Providence Friars

Twitter: @CoachLeaman

Entering his 13th season at the helm in 2023-24, Head Coach Nate Leaman has led a resurgence of the Providence College men’s hockey program, highlighted by winning the 2015 NCAA Championship, marking the first NCAA title in program history. Leaman’s squad earned another Frozen Four appearance during the 2018-19 campaign.

The 2022-23 season saw the Friars record their 11th-consecutive winning season under Nate Leaman. Providence appeared in an NCAA-high 15 overtime games, going 5-3-7 in those games including two postseason victories. The Friars advanced to the Hockey East Quarterfinals for the 12th time in Nate Leaman’s 12 seasons after a 2-1 overtime victory over New Hampshire in the Hockey East Opening Round. They followed that up with their seventh semifinal appearance under Nate Leaman after a thrilling 2-1 overtime victory on the road at Northeastern. Providence was defeated by eventual Hockey East Champion Boston University, 2-1 in overtime at TD Garden on March 18. Junior Brett Berard signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the New York Rangers, forgoing his senior season. Max Crozier signed a two-year, entry-level deal with the Tampa Bay Lightning, along with Parker Ford, who signed a free agent deal with the Winnipeg Jets. Parker Ford was named a Walter Brown Award Semifinalist as the top Division I American-born college hockey player in New England. Ford and Crozer were also named Third Team Hockey East All-Stars and Hobey Baker Award Nominees.

The Providence College Years
The 2021-22 edition of the Friars posted the 10th-consecutive winning season and seventh 20-win campaign (22-14-2) since Leaman's arrival. The team appeared in their 11th Hockey East Quarterfinal in 11 seasons after a 2-1 win over Vermont in the Hockey East Opening Round. The most notable of the 22 wins came on Oct. 22, 2021 as the Friars rallied from a 4-1 third period deficit to defeat the eventual national champion Denver Pioneers, 6-5, at Schneider Arena. Sophomores Brett Berard (18-20-38) and Nick Poisson (10-25-35) paced the team in scoring and finished third and fifth respectively in scoring among Hockey East players. Berard and defenseman Max Crozier earned Third Team Hockey East recognition. Leaman and Theresa Feaster also returned to the 2022 U.S National Junior Team staff before the tournament was cancelled due to COVID-19. They will return when the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship resumes in August 2022.

The COVID-19 pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season saw the program post it's ninth-consecutive winning season (11-9-5) and advance to its sixth Hockey East Semifinal appearance in 10 seasons under Leaman. Tyce Thompson led the team in scoring with 25 points (11g, 14a) in 25 games played, earning his second-consecutive Second Team Hockey East All-Star accolade. Thompson signed an entry-level contract with the New Jersey Devils at the conclusion of the season, appearing in seven games and posting one assist. Leaman also boasted success on the international stage in 2020-21, leading Team USA to a gold medal at the 2021 World Junior Championships. Leaman was also joined on staff by Friar Director of Hockey Operations, Theresa Feaster. Current Friars Brett Berard and Patrick Moynihan also boasted key contributions to the United States' gold medal performance. Leaman also served as an Assistant Coach for Team USA at the 2021 World Championships in Latvia, where the U.S. earned a bronze medal.

In 2019-20, the Friars posted their eight-consecutive winning season with a 16-12-6 mark before the postseason was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite a bitter end to the season, Providence student-athletes boasted notable individual accolades. Sophomore Jack Dugan led the NCAA in scoring with 52 points on 10 goals and 42 assists, while teammate Tyce Thompson finished third in the NCAA scoring race with 44 points on 19 goals and 25 assists.  Dugan was the program’s first Hobey Baker finalist since Rob Gaudreau in 1992. He was also a First Team CCM All-American and First Team Hockey East All-Star. Defenseman Mike Callahan was also a First Team Hockey East All-Star, while Thompson earned Second Team recognition.

In 2018-19, Providence once again earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament, marking the program’s sixth-consecutive appearance and advanced to the Frozen Four for the second time in five seasons. The Friars finished tied for second in the Hockey East standings and secured at least 22 wins for the sixth-consecutive season. Providence rallied from a 3-0 deficit to defeat No. 1 seeded Minnesota State, 6-3, at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Providence to advance to a regional final game in back-to-back seasons. A 4-0 shutout win over Cornell the following day propelled the team to the Frozen Four in Buffalo, where they fell to eventual national champion, Minnesota Duluth in the national semifinals. Goaltender Hayden Hawkey re-wrote the record books in 2018-19, setting program goaltending records for career wins (72), shutouts (16), games played (125) and minutes played (7319:42). His eight shutouts in 2018-19 was a single-season program record and led all NCAA netminders. Four Friars earned Hockey East All-Star recognition - Josh Wilkins (First Team), Jacob Bryson (Second Team), Brandon Duhaime (Third Team) and Hawkey (Honorable Mention). Wilkins also earned Second Team All-American accolades after posting the most points in season by a Friar (46) since 2002-03. Juniors Jacob Bryson (BUF), Kasper Bjorkqvist (PIT), Brandon Duhaime (MIN) and Josh Wilkins (NSH) all signed NHL contracts at the conclusion of the season.

In 2017-18, the Friars recorded their fifth-consecutive 20-plus win season and fifth-straight NCAA Tournament appearance, the second-longest active streak in the NCAA. Providence advanced to their first Hockey East Championhip Game since 2001 after rallying for a 3-2 overtime win in the semifinals against Northeastern. The following week, the Friars advanced to the NCAA East Regional Final after a 1-0 shutout of Clarkson in Bridgeport, Conn. The shutout marked Hayden Hawkey’s fourth of the season and put him second all-time at Providence with eight career shutouts. Hawkey earned Second Team Hockey East and New England All-Star recognition.

The Friars boasted many postseason accolades - Jacob Bryson earned Second Team All-American honors, marking the fourth-consecutive season a Friar was named an All-American. Bryson also was named a First Team Hockey East All-Star, a New England All-Star, and was the recipient of the league’s Len Ceglarski Sportsmanship Award. Erik Foley was also a First Team Hockey East All-Star and signed an entry-level contract with the St. Louis Blues at the conclusion of the season. Captain Brian Pinho was recognized as a Third Team Hockey East All-Star, as well as the league’s Best Defensive Forward. He signed with the Washington Capitals at the conclusion of the season.

The senior class totaled 99 wins over four seasons, setting the program record for wins by a graduating class. The Friars .813 winning percentage at Schneider Arena (13-3-0) was the second-best winning percentage at Schneider Arena in 44 seasons.

In 2016-17, Leaman’s squad notched at 22 wins, marking its fourth consecutive season with at least 20-plus victories.  Overall, the Friars finished at 22-12-5 (12-7-3), good for fifth in the Hockey East and good for it’s fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament berth. The team notched a double-digit win total (13) at Schneider Arena for the fourth consecutive season. The senior class posted a 53-15-7 at home over the last four seasons (.753). The 13-3-3 record (.763) at home in 2016-17 was the  fifth-best winning percentage posted at Schneider Arena in 43 seasons.

The Friars’ resurgence in the second half saw a nine-game winning streak from January to February, falling just one win shy of the program record (10) set in 2015-16. Providence appeared in the Hockey East Quarterfinals for the sixth time in Leaman’s six seasons.

Friar defenseman Jake Walman was the lone repeat All-American in 2016-17 and became the program’s six member to be a two-time All-American selection. Walman also earned First Team Hockey East and First Team All-New England accolades prior to signing an entry-level contract with the St. Louis Blues in March 2017.

The Friars boasted the second-most wins in program history in 2015-16 (27) and earned their third-consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament.  Overall, the Friars finished the season with a 27-7-4 record, including a program-best 16-3-3 Hockey East record which netted the team its first share of the Hockey East regular season title. Paced by Mark Jankowski’s 40 points, the first time a Friar has hit the 40-point mark since 2002-03, Leaman’s squad raced out to an undefeated first half of the season (12-0-3) and ran its unbeaten streak to 19-games dating back to 2014-15.  The Friars were the first team since Colorado College in 1995-96 to be unbeaten entering the Christmas break and also secured the best start to a season by a reigning NCAA hockey champion.

Leaman became the fastest Friar Head Coach to reach 100 career wins and holds a 106-65-23 record (.606) with the Friars.  For his efforts, he was named Hockey East Coach of the Year and a Spencer Penrose finalist for National Coach of the Year.

Sophomore defenseman Jake Walman blossomed in his second year at Providence, leading all NCAA defensemen in goals (13), points per game (1.04), power play goals (8), and game-winning goals (4).  Walman became the first Friar since Tim Army and Chris Terreri in 1984-85 to earn First Team All-American accolades.  Jankowski earned Second Team All-American honors for his 15 goals and 25 assists in 2015-16.

Junior goaltender Nick Ellis (25-7-4) put forth the best goaltending performance in Friars history with a 1.80 GAA and .936 save percentage and also tallied four shutouts in 2015-16.  Ellis’ top performance of the season came in the finale as he set a NCAA Northeast Regional record with 54 saves in a 2-1 double overtime setback to Minnesota Duluth on March 25.

The Friars advanced to the Hockey East Championship semifinals at the TD Garden for the fourth time in Leaman’s first five seasons and holds a 5-2-0 record in seven NCAA Tournament games with Providence. 

Leaman has coached 127 All-Conference Academic selections, 28 NHL Draft picks, 20 All-Conference selections, eight All-Conference Rookie Team honorees, nine All-Americans, three ECAC Student-Athletes of the Year, two CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Honorees and one Hobey Baker finalist.

Nine members from the 2015-16 squad ended up signing entry level contracts or amateur try-out agreements with professional teams: Tom Parisi (Montreal – NHL), Mark Jankowski (Calgary – NHL), Brandon Tanev (Winnipeg – NHL), Nick Ellis (Edmonton – NHL), John Gilmour (New York Rangers – NHL), Kevin Rooney (Albany – AHL), Trevor Mingoia (Albany – AHL), Nick Saracino (Iowa – AHL), and Steve McParland (Elmira – ECHL).  Tanev appeared in the final three regular season games with the Jets.

In 2014-15, Leaman guided the Friars to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances for the first time in program history and Providence posted its second-highest win total of all-time (26). He became the youngest head coach to win the NCAA title since 1993 (Shawn Walsh) as Providence College became the 20th institution to win the NCAA Div. I Men’s Ice Hockey Championship. The 2015 championship also marked Providence College’s first NCAA team title in a men’s sport and the College’s third overall NCAA Championship in a team sport.

During the 2014-15 National Hockey League season Josh Jooris (Union College) and Tim Schaller ’13 (Providence College) became the most recent former Leaman players to reach the NHL when they debuted for the Calgary Flames and the Buffalo Sabres, respectively.

The 2011 Spencer Penrose Award winner, Leaman also was a Spencer Penrose finalist in 2015 and was named the 2015 USCHO.com Coach of the Year. Providence finished the 2014-15 season ranked No. 1 in the national polls (USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine). The Friars last cracked the top two-places in the national polls in January of 1990, when they were ranked No. 2 in the Times Union poll.

After leading Providence through the 2015 NCAA East Regional (Providence, R.I.) with wins over No. 1 seed Miami, 7-5, and No. 2 seed Denver, 4-1, Leaman and the Friars headed to the Frozen Four for the fourth time in program history and first time since 1985.

At the 2015 Frozen Four (Boston, Mass.), Providence downed No. 2 seed Nebraska Omaha, 4-1, in the national semifinals to advance to the NCAA Championship game for the second time in program history. Leaman then guided the Friars to their first-ever NCAA Championship with a thrilling, come-from-behind 4-3 victory over No. 1 seed Boston University at the TD Garden (April 11). Junior goaltender Jon Gillies made a career-high 49 saves en route to being named the Frozen Four’s Most Outstanding Player. Junior forward Brandon Tanev netted the game-winning goal with 6:17 remaining in the third period.

The Friars finished the 2014-15 season with a 26-13-2 record, marking the second-highest win total in program history. Providence also finished the 2014-15 regular season with a 21-11-2 mark, which tied for the second-most regular-season wins in program history. The Friars finished the regular-season with a 13-8-1 mark in Hockey East play and tied for second in the league standings, matching their best-ever Hockey East finish. Providence earned the No. 2 seed in the Hockey East playoffs, its highest seed in the Hockey East Tournament, and appeared in the Hockey East Quarterfinals for the fourth-consecutive season. Providence also finished the season ranked fifth in the nation in scoring defense, yielding just 2.05 goals-against per game.

Junior forward Nick Saracino (14-24-38) led the Friars in scoring, while Gillies (24-13-2, 2.01 goals-against average, .930 save percentage) was named an American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA) Second Team All-American for the second time in his career, becoming the fifth Friar to earn multiple All-America honors. Gillies also was named a First Team Hockey East All-Star, becoming just the fifth goaltender in Hockey East history to earn multiple First Team honors and the first Friar goaltender to do so. He became the second Friar to earn multiple First Team Hockey East honors, joining Mike Boback ‘92. Gillies, who signed with the NHL’s Calgary Flames following the season, finished his Friar career as the program’s record holder for career shutouts (13), career goals-against average (2.08) and he posted a .931 career save percentage. He recorded three of the top-four single season goals-against averages in program history, ranks second in wins (60) and saves (3,000) and fourth in games played by a goaltender (108).

Ross Mauermann ’15, who was one of Leaman’s first recruits at Providence, became the 49th Friar to reach the 100-career points plateau and he set the program record for games played after appearing in all 156 games of his Friar career. Mauermann (52-60-112) was the 35th Friar to score at least 50-career goals and ranks 36th on Providence’s all-time points list.

Noel Acciari ’15 was named the Hockey East Defensive Forward of the Year, marking the third-consecutive Friar forward to earn Hockey East Defensive Forward of the Year honors under Leaman. He went on to sign with the Boston Bruins after the season. 

In addition, seven of Leaman’s players went on to earn Hockey East Academic All-Star honors after winning the NCAA championship in 2015. 

In 2013-14, Leaman guided the Friars back to the NCAA Championship field for the first time since 2001 and Providence went on to record its first NCAA win since 1991.

The 2013-14 season saw the Friars post a 22-11-6 record, tying the mark for the third-most wins in program history. Providence placed third in the regular-season Hockey East standings and, after a home, quarterfinal-series sweep of Maine, advanced to the Hockey East Championship semifinals for a program-record third straight year. After defeating Quinnipiac in NCAA First Round play, Leaman and the Friars advanced to the NCAA East Regional final where they fell to eventual national champion Union, 3-1. Leaman became the 16th NCAA Div. I men’s hockey head coach to lead two different teams to the NCAA Tournament.

Led by Mauermann, the Friar offense scored 115 goals in 2013-14, the most since the 2002-03 season. Mauermann scored 19 goals and added 17 assists for 36 points to become the highest scoring Friar since the 2003-04 season when three players topped the 36-point plateau. Mauermann, who has led the Friars in scoring in each of Leaman’s first three seasons, was also named the Hockey East’s Co-Defensive Forward of the Year in addition to being named the League’s Len Ceglarski Individual Sportsmanship Award winner.

Gillies set the Providence record for career shutouts (9), surpassing the seven career shutouts that Tyler Sims `08 posted from 2004-08. Gillies became the second Friar to take part in multiple World Junior Championships after he started for Team USA at the 2014 WJC in Malmo, Sweden and won gold with Team USA at the 2013 WJC in Ufa, Russia. Gillies finished the 2013-14 season with the nation’s fourth-best save percentage (.931).

Other 2013-14 highlights included the program’s first six-game winning streak since 2005-06 and a regular-season-ending sweep at Maine, which marked Providence’s first sweep at Maine since 2007. That sweep put the Friars in position to host a Hockey East Quarterfinal series for a second consecutive season. The Friar penalty kill ended the season ranked third-best in the country with an 87.2 success rate, while the team defense’s 2.26 goals-against per game ranked seventh nationally.

In 2012-13, Leaman led the Friars to a 17-14-7 overall record and a 13-8-6 mark in Hockey East play. It marked the most wins for a Friar squad since the 2005-06 season. The 13 Hockey East wins tied for the third-most in program history. The Friars entered the last weekend of the regular season in contention for the league title for the first time ever and went on to win a home quarterfinal Hockey East playoff series for the first time since 2001. The Friars then made a second consecutive Hockey East semifinal appearance, marking the first time in 17 seasons that Providence made back-to-back Hockey East semifinals appearances.

In 2012-13, Leaman coached Providence College’s first All-American since 2004, then freshman goaltender Gillies, who was named a Second Team All-American. Gillies was also named the Hockey Commissioner’s Association (HCA) National Rookie of the Year, a First Team Hockey East All-Star and the Hockey East Rookie of the Year. He was just the third freshman all-time to earn First Team Hockey East honors. In addition, senior Kyle Murphy was named the 2013 Derek Hines Unsung Hero Award Winner by the HCA, Schaller became just the second Friar to earn Hockey East Defensive Forward of the Year honors and six Friars were named to the 2013 Hockey East All-Academic Team.

In his first season at Providence (2011-12), Leaman led the Friars to the Hockey East Semifinals for the first time since 2001. Providence defeated No. 2 seed UMass Lowell in a best-of-three quarterfinal series to become the first No. 7 seed to ever win a Hockey East Quarterfinal series.

Leaman, who was appointed the 12th coach at Providence on April 22, 2011 after spending eight seasons as the head coach at Union College, guided Providence to 14 victories during the 2011-12 season. Among those wins was a two-game, weekend sweep of then No. 1 ranked Merrimack on December 3-4. The 2-1 overtime triumph on Dec. 2 was PC’s first over a No. 1 team since 2003. After their successful weekend against Merrimack, the Friars were ranked in the USCHO.com national poll for the first time since 2008. In all, Providence recorded seven wins against nationally ranked teams, including five victories against squads in the top-10. Mauermann was named to the Hockey East All-Rookie Team, becoming the first Friar to earn the honor since 2007.

The Union College Years

Prior to Providence, Leaman spent eight seasons as the head coach at Union College (2003-11) and he was instrumental in helping to build Union’s 2014 NCAA Championship winning squad.  

Leaman's final team at Union, the 2010-11 squad, posted an impressive 26-10-4 overall record, including a 17-3-2 mark in the ECAC. The team captured the College's first Cleary Cup (ECAC regular season champion) and earned its first NCAA Div. I Tournament berth. Union's season came to end when it was defeated by eventual national champion Minnesota-Duluth, 2-0, in the 2011 NCAA East Regional Semifinal. The Dutchmen went 14-1-1 in their final 16 regular season games to clinch the league title. Union had the top power play in the nation as it posted a 29.5 percent success rate. In addition, the team allowed just 2.10 goals per game, which ranked second in the nation. The Dutchmen also were ranked nationally for the entire season and reached as high as fourth. For his efforts, Leaman received the 2011 Spencer Penrose Award as the Division I Men's Coach of the Year and he also was named ECAC Coach of the Year for the second straight season.

In eight seasons at Union, Leaman's teams posted a 138-127-35 mark and Leaman became the first Union Head Coach to leave with a winning record (since the program moved to Div. I). His 138 wins are the most of any of the 14 head coaches in school history. Leaman guided Union to four consecutive winning seasons. In 2009-10, the team posted a 21-12-6 record, finished third place in the ECAC regular season and was the ECAC Tournament runner up.

As An Assistant Coach

Prior to taking the head coaching position at Union, Leaman spent four seasons as an assistant coach for Mark Mazzoleni at Harvard, where he was the top assistant and recruiting coordinator during his final season. Leaman helped rebuild the Harvard program into one of the top teams in the ECAC, taking the squad from eighth place in the league to an ECAC tournament championship and NCAA appearance in 2001-2002, and an ECAC runner-up finish and NCAA appearance in 2002-2003. During his four years on the Harvard coaching staff, Leaman had a hand in recruiting 13 NHL draft picks and helped the program to be consistently ranked near the top of college hockey in the number of players with NHL rights.

Before coaching at Harvard, Leaman served as a volunteer assistant coach under Shawn Walsh at the University of Maine in 1998-99. In helping guide Maine to a 31-6-4 record and the 1999 NCAA Championship, Leaman's responsibilities included working with the Black Bears' defense, video analysis, on-campus recruiting and monitoring of the players' academic progress. While in Orono, Leaman earned a Master of Science degree in biological sciences in 1999.

Prior to joining the staff at Maine, Leaman served as associate coach for one season at Old Town High School in Old Town, Maine, where he was responsible for the design and implementation of team practices and bench management during games.

Leaman also served as an assistant coach with USA Hockey for the US World Junior Team in 2007 and 2009. In 2007, he helped lead the team to a Bronze Medal in Leksand, Sweden.

Personal

Leaman is a 1997 graduate of SUNY Cortland, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in biological sciences with a concentration in environmental science and received the Aldo Leopold Award for excellence in environmental science. Captain of the hockey team as a junior and senior, Leaman finished his career as one of the top-20 scorers in Red Dragons' history. He was inducted into the Red Dragons' Hall of Fame in September, 2014.

Prior to attending Cortland, Leaman spent a season with the Enkoping Sports Klubb in Enkoping, Sweden, and also played one year with the Indianapolis Junior Ice in the North American Junior Hockey League.

A native of Centerville, Ohio, Leaman and his wife, Alice, have three young sons, Ty, Bryce and Nolan.

Leaman's Year-By-Year Coaching Records  

The Nate Leaman File
Name: Nathan G. Leaman
Family: Wife, Alice; Sons, Ty, Bryce & Nolan
Education: SUNY Cortland '97 - B.S. in biological sciences
University of Maine '99 - M.S. in biological sciences

Coaching
• Head Coach - Providence College, 2011-
• Head Coach - U.S. World Junior Team, 2021 and 2022
• Head Coach - Union College, 2003-2011
• Assistant Coach - Harvard University, 1999-2003
• Assistant Coach - U.S. National Team, 2021
• Assistant Coach - U.S. World Junior Team, 2007 and 2009
• Volunteer Assistant Coach - University of Maine, 1998-1999

Awards and Honors
• Spencer Penrose Award (Division I National Coach of the Year) - 2011
• Spencer Penrose Finalist (Division I National Coach of the Year) - 2010, 2015, 2016, 2019
- Hockey East Coach of the Year - 2016 
• USCHO.com Division I National Coach of the Year - 2015
• ECAC Coach of the Year - 2010 and 2011 
• Inside College Hockey National Coach of the Year - 2010