UConn to face Providence in Hockey East Quarterfinals

UConn men’s hockey’s quarterfinal matchup is set. The 4-seed Huskies will take on the 5-seed Providence Friars in their postseason opener on Friday, Mar. 17 at 7 p.m. ET from Toscano Family Ice Forum. NESN will broadcast the contest, though it’ll also be available on ESPN+.

While UConn clinched fourth place with its win over Vermont on Thursday, the team had to wait until Saturday night to see who its opponent would be. Providence and UMass entered their respective regular season finales tied in the standings but the Friars beat Northeastern 3-2 to claim three points while the Minutemen lost a shootout to Maine.

UConn went 0-1-1 against Providence during the regular season. The Huskies tied the Friars 3-3 on the road — grabbing a crucial extra point with a shootout victory that proved to be the difference in the standings between the two schools in the process — before falling 6-3 in front of a record crowd at the XL Center.

The latter contest was more competitive than the final score indicates. UConn fell behind 3-0, rallied to tie the game but then took a major penalty in the third period and gave up an ensuing power play goal. Providence tallied a pair of empty-netters, too.

This will be the second quarterfinal matchup in Storrs between the schools — which is the only time they’ve met in the playoffs. The Friars thrashed the Huskies 6-1 at Freitas Ice Forum in that contest.

UConn is 1-2 in home quarterfinal matchups. The Huskies beat BU at the XL Center in 2022 then fell to Providence in 2021 and UMass Lowell at Toscano Family Ice Forum in 2023.