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Two-man goalie rotation is a winning combination for Providence men’s hockey
Zachary Borgiel is used to being in a goalie tandem. For the previous three seasons at Merrimack, he split time with Hugo Ollas. The duo helped lead the Warriors to the Hockey East championship game in 2023, as well as a spot in the NCAA tournament.
Last spring, the Fort Gratiot, Mich., native entered the transfer portal as a graduate student for a fifth year. He joined Providence, where he once again finds himself splitting time in net, this time with junior Philip Svedeback.
Each got a start in Providence’s sweep of New Hampshire, which saw the Friars improve to 5-1-1, and that’s where the men’s college hockey weekend review begins.
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· A fourth-round pick of the Bruins in 2021, Svedeback started 67 of 72 games across his freshman and sophomore seasons, going 32-24-11. He’s on pace for a much lighter load in his junior year, starting four games so far, including a 23-save effort in a 6-3 win at home in Friday’s opener. Borgiel was in net Saturday in Durham and delivered a 43-save shutout in the 3-0 win.
The Friars seem content to go with a rotation in net for the time bing.
“It’s a healthy competition right now,” said coach Nate Leaman. “They’re both playing pretty well. We haven’t had that combination in a long time.”
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Freshman Will Elger has a goal in each of Providence’s last four games, trailing only Tanner Adams and his five tallies for the team lead.
“He’s got a very good skill set,” said Leaman, whose squad moved up to 11th in the latest USCHO.com poll. “All through training camp, he kept scoring. … It didn’t matter who we put him with. He’s got a good stick, and he’s got a good offensive IQ.”
· Both Boston College (5-1-0) and Maine (6-0-1) came away with weekend sweeps ahead of next weekend’s showdown at Conte Forum. The No. 2 Eagles had an impressive showing on the road, traveling to Minnesota for a pair of games at St. Cloud State, which entered the weekend 6-1. Jacob Fowler stopped 44 of 46 shots as BC prevailed by scores of 4-1 and 2-1. Gabe Perreault had a goal each night and has now scored in four of the last five games for BC.
No. 5 Maine handily defeated Merrimack by scores of 5-0 and 6-0 to post consecutive shutouts for the first time since the 2010-11 season. Albin Boija recorded 30 saves over the two games to get the wins. Freshman Patriks Berzins made his NCAA debut in the third period of the second game and stopped four shots.
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Senior Harrison Scott had three goals and four assists on the weekend to extend his point streak to eight games. Maine is unbeaten through its first seven games for the first time since the 2006-07 season.
· Boston University had a weekend it would like to forget, getting swept at home by Michigan to drop to 4-3. The Terriers had the lead in the third period both nights. They led, 1-0, in the opener Friday and had a pair of power plays to open the third. When they failed to capitalize, Michigan seized the momentum, rolling to a 5-1 win.
Saturday’s rematch saw a better effort from BU, which had the lead on three separate occasions before losing, 5-4, in overtime. Jackson Hallum completed his hat trick 3:10 into the extra session to give the Wolverines the win and BU its third loss in four games.
Mansfield native Matt Copponi was one of four BU players to light the lamp, scoring his first goal as a Terrier with some nifty puckhandling, deking a Michigan defenseman and flipping a backhander in for the score.
· Dans Locmelis, a fourth-round pick of the Bruins in 2022, notched his first goal of the season Saturday, scoring the game-winner in UMass’s 4-3 win at AIC.
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Even though the sophomore forward failed to score in the first seven games, coach Greg Carvel had plenty of praise for Locmelis a few weeks back.
“He’s doing everything,” said Carvel. “I don’t even notice in the games how well he’s playing until I watch the video. His skating is so strong. His hockey sense is so great.
“I’d like to see him get more chances, but he’s creating chances for others. … He’s the most reliable player we have. He does everything to a really high level.”
· Hopkinton native Chris Delaney has five goals and two assists in his first six games with UMass Lowell. The freshman forward was one of five River Hawks who scored in a 5-4 overtime win at Holy Cross as Lowell rallied from a three-goal deficit to improve to 5-1.
· A few prognosticators pegged Sacred Heart to finish first in Atlantic Hockey America, making Bentley’s sweep of a home-and-home series with the Pioneers impressive. Graduate student A.J. Hodges, now in his second year with the Falcons after three seasons at Michigan State, has a three-game goal streak.
Bentley (4-3-1) will play its next six games at home, beginning this weekend with a pair of games against Rochester.
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