I got a chance to see PC’s hockey team play for the first time this season over the weekend, and if Friday night at Boston College is any indication, the Tim Army Reconstruction is back on track after a disappointing 2006-07 campaign.
A 3-2 win at Conte Forum on Friday night coupled with a 2-2 tie at Schneider Arena on Saturday gave the Friars a valuable three points from the weekend series with BC, and it puts the Friars right on the bubble.
Here’s the situation: PC finds itself tied with BC for fourth place in Hockey East on 27 points, and of course, the top four spots offer home ice advantage for the opening round series. The standings are still tightly bunched, as you can see here — the Friars could finish anywhere from second to seventh based on next weekend’s results. Home ice advantage would be a huge help to Army’s crew, as the Friars haven’t won a road playoff series since 1995.
As for the big picture: USCHO’s PairWise rankings currently have the Friars at #15 — meaning that if the season ended today, PC would be dancing come March 28 (EDIT: I was mistaken about this: because of automatic bids given to Army (AHA) and Bemidji State (CHA), only the top 14 PairWise teams are likely to qualify for the Tournament). Still, the system is very volatile, so next weekend’s season-ending series with Boston University is the very definition of crucial. Here’s the logic: the Friars can’t make the NCAA Tournament without a decent run in the Hockey East Tournament — and they’re unlikely to make that run without home ice advantage in the first round.
However this winds up shaking out, we’re certain of one thing: Army has thus far proven to be a fantastic hire for Bob Driscoll. I’ll admit to being a bit worried last year when a solid core of seniors could only lead the Friars to a 10-23-3 record, but as it turns out, Army just needed to have his own guys to run his system. His recruiting classes have paid their dividends: forward Jon Rheault and netminder Tyler Sims are the only real senior contributors to this squad, as Army’s own recruits (beginning with this year’s junior class) account for the vast majority of the roster, including freshman Jordan Kremyr (pictured above), who contributed two of PC’s goals on Friday. Kids love to play in Army’s high octane offense-oriented system, and he’s reaping the benefits in recruiting.
It’s certainly an effective formula: hire a young energetic coach who employs a game plan that other teams struggle to come to grips with, and the talent will surely follow.
Memo to Bob Driscoll: remember this when you choose your replacement for Tim Welsh next month.
(There, you knew we couldn’t write an entire Providence post without referencing the hoops team).
