The Brown–Providence men's ice hockey rivalry is a

college ice hockey College ice hockey is played principally in the United States and Canada, though leagues exist outside North America. In the United States, competitive "college hockey" refers to ice hockey played between colleges and universities within the g ...

rivalry between the

Brown Bears men's ice hockey The Brown Bears men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college ice hockey program that represents Brown University. The Bears are a member of ECAC Hockey. They play at the Meehan Auditorium in Prov ...

and

Providence Friars men's ice hockey The Providence Friars men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college ice hockey program that represents Providence College. The Friars are a member of Hockey East. The skating Friars are currently c ...

programs. The first meeting between the two occurred on 1 March 1927 but wasn't played annually until 1952.

History

While

Brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing or painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors orange and black. In the RGB color model used ...

had first played varsity ice hockey as far back as the 19th century, the team did not have any local facility and was forced to suspend operations for 20 years. In 1926, the

Rhode Island Auditorium Rhode Island Auditorium was an indoor arena in Providence, Rhode Island, at 1111 North Main Street. It hosted the NBA's Providence Steamrollers from 1946 until 1949, and the Providence Reds ice hockey team until the Providence Civic Center (now t ...

was built and enable the school to restart its program. The same year,

Providence College Providence College is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic university in Providence, Rhode Island. Founded in 1917 by the Dominican Order and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence, local diocese, it offers 47 undergradua ...

began its ice hockey team, however, the new team lasted just one year before being mothballed. Providence returned to the ice after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and the two teams promptly began playing one another. The teams became fast rivals, sharing not only a state and a city but a home rink as well. Brown and Providence typically played one another twice a season and both were founding members of

ECAC Hockey ECAC Hockey is one of the six conferences that compete in NCAA Division I ice hockey. The conference used to be affiliated with the Eastern College Athletic Conference, a consortium of over 300 colleges in the eastern United States. This relati ...

in 1961. Coincidentally, that was also the season that Brown completed the

Meehan Auditorium The George V. Meehan Auditorium is a 3,059-seat hockey arena, in Providence, Rhode Island. The arena opened in 1961 and was dedicated on January 6, 1962. It is named for George V. Meehan, the benefactor of the arena, which he hoped would "service ...

, giving the program its first permanent on-campus home. A decade later, Providence followed suit, building the

Schneider Arena Schneider Arena was named in honor of Rev. Herman D. Schneider, O.P., the founder of Providence College hockey and a longtime teacher at the school. It is located at the far northern end of campus, on the corner of Huxley Ave. and Admiral St., an ...

. While the two played as conference opponents for over 20 years, they never met in a playoff game. In 1984, Providence was one of seven member schools to leave the ECAC and form

Hockey East The Hockey East Association, also known as Hockey East, is a college ice hockey conference which operates entirely in New England. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference. Hockey East came into existence in 1984 for ...

. In order to continue the rivalry between the programs, the two schools began awarding the 'Mayor's Cup' to the winner of their annual match. In the years since splitting into separate conferences, Brown and Providence have played one another at least once a season except for 1987 and 2021 (as of 2022).

Game results

Full game results for the rivalry, with rankings beginning in the 1998–99 season.

Series facts

References

External links

Brown Bears men's ice hockey

Providence Friars men's ice hockey
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown-Providence men's ice hockey rivalry College ice hockey rivalries in the United States Brown Bears men's ice hockey Providence Friars men's ice hockey 1927 establishments in Rhode Island