Know Your Enemy: The "Worst of the Worst" Edition

Friars and Terriers Getting Together For a Home and Home

Let's call a spade a spade here. 

The Providence Friars are not a good hockey team.  They stink and they smell.  They're ugly.  They suck.

PC is currently the not so proud owner of an 8 game winless streak, with the one point coming thanks to a 1-1 tie with Vermont.  Earlier this year they ran into a 6 game losing streak.  They have won a grand total of two games since November 24.  That is not a mis-print.  Two wins in three months.  Two wins in 16 games.

But all of that being said, one of those two wins came over the Terriers.  So let's not get too cocky.

Let's get to know the bottom feeders in Hockey East, the Providence Friars.

Although the Friars aren't technically eliminated yet, they are nine points out of the final playoff spot with just 6 games to play, so they're about as close as you can get. 

Providence is 4-15-2 in Hockey East play, and 9-17-2 overall.  Well, they're 5-2 in non-conference games!

So how the shit did this team beat BU last time they met up?  For one thing, they did it with spectacular goaltending from Sophomore Alex Beaudry.  The kid turned away 28 Terrier shots on that night, and has actually posted decent numbers for the Friars all season long.  His 2.74 GAA should have earned him a better record than the 8-15-2 one that he currently owns, but on a bad team it doesn't.

Beaudry Has Been Better Than His Record Indicates

Beaudry has been the load bearer for the Friars, as only two netminders in Hockey East have logged more minutes than he has.  Chris Rawlings and Brian Foster are the only ones who have spent more time in goal this year than Beaudry, who has played 1424 minutes in his 25 games.  He ranks right in the middle of the pack at 6th with his 2.74 GAA.  Even more impressive, he is third in conference in save percentage with a .917 save percentage.

What does all of this add up to?  Only the worst winning percentage of any goalie in Hockey East.  Thanks for the hard work pal!  You play a ton of minutes, allow fewer than three goals per game and turn away 92% of all opponents' shots.  And for that you get the distinction of the worst record in the world.

But on January 15, Beaudry was able to put the skids on a BU team that was warming up and coming off of a signature win at Fenway Park.  And he did it in front of a big audience on NESN.

However, since that game, BU has picked up the pace considerably.  Beaudry will need to be at his absolute best to keep the Terrier attack at bay tonight.

On the offensive end, the lone somewhat bright spot is Junior Forward Kyle MacKinnon.  With 9 goals and 11 assists, MacKinnon leads the Friars offensive attack with 20 points overall.  He has tallied 11 of those points in the last 13 games.

MacKinnon assisted on the lone goal that earned the Friars their lone point of the past 8 contests in the tie against UVM.

Let's examine some offensive team numbers, quick hit style.

• PC is last in the conference in scoring, putting up just 2.11 goals per game.
• PC has the worst power play in  Hockey East, converting on just 14.6% of chances.
• The Friars have just 11 goals over their 8 game winless streak, a pitiful average of 1.38 per game
• Just six Friars have double digit points on the season
• Nobody on the Providence roster has 10 goals yet this year
• PC has just 26 goals in their last 16 games, just 1.63 goals over that stretch

So if the Friars win, it's most likely not going to be in a shoot-out.  It's going to be by slowly sucking your soul out with solid goaltending and decent defense.

They're not an exciting team.  They're not a good team.  They are a beatable team. 
The Terriers should take 4 points from the Friars, however nothing is guaranteed.  The Terriers cannot get into the mindset that they deserve to win or that they should win.  They need to be in the mindset that this PC team is much better than they actually are.  Because a loss, or even a tie to this team would be a waste of points for the Terriers. 

To be the best, you need to beat the best.  To claw your way back to a home playoff series, you need to beat the worst.