January 30 | 3:00 PM | at Boston University | #17 | Agganis Arena • Boston, Massachusetts | NESN | Stauber | L 2–5 | 2,228 | 17–10–2 (8–8–1) |
| February 4 | 7:05 PM | at Connecticut | #17 | XL Center • Hartford, Connecticut | NESN+ | Stauber | L 1–2 | 3,647 | 17–11–2 (8–9–1) |
| February 5 | 7:00 PM | Vermont | #17 | Schneider Arena • Providence, Rhode Island | NESN | Stauber | W 4–1 | 2,834 | 18–11–2 (9–9–1) |
| February 11 | 7:00 PM | #20 Boston University | #17 | Schneider Arena • Providence, Rhode Island | NESN+ | Stauber | L 1–4 | 2,394 | 18–12–2 (9–10–1) |
| February 18 | 7:15 PM | at #16 Massachusetts Lowell | #19 | Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts | | Stauber | L 2–3 | 4,243 | 18–13–2 (9–11–1) |
| February 19 | 7:00 PM | #16 Massachusetts Lowell | #19 | Schneider Arena • Providence, Rhode Island | | Stauber | W 3–2 | 2,453 | 19–13–2 (10–11–1) |
| February 25 | 7:00 PM | Maine | #19т | Schneider Arena • Providence, Rhode Island | | Stauber | W 4–2 | 1,996 | 20–13–2 (11–11–1) |
| February 26 | 7:00 PM | Maine | #19т | Schneider Arena • Providence, Rhode Island | | Stauber | W 3–2 $^{OT}$ | 2,042 | 21–13–2 (12–11–1) |
| March 4 | 7:00 PM | USNTDP* | #19 | Schneider Arena • Providence, Rhode Island (Exhibition) | | Cain | L 4–5 | | |
| Hockey East Tournament ||||||||||
| March 9 | 7:00 PM | Vermont* | #20 | Schneider Arena • Providence, Rhode Island (Opening Round) | | Stauber | W 2–1 | 1,095 | 22–13–2 |
| March 12 | 7:00 PM | at #12 Massachusetts* | #20 | Mullins Center • Amherst, Massachusetts (Quarterfinals) | | Stauber | L 2–4 | 2,422 | 22–14–2 |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Eastern Time. Source: ||||||||||

## Scoring statistics

| Name | Position | Games | Goals | Assists | Points | PIM |
| Brett Berard | LW | 36 | 18 | 20 | 38 | 37 |
| Nick Poisson | F | 37 | 10 | 25 | 35 | 22 |
| Parker Ford | C/RW | 38 | 13 | 14 | 27 | 31 |
| Patrick Moynihan | C | 38 | 11 | 14 | 25 | 24 |
| Max Crozier | D | 32 | 7 | 16 | 23 | 16 |
| Riley Duran | C | 38 | 10 | 9 | 19 | 18 |
| Kohen Olischefski | RW | 38 | 8 | 10 | 18 | 0 |
| Jamie Engelbert | C | 38 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 14 |
| Cody Monds | RW | 32 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 8 |
| Guillaume Richard | D | 36 | 3 | 11 | 14 | 26 |
| Michael Callahan | D | 38 | 3 | 11 | 14 | 16 |
| Matt Koopman | C | 35 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 2 |
| Chase Yoder | F | 38 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 14 |
| Uula Ruikka | D | 32 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 12 |
| Cam McDonald | D | 38 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 20 |
| Jaxson Stauber | G | 37 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 |
| Davis Bunz | D | 38 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 20 |
| Ben Mirageas | D | 16 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 21 |
| Michael Citara | RW | 28 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 6 |
| Alex Esposito | RW | 23 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 |
| Craig Needham | C | 30 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 |
| Tomas Mazura | C | 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Garrett Devine | F | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Taige Harding | D | 15 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| Jimmy Scannell | G | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Luke Perunovich | D | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Luke Johnson | D | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Austin Cain | G | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| William Schimek | D | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Total | | | 118 | 197 | 315 | 339 |

## Goaltending statistics

| Name | Games | Minutes | Wins | Losses | Ties | Goals Against | Saves | Shut Outs | SV % | GAA |
| Austin Cain | 4 | 75 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 1 | 1.000 | 0.00 |
| Jimmy Scannell | 2 | 3:09 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 0.00 |
| Jaxson Stauber | 23 | 2203 | 21 | 14 | 2 | 77 | 898 | 4 | .921 | 2.10 |
| Empty Net | - | 17 | - | - | - | 5 | - | - | - | - |
| Total | 38 | 2299 | 22 | 14 | 2 | 82 | 930 | 5 | .919 | 2.14 |

## Rankings

| Poll | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 (Final) |
| USCHO.com | 12 | 11 | 10 | 12 | 8 | 7 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 13 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 20 | 20 | 20 | - | 20 |
| USA Today | 14 | 11 | 10 | 14 | 8 | 8 | 13 | 11 | 14 | 13 | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR |
Note: USCHO did not release a poll in week 24.

## Awards and honors

| Player | Award | Ref |
| Max Crozier | Hockey East Third Team | |
| Brett Berard | Hockey East Third Team | |

## Players drafted into the NHL
### 2022 NHL Entry Draft

| Round | Pick | Player | NHL team |
| 6 | 193 | Chris Romaine$^†$ | Colorado Avalanche |
† incoming freshman