Sunday, February 01, 2026

Robert McMahon, Sports Columnist

 

View Larger +

Coach Nate Leaman PHOTO: PC

The Providence College hockey team extended its winning streak to seven games with a come-from-behind 3-2 overtime win over the Maine Black Bears in Orono, ME, on Saturday night.  The win moves PC’s overall record to 16-7-2 for the season.

The Friars are now in first place in Hockey East.

Maine led 2-1 with only 5 seconds left in the game, when PC forward Andrew Centrella poked home the tying goal at 19:55 of the third period to send the game into overtime.  The Friars pulled their goalie, Jack Parsons, at 19:16 to allow an extra attacker.  The gamble paid off when Centrella lit the lamp just 39 seconds later.

GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE — SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST

PC had a rare two-game sweep of Maine at Schneider Arena on the weekend of January 9/10.  So, this Saturday, the Black Bears, before 5,000 vocal fans at Alfond Arena, came out flying, controlling the play in the first 10 minutes of the first period.  Maine got on the scoreboard first at 4:45 with a goal by freshman phenom Justin Poirier, Maine’s leading scorer with 18 goals.

The Friars settled down and tied the game by PC defenseman Alex Rybakov, a freshman from Russia, at 9:01.  The first period featured lots of hard and spirited checking, which the refs allowed, and shots on goal were scarce with each team only able to get 6 shots on goal.  Maine dented the twine again, however, at 16:47 of the first period on a goal by Loic Usereau to give Maine a 2-1 lead going into the second period.

Freshman goalie, Jack Parsons, still subbing for injured senior Phil Svedeback, shut down Maine the rest of the way.  No goals were scored by either team in the second period with Maine’s smothering checking limiting the Friars again to only 6 shots on goal.  The total of 12 shots on goal by PC for the first two periods was their lowest amount of the season.  PC is one of the top five teams in the country with shots on goal, normally averaging 36 shots on goal per game.

The Black Bears played cautiously in the third period, trying to hold on to their slim lead and to salvage one regular-season win over PC.  The Friars could not find the back of the net despite some good opportunities. It looked like it was going to be a long bus ride from Orono back to Providence.   Coach Leaman finally pulled goalie Parsons with 46 seconds to play in regulation to give the Friars an extra attacker.  Centrella responded with only his third goal of the year to give the Friars a tie and a chance in overtime.

Overtime had been a mixed bag for PC hockey this season, with two ties, one loss, and one win.  As hockey fans know, overtime uses 3-on-3 personnel, with entirely different offensive and defensive strategies.  Speed and stickhandling are the key ingredients in OT, whereas PC in 5×5 hockey depends on aggressive checking, lots of shots on goal, and lots of folks charging the net.

It looked like PC might be headed for an overtime loss or a tie in Orono.  Maine rattled off 4 shots to none for the Friars, before sophomore Logan Sawyer lifted a wrist shot past Maine’s goalie Mathis Rousseau to score the game-winning goal at 3:24 of overtime to give PC a hard-earned 3-2 win.

PC had ramped up its offense in its previous six games, averaging 4+ goals per game.  Its offense was stymied tonight, getting only 23 shots on goal, a game that looked like a Maine win until Centrella’s strike with only 5 seconds left in the game.  This was a rare PC overtime win and once again, Parsons was outstanding in net, turning back 23 of 25 Maine shots.

 

Post Game Slap Shots

– Freshman Jack Parsons, with an 8-1 record and 2 shutouts in relief of senior goalie Svedeback, is turning heads all over Division I hockey.  Coach Leaman is going to have a nice problem when Svedeback is healthy again, deciding which goalie to play.

– The Friars, who have been averaging a 25% success rate on their power play, went 0-4 in the Maine game.

– PC Freshman Roger McQueen has not scored a goal in the last four games, but he added two more assists tonight to increase his team lead in assists and points to 15 and 23, respectively.

– With the win, PC moves into first place in Hockey East, two points ahead of Boston College and five points ahead of UConn.

– After a road game next Friday at New Hampshire, the Friars return home next Saturday, February 7th, to Schneider to face the 11-14 Vermont Catamounts.  Puck drop is 7 PM.

Bob McMahon is the former Director of Parks in the City of Providence and a lifelong Providence College Friar fan.


 

Related Articles

 

Enjoy this post? Share it with others.