The UMass hockey team trailed by a goal entering the third period, but Providence pulled away to win 3-0 in Game 1 of the best-of-three Hockey East Tournament first-round series, Friday in Rhode Island.
The Friars (21-9-5) outshot the Minutemen (5-28-2) 35-22.
Freshman goalie Ryan Wischow finished with 32 saves.
Providence goal Hayden Hawkey had 22 saves in the shutout.
Game 2 is Saturday at 7 p.m. at Schneider Arena. Game 3, if necessary, is Sunday at 7.
Keene State 69, Amherst 66 — Jayde Dawson had 19 points and Michael Riopel added 16 but Amherst saw its season end in the opening round of the NCAA Division III Tournament in Mahwah, New Jersey.
Eric Conklin had 13 points and eight rebounds off the bench for AC (17-8).
The game was tight throughout with 14 ties and 10 lead changes.
Conklin gave Amherst a 66-64 lead with 1:45 left, but two Lucas Hammel free throws tied it at 1:27.
With two seconds left, Springfield native Ty Nichols (19 points) buried a 3-pointer to beat Amherst.
Montclair State 81, Westfield State 73 — Rebecca Sapouckey (Granby High) had 15 points, including 11 in the second half, but the visiting Owls (19-9) fell in the first round of the NCAA Division III Tournament.
Elon 4, UMass 3 — Brett Evangelista and Cooper Mrowka (RBI) each had two hits but the Minutemen dropped their opener in North Carolina.
Central Arkansas 11, UMass 1 — Erin Stacevicz had two hits and a run scored but the Minutewomen dropped their opener in the MSU Bulldog Slamboree in Starkville, Mississippi.
Mississippi State 4, UMass 1 — Kaycee Carbone and Melissa Garcia each had two hits for the Minutewomen (2-10) in their second game.