April 23, 2018
Hockey, basketball teams up NCAA streaks to 5
The men’s hockey and basketball teams continued their remarkable streak of NCAA Tournament appearances in 2018, qualifying for berths for the fifth straight season.
PC is just one of three NCAA Division I programs all-time — joining Michigan and Michigan State — to send its hockey and basketball teams to the NCAA tourney in the same season for five consecutive years.
• Men’s hockey, a top-10 team virtually all season, posted its fifth straight 20-win season under seventh-year coach Nate Leaman, finishing 24-12-4, including 13-7-4 in regular-season Hockey East action. In the post-season, PC advanced to the conference’s championship game by defeating Maine, 2-0, in a best-of-three quarterfinal series, then edging Northeastern, 3-2, in a semifinal game. Boston University topped the Friars, 2-0, in the championship.
Playing in the NCAA East Regional, the Friars blanked Clarkson, 1-0, in a first-round game and advanced to their eighth NCAA quarterfinal appearance in program history. PC fell to Notre Dame, 2-1, on a goal with 27 seconds remaining. The Friars, who won the 2015 NCAA Championship, are 6-4 in NCAA tourney play during Leaman’s tenure.
Forward Erik Foley ’19 (Mansfield, Mass.) and defenseman Jacob Bryson ’20 (London, Ontario) were named Hockey East first-team all-stars, while goaltender Hayden Hawkey ’19 (Parker, Colo.) was a second-team pick. Captain Brian Pinho ’20 (North Andover, Mass.) was chosen the league’s best defensive forward.
• Men’s basketball made a strong late-season push to finish with a 21-14 record, including 10-8 in the BIG EAST. PC beat three top-five teams this season. Coach Ed Cooley’s team played three consecutive overtime games in the conference tournament, defeating Creighton and Xavier, before falling to No. 2/3 Villanova in the title contest, 76-66.
Selected for an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament, the Friars were seeded No. 10 in their region and were topped by seventh-seeded Texas A&M, 73-69, in the opening round.
Point guard Kyron Cartwright ’18 (Compton, Calif.), one of three senior starters, earned BIG EAST honorable mention honors at season’s end. Named to the conference’s all-rookie team was center Nate Watson ’21 (Arlington, Va.).
• In other post-season highlights, Millie Paladino ’18 (Morgantown, W. Va.) placed sixth in the mile (4:34.93) at the NCAA Women’s Indoor Track & Field Championship to earn first team All-America recognition.
The women’s ice hockey team qualified for the Hockey East Tournament, being edged by Connecticut, 2-1, in a best-of-three quarterfinal series. PC, ranked as high as No. 7 nationally, finished 17-13-7
