No. 2 Denver fell into a trap on Friday night, and as a result, it absorbed its first loss of the 2023-24 hockey season at Providence, R.I.

No. 10 Providence College clearly wanted to play a special teams game, and that’s exactly what it did, knocking off the Pioneers, 4-3, in a non-conference game Friday night.

The game featured 16 minor penalties – 10 on the Friars (3-1-0) – but the hosts got the better of the special teams battle, and as a result won the war.

3 Takeaways from DU’s Loss

Why Play 5-on-5?

Basically, half of the game was played on special teams, and the Friars came out ahead, cashing in on 2 of 5 power plays, including Tanner Adams’ strike with 5:08 to play that made it 4-2.

Denver had opportunity after opportunity to make Providence pay but only did so once in nine tries. The one success was junior defenseman Shai Buium’s first goal of the season, off assists from his brother Zeev and forward Jack Devine 6:19 into the game.

The Friars tied it 12 minutes later on … a power-play goal! This was one came off the stick of Hudson Malinowski.

Top Line Continues to Make Hay

Devine gave DU (2-1-0) its second — and last — lead 9:43 into the second. His fifth goal of the season came off after a shot by junior Massimo Rizzo bounced off Philip Svedeback’s pads and to the goalie’s left. Devine won a race to the puck and backhanded it between the PC goalie and the right post. Devine now has goals in all three games, and Rizzo has points in all three.

SO DEVINE!

Jack Devine scores his 5th(!) goal of the season and DU leads 2-1 midway through the 2nd period.#GoPios pic.twitter.com/OSpURSUng4

— Denver Hockey (@DU_Hockey) October 21, 2023

Providence then scored the next three goals. New York Rangers draft pick Jaroslav Chmelar knotted the score with 6 minutes to go in the second, and Boston Bruins pick Riley Duran gave the Friars a lead they wouldn’t relinquish 8:56 into the third.

Rizzo scored from long range with an extra attacker on for DU with 3:28 to play to keep it interesting. The Pioneers had several chances in the closing minutes but could not capitalize.

Growth Opportunity

While the loss stings, this is exactly the type of game the young Pioneers (they dressed 12 underclassmen) need. Not only did they get to experience a hostile environment against a top-10 team, but they faced plenty of adversity.

One teaching point undoubtedly will be discipline. Another likely will be protecting the front of the net a bit more. Defenders got caught out of position on a couple of Providence’s goals.

DU showed plenty of speed and it generated some good chances against Svedeback (21 saves). It also held PC to just 18 shots on goal.

Denver only generated 24 shots on goal. Matt Davis, who went stretches without seeing a shot, finished with 14 saves.

Note: The Pioneers play No. 3 Boston College on Saturday at 5 p.m. (ESPN+, 104.3 FM HD-3). The Eagles blasted RPI, 6-1, on Friday night.

©First Line Editorial 2023