Who: Pittsburgh Penguins (2-2-0, 4 points, 4th place Metropolitan Division) @ Los Angeles Kings (1-2-1, 3 points, 5th place Pacific Division)
Pittsburg, PA
Pittsburgh buying Riverfront Park for $1 in effort to crack down on moored boats
Boats along the North Shore have become a problem. From people overstaying to flat-out abandoning boats, it creates an environmental problem and unsightliness. Now the city of Pittsburgh is stepping in to gain jurisdiction over the riverfront and take care of the issue.
The goal is to ensure boats aren’t moored on the North Shore longer than they should be. If they are, the city will remove them.
The city of Pittsburgh will buy the North Shore Riverfront Park for $1 from the Sports and Exhibition Authority. This opens the door for them to get rid of any problem boats.
“We will be able to enforce the signage that we post to remove boats. Tag, tow vehicles that are down there unauthorized as well,” Pittsburgh Public Safety assistant director Takeena White said.
Every so many months, a new boat shows up and doesn’t leave. The problem is that no one has the authority to get it out. City leaders said by the end of the year, the city should own the riverfront walk and start enforcement in the new year.
“We are looking for people to have fun, enjoy their time there, but also work with us, work with law enforcement and whoever is down there to enforce the rules and regulations,” White said.
Some areas of the riverwalk will prohibit mooring and other areas near the stadiums will be 48 hours. Boat owners will have warnings before being towed. The state legislature passed a law about abandoned boats, which gives the city clearer guidance and cuts red tape on getting the boats out of the rivers.
“It also allows for written guidance for law enforcement on how to do it, how much time law enforcement has to give the boat owner before they remove the boat from the area,” White said.
According to Public Safety, there needs to be legislation through city council about this. It’s expected to be done by the new year. The city will bear the cost of a tow with fines levied on the boat owner.
How to Watch: Locally broadcast on Sportsnet Pittsburgh and Fanduel Sports Network, streaming on ESPN+
Pens’ Path Ahead: This seems like the first time in forever the Pens go out west to either California or the upper Canadian swing and don’t have to play a back-to-back while on the trip. Pittsburgh finishes their Cali journey up in San Jose on Saturday night, before heading home to play Vancouver at PPG Paints on Tuesday. Then the Pens are right back to a warm venue a week from tonight down in Sunrise, Florida to play the Panthers. Kinda a bummer for them that they’re using up all these warm weather locales before winter has even got a chance to hit.
Opponent Track: Challenging start for the Kings, they opened up at home losing 4-1 to Colorado last Tuesday and them embarked on a 1-1-1 road trip with stops in Vegas (shootout win), Winnipeg (3-2 regulation loss) and Minnesota (shootout loss). It’s probably worth noting that so many of those games were very close and they’ve now had two days off since their last game. LA stays at home after tonight for a Saturday night visit from Carolina.
Season Series: The Kings come to Pittsburgh in a few weeks on Sunday November 9th to wrap up the season series early. Last year the Pens went 2-0-0 against LA (with an OT game to make it a 0-1-1 record for the Kings).
Hidden Stat: Los Angeles has been short-handed an NHL high 22 times this young season in just four games and at 68.2%, their seven goals allowed on the PK ranks tied for the most in the league as of Wednesday.
Getting to know the Kings
Andrei Kuzmenko – Anze Kopitar? – Adrian Kempe
Kevin Fiala – Qunton Byfield – Joel Armia
Warren Foegele – Philip Danault – Trevor Moore
Jeff Malott – Alex Turcotte – Alex Laferriere
Brian Dumoulin / Drew Doughty
Joel Edmundson / Brandt Clarke
Mikey Anderson / Cody Ceci
Goalies: Anton Forsberg and Pheonix Copley
Scratches: Samuel Helenius, Jacob Moverare, Darcy Kuemper (injured)
IR: Corey Perry, Kyle Burroughs
—Kopitar sounds like a true ‘game time decision’ after missing practice yesterday with an undisclosed injury. The Kings didn’t alter the rest of the lines, it sounds like they’re hopeful but uncertain that he will be able to play.
—There is less optimism around Kuemper, who it’s looking like won’t be available to play today with an injury. That puts Forsberg in-line to start tonight, the Kings just re-acquired Copley from Tampa via a trade yesterday (who LA recently lost to the waiver wire to TB) as Copley continues to bounce around to a team in need of a backup goalie.
—It’s an “old guys rule” theme today for Pittsburgh sports on a night where ancient QB’s Aaron Rodgers and Joe Flacco are going to duel it out. The Kings/Pens have plenty of their own elder statesmen between Kopitar, Perry, Doughty, Kuemper, Crosby, Malkin, Letang and Karlsson all being 35+ years old with several pushing 40, though Perry won’t be joining in tonight.
—The Kings and Pens are also similar that if you only look at their top two forward lines they look pretty impressive. Then you get to the lower halves and defensive part of the lineup…
- Kempe is in a contract year and has been a major problem for the Penguins (10 goals and 15 points in 14 career games). He’s certainly the player to circle on the board in the lockerroom as the one to watch. Kempe is always dangerous and usually is going to get his against Pittsburgh.
- Kopitar, a 2005 draft pick, has announced his retirement at the end of this season. He’s getting to that age, but his play hasn’t dropped off much at all lately (scoring 74, 70 and 67 points in the last three seasons). He’s off to a good start in what will be the final year of his decorated career, always a little bitter to see the curtain come down on such a great player, and unfortunate to see that he might not be able to play against the Pens tonight.
- Last season, Darcy Kuemper returned to LA as a hero after two rocky seasons in Washington. Kuemper was a Vezina finalist, posting a 31-11-7 record with a 2.02 GAA and .922 save%. Obviously it’s very early, but his start is about as far from Vezina-worthy as possible behind a Kings team that also needs to make a lot of improvements to help support their goalie defensively. And now he’s hurt, which makes the short-term look even worse with a Forsberg-Copley tandem for the near future.
- Getting a top-5 pick is great in theory and often in execution, but 2019 fifth overall Alex Turcotte hasn’t found his footing in the NHL (30 points in 104 career games). The Kings were able to get big wins with top draft picks of Quinton Byfield and the blossoming Brandt Clarke from their fairly quick post-Cup rebuild that took place from 2018-21 but it’s worth wondering in the big picture if they stocked up on enough elite talent to be a true contender. Tangential, but that can be the danger with a high pick to end up unknowingly pass on Moritz Seider, Dylan Cozens, Matt Boldy types and select a player who isn’t worthy of the draft spot. The Kings have had enough other material to not have that pick emerge as a damaging miss, but in the long run it represents a big lost opportunity and shows a potential trouble/pressure of needing to nail such important picks.
The Kings’ biggest off-season moves were to sign Brian Dumoulin and Cody Ceci, who signed for three and four years respectively at $4.0m and $4.5m cap hits. The moves were immediately panned as unwise and clowned all over social media, and in the early going of the season that has come to pass in a major way. Dumoulin/Ceci as a pair were outshot 28-13, outscored 5-0 and had to be split apart. Figuring out how to utilize these two former Penguins is going to be a tall task and a potentially lingering issue for LA for the foreseeable future, it brings no joy to show that in a very brief sample that Dumoulin has dragged Doughty down to a 38 xGF%. They had no choice but to eliminate a disaster Dumoulin/Ceci pair, but now the trade off means those players split up could negatively effect even more of the team on separate pairings.
It hurts more since the team lost Vladislav Gavrikov, who signed with NYR for a $7.0 million cap hit. In theory, replacing the one player in the aggregate with multiple ones may pay off in some disciplines but the issue was the age and ability of what the Kings went out and got at this point of the careers of Ceci and Dumoulin.
Rickard Rakell – Sidney Crosby – Bryan Rust
Anthony Mantha – Evgeni Malkin – Justin Brazeau
Tommy Novak – Ben Kindel – Philip Tomasino
Connor Dewar – Blake Lizotte – Filip Hallander
Parker Wotherspoon / Erik Karlsson
Matthew Dumba / Connor Clifton
Goalies: Arturs Silovs, Tristan Jarry
Potential Scratches: Noel Acciari, Caleb Jones, Harrison Brunicke
IR: Kevin Hayes (upper body, week-to-week), Jack St. Ivany (week-to-week, lower body), Rutger McGroarty (indefinite, upper body), Joel Blomqvist (week-to-week, lower body)
- The Penguins had an off day yesterday, without any practice inputs we’ll keep the lines in tact from what was used last game – fully knowing that the lineup subject to change and almost certainly will be tweaked will being as Dan Muse has rotated through players with some frequency early on. To that end, I would imagine the Kings are not seen to have the skating/speed that Anaheim did, which might draw Acciari back into the lineup, and there certainly are no shortage of forwards from the lower lines that could be scratched for the night to make way for that.
- Defensively, you’d probably think they’re not going to keep Brunicke watching and not playing for a continuous amount of time, complicated by the point that the most obvious player to take out of the last lineup (Dumba) is also the most experienced/accomplished right-shot defender playing on the left side. The Pens did try a Letang/Brunicke pair in practice earlier in the week, that could be something they circle back to, though with Kris Letang struggling on his own it might not be the time to pair him with a rookie who can be a question mark positionally/defensively on his own.
- Muse has rotated the goalies evenly so far going Silovs-Jarry-Silovs-Jarry, is there any reason to expect that not to continue? If it holds, that would put Silovs back in the net tonight and give him a chance to play a team other than the Rangers for the first time this season. Jarry wasn’t necessarily the team’s biggest problem on Tuesday but an 18 save on 22 shot performance in a loss doesn’t exactly scream “I’m taking the ball and running with it”, either.
The Penguins only have seven 5v5 goals through the four games that they’ve played. Just imagine where the team would be without Justin Brazeau’s three 5v5 goals! (Who would have imagined that would be a sentence with all those words touching even 10 days ago?)
On the bright side, at least the Pens are creating chances and getting good looks but they need to start finishing. Unfortunately that last statement is an all too common in this post-playoff era of the Penguins. It would be one thing if they weren’t good enough to generate chances, but failing to be able to convert into goals has been a cruel twist of fate for a team that as recently as 2021 scored 201 5v5 goals on 168 xGF, held strong in 2021-22 with 180 goals vs 178 xGF in the last year they made the playoffs. Since then, it’s been over a cliff:
- 168 goals vs 202 xGF in 2022-23
- 179 goals vs 186 xGF in 2023-24
- 157 goals vs 178 xGF in 2024-25
Show me a team that develops a consistent trend of failing to convert on their chances and I’ll show you a bad team. In a related note, there are disturbing signs that song is starting all over again already with the Pens netting 7 goals against their 10 xGF in the early going of 2025-26.
It doesn’t help that Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin have a goose egg in 5v5 goals, though Malkin has three 5v5 assists and Crosby has two. Bryan Rust has only played two of the games and been held without a goal. Rickard Rakell’s only ES goal came off a deflection last game, he’s yet to score a goal from a shot he’s generated himself. Despite the playmaking inputs (which do count for something), any instance where those four star players combine for only a single goal over a four-game stretch means the chances are the Pittsburgh offense isn’t in a good place in that time. And it’s hasn’t been with only 2.16 goals/60. Those four combined for 69 5v5 goals last season, sooner or later they will start filling the net with more frequency based on the chances they are generating but for now it’s a sore spot that they have run cold. (In fact, one could see signals that the turnaround is already showing signs of taking place: Crosby was on the ice for absolutely zero 5v5 goals for in the first three games of the season, but then assisted on two 5v5 goals last game against Anaheim).
To compound the matter, the third and fourth lines put together only have one 5v5 goal, via rookie Ben Kindel. Those lines aren’t expected to produce in spades, but one goal in 24-combined man games from the bottom six is an uninspiring contribution in totality.
The defense has matched that meager output with one goal through their own 24-combined man games, via rookie Harrison Brunicke. That’s to be expected, last year the Pens only received 21 5v5 goals from all their defensemen all season. Blueliners aren’t counted on to produce 5v5 goals themselves, and at least Ryan Shea was sending in deflectable point shots to boost the forwards.
So you can cut the defense a break here, but the outlook has to be less charitable for the forwards. The helpers aren’t helping out much. That of course doesn’t apply to the one-man wrecking crew known as Brazeau, and to a lesser degree of Anthony Mantha who was able to chip in his first 5v5 goal last game, which is more than all the rest of the forwards not named Kindel or Rakell can say.
The good news is that you would think tonight could be a chance to start getting right. The Kings have been a hot mess defensively this season in terms of breakdowns and conceding goals against, 16 in the four games. As mentioned in the hidden stat, a lot of that bleeding has come on their penalty kill but the circumstance should be right for Pittsburgh. The Pens will likely see 32-year old backup Forsberg in net, who has a career GAA north of 3 (3.05 to be exact) and a losing record of 75-81-14. This Pittsburgh team is going to have to pick its spots and exploit the teams where they can, tonight ought to be a pretty good opportunity for the offense to come to life.
Focus on: the penalty kill
The Pens’ penalty kill has perhaps been their biggest culprit in their last two games, which not so coincidentally doubles as both of their losses in the season. It’s certainly one of the most visible and glaring issues the team has right now, given the late penalty and almost immediate goal against with 1:27 to go that turned getting at least a point in overtime into a stone cold regulation loss. The Pittsburgh PK is only 6 for the last 10, giving up a pair of goals while shorthanded in each of their losses. An underlying issue can be readily seen by the team stress-testing their penalty kill with 10 opponent power plays in two games, which creates a tough spot to be at in the first place.
LA’s power play has scored a modest three power play goals in their four games, on 13 attempts on the season (23.1%). Kopitar has factored into all three PPG the Kings have this year with assists, and he figures to be at less than 100% today — if he is even able to play at all while dealing with his injury.
The Penguins may not win this game even with a great night on the PK, but if they get rung up for a PPG against (or two..or three..) the odds of losing sky rocket. That will be a focus to watch and see tonight; first if Pittsburgh can effectively stay out of the penalty box more than they have been in recent games, and second to limit the damage and steady their ship in that regard when they are shorthanded.
Friar Notes:
*The Friars have posted a 68-23 mark all-time in exhibition games.
*Sunday’s contest will mark the Friars’ first game at the Petersen Events Center since January 25, 2012.
*The Friars have posted a 0-7 mark all-time in the Petersen Events Center.
*The Friars are 2-0 all-time vs. Holy Cross in season openers.
*The Friars have 10 newcomers and five returnees on the roster this season.
*Oswin Erhunmwunse and Ryan Mela were named to the BIG EAST All-Freshman Team on March 9, 2025.
*Oswin Erhunmwunse ranked second in the BIG EAST in blocked shots (1.63) and third in the BIG EAST in offensive rebounds (2.44) last season.
*Oswin Erhunmwunse’s five blocks vs. Seton Hall on 1/11 was just the sixth time ever a Friar freshman had five or more blocks in a game and just the second time in a BIG EAST game.
*Ryan Mela was named BIG EAST Freshman of the Week on 1/13 and 1/20. He was the first Friar to earn the honor in consecutive weeks since A.J. Reeves in 2019.
*Corey Floyd Jr., has 505 career points in 92 games at PC, his father, Corey Floyd Sr., scored 341 points in 56 games with Friars from 1990-92.
*Duncan Powell needs nine points to reach 1,000 for his career. He scored 239 points in one season of action at North Carolina A&T, 350 points in one season at Sacramento State and 402 points in one season at Georgia Tech.
*The Friars were 10-6 at home in 2024-25; 2-9 on the road and 0-5 in neutral site games.
*Kim English was one of 19 NCAA Div. 1 head coaches in 2024-25 who played in the NBA.
*The Friars are 642 -249 (.722) all-time at the Amica Mutual Pavilion.
*The Friars had a number of players miss games last season with injuries. Friar players missed a combined 61 games in 2024-25 with injuries and illness.
Friars To Play At Pittsburgh In An Exhibition Game On October 19: The Providence College men’s basketball team will play at Pittsburgh in an exhibition game on Sunday, Oct. 19, at 2 p.m. The game will be played at the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh, Pa. It will mark the Friars’ first game at the Petersen Events Center since January 25, 2012 when the Friars were defeated by the Panthers, 86-74. The Friars have posted a 17-31 mark all-time versus the Panthers. The Friars are 13-10 at home, 3-20 at Pittsburgh and 1-1 in neutral arenas versus Pittsburgh. In the first meeting ever between the two teams, Providence defeated Pitt, 101-80, at Madison Square Garden on March 18, 1975 in New York. In the last meeting between the two teams, the Friars were defeated by the Panthers, 68-64, on January 22, 2013 in Providence at the Amica Mutual Pavilion.
Friars To Host Harvard In An Exhibition Game On October 25: The Providence College men’s basketball team will host Harvard an exhibition game on Saturday, Oct. 25, at 4 p.m. The game will be played at the Amica Mutual Pavilion and will be streamed live on Friars live at Friars.com. The Friars have posted a 6-0 mark all time versus the Crimson. The Friars are 4-0 at home and 2-0 on the road versus Harvard. In the first meeting ever between the two teams, Providence defeated Harvard, 37-25, in Cambridge, Mass., on January 20, 1932. In the last meeting between the two teams, the Friars defeated the Crimson, 76-64, on November 14, 2015 in Providence at the Amica Mutual Pavilion.
Friars All-Time In Exhibition Games: The Friars have posted a 68-23 mark all-time in exhibition games. Last season, the Friars defeated UMass, 63-54, in an exhibition game on October 26, 2024.
Friars To Play Holy Cross To Open Season: The Friars will open the 2025-26 season versus Holy Cross on Monday, November 3 at Amica Mutual Pavilion. The Friars have posted a 43-28 mark all-time versus Holy Cross, including a 2-0 record in season openers. The last time PC played Holy Cross in an opener, the Friars defeated Holy Cross, 63-57 on November 18, 2001 at the Amica Mutual Pavilion. The last time the two teams met, the Friars earned a 70-61 win at the Amica Mutual Pavilion on November 13, 2018. Providence has posted a 27-10 mark all-time versus Holy Cross at home.
Friars Vs. The Patriot League: The Friars have posted a 74-38 mark all-time versus teams from the Patriot League.
Friars All-Time In Season Openers: The Friars will open their 99th season of basketball on Monday, November 3 versus Holy Cross at the Amica Mutual Pavilion. The Friars have registered an 87-11 (.888) mark all-time in regular-season openers. In addition, the Friars hold a 90-8 (.918) record in home openers. The Friars open the 2025-26 season at home for the 25th time in 26 years. The only time in the past 25 seasons the Friars did not open at home was the 2007-08 season, when they played Temple in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Providence has won 22 of the last 23 openers, with the lone defeat coming in the 2008-09 game against Northeastern. Last season, the Friars opened the season with a 59-55 win over Central Connecticut at the AMP on November 4, 2024.
Friars In 2024-25: The Friars, who finished the regular season in eighth place in the BIG EAST with a 6-14 record, recorded 12-20 record overall in 2024-25. Providence posted a 0-1 mark in the BIG EAST Tournament.
Mela And Erhunmwunse Named To BIG EAST All-Freshman Team: Ryan Mela (Natick, Mass.) and Oswin Erhunmwunse (Benin City, Nigeria) were named to the BIG EAST All-Freshman Team, which was announced by the league office on March 9, 2025. It marked just the second time in program history that two Friar freshmen earned All-Freshman Team honors in the same season, joining the ranks of Sharaud Curry and Geoff McDermott who were named to the All-Freshman Team in 2006. Erhunmwunse led the team in field goal percentage (72.3 percent), rebounds (179/5.6 rpg), and blocks (52/1.6 bpg). He started 24 of 32 games last season, Erhunmwunse averaged 6.8 ppg in his first season as a Friar . He ranked second in the BIG EAST in blocks per game (1.63) and third in offensive rebounding (2.71). At 72.3 percent, Erhunmwunse connected on 94 of his 130 attempts from the field. He recorded his first double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds against Seton Hall on Jan. 11. Mela earned BIG EAST Freshman of the Week honors twice in his rookie season (Jan. 13 and Jan. 20). He concluded the season with 186 points (6.4 points per game) and appeared in 29 games, starting nine. He averaged 6.2 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. In league action, Mela led all BIG EAST freshmen in rebounds per game (6.2) and defensive rebounds per game (5.2). He recorded two double-doubles on the season, including his first one on Jan. 8 against Butler where Mela finished with 10 points and a career-high 15 rebounds.
Corey Floyd Returns For His Fourth Season With The Friars: Red shirt senior Corey Floyd (Franklin, N.J.) returns for his fourth season with the Friars. Floyd had his most productive year at PC in 2024-25 as he started 25 of the 29 games he played. He averaged 9.2 points and 4.8 rebounds. He shot 32.4 percent (22-68) from three-point territory and 80.0 percent (64-80) from the free-throw line. Floyd began his career at UConn in 2021-22 and transferred to Providence prior to the 2022-23 season.
Friars All-Time Versus Top-25 Teams: The Friars have posted a 133-289 (.315) mark all-time versus top-25 teams, including a 0-5 mark in 2025-26.
Erhunmwunse Contributed: Freshman center Oswin Erhunmwunse (Benin City, Nigeria) recorded eight points, eight rebounds and three blocks at Marquette on Feb. 25. He scored 14 points and grabbed five rebounds versus Xavier on Feb. 12. He registered 11 points, four rebounds and three blocks in a win at Seton Hall on Jan. 28. He scored 10 points, grabbed six rebounds and had two blocks, while shooting 5-6 from the field in the Friars’ win over Georgetown on Jan. 25. Erhunmwunse shot 72.3 percent (94-130) from the field in 2024-25. He recorded his first career double-double, contributing 12 points and a game-high 10 rebounds in the Friars’ win over Seton Hall on Jan. 11. He also added a career-high five blocks. It marked the first time a Friar freshman had five blocks in a game since 2011. It also marked just the second time ever a Friar freshman had five blocks in a BIG EAST game. For the season, he averaged 6.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.6 blocks.
Mela Had A Strong Season: Freshman guard Ryan Mela (Natick, Mass.) recorded a career-high 18 points and six rebounds versus DePaul on March 5. He registered a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds versus Xavier on Feb. 12. He was named BIG EAST Freshman of the Week on Jan. 13 and Jan. 20. Mela became the first Friar to earn the accolade multiple times in a season since A.J. Reeves was named Freshman of the Week three times in 2019. Mela was named BIG EAST Freshman Of The Week on Monday, Jan. 20 after he scored 10 points, grabbed seven rebounds, added three assists and made one steal in the Friars’ loss at Creighton on Jan. 14. Mela was ill and did not play in the Friars’ game at Villanova on Jan. 17. Mela earned Freshman of the Week on Jan. 13, after he averaged 8.5 points, 12.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.5 steals as the Friars posted a 2-0 mark. On Jan. 8 in a win over Butler, the freshman guard had 10 points, 15 rebounds, four assists and two steals. It marked the first time a Friar freshman had 15 rebounds since LaDontae Henton had 15 versus DePaul on Feb. 25, 2012. On Jan. 11, Mela recorded seven points, nine rebounds, five assists and one steal in a victory over Seton Hall. For the season, Mela is averaged 6.4 points and 5.2 rebounds per game.
Friars Have 10 Newcomers For 2025-26: Providence College Head Coach Kim English added 10 new players to the team for 2025-26. Graduate students Jason Edwards (Atlanta, Ga.), Jaylin Sellers (Columbus, Ga.) and Duncan Powell (Dallas, Texas) have all played at a high level. Edwards averaged 17.0 points and 2.0 rebounds per game at Vanderbilt in 2024-25. Sellers, who was injured last season, averaged 15.9 points and 3.6 rebounds in 2023-24 at UCF. Powell averaged 12.2 points and 5.4 rebounds at Georgia Tech. Senior Cole Hargrove (Norristown, Pa.) comes to the Friars after spending three years at Drexel. In his junior season at Drexel, the 6-8 forward averaged 9.9 points and 7.5 rebounds. Sophomore Daquan Davis (Baltimore, Md.) spent his freshman season at Florida State. The second-year point guard averaged 8.8 points and 2.5 rebounds per game last season for the Seminoles. Freshmen Peteris Pinnis (Salaspils, Latvia) and Stefan Vaaks (Tabasalu, Estonia) both played in Europe last year. Pinnis averaged 7.2 points and 5.5 rebounds in the Latvia-Estonia Basketball League. Vaaks averaged 15.0 points and 3.2 rebounds in 2024-25. Freshmen Jaylen Harrell (Boston, Mass.) and Jamier Jones (Sarasota, Fla.) were both ranked in the top-100 coming out of high school. Harrell, the 2025 Massachusetts Gatorade Player of the Year, averaged 22.1 points, 8.5 rebounds and 7.2 assists at Cambridge Arts, Technology and Science Academy. He was ranked in the top-100 by 247Sports (No. 85), Rivals (No. 85) and On3 (No. 88). On3 and 247Sports each ranked Harrell as the top recruit in Massachusetts for 2025. Jones averaged 20.8 points, 6.1 rebounds and 4.5 assists at Oak Ridge High School. He was a consensus four-star recruit, was the 44th ranked player in the nation and the No. 12 forward, according to ESPN.com. He also ranked 37th (ninth in his position) by On3, 43rd by Rivals (15th in his position) and 45th (11th in his position) by 247Sports. Graduate student Jack Williams (Ann Arbor, Mich.) joins the team as a walk-on.
Friar Games On FOX, FS1, TNT, truTV, ESPN+ And Peacock: The Friar games will air nationally this season on FOX, FS1, TNT, truTV, ESPN+ and Peacock this season. It will mark the first time ever the Friars will have regular-season games televised on TNT and TruTV.
Friars Sell Out Season Tix Again In 2025-26: In 2023-24, the Friars sold out of season tickets at the Amica Mutual Pavilion for the first time ever. Again in 2025-26, the team sold its entire season ticket allotment for the arena. It marked the third consecutive season that the Friars sold out of season tickets. In 2024-25, at total of 167,978 fans watched the Friars at the AMP in 16 home games. It was an average of 10,499 fans – the ninth highest single season average at the AMP. The 2023-24 season marked the first time a complete sell out of season tickets occurred since the team moved to the AMP when it opened in 1972. As a result, the Friars had 211,147 fans watch the team play 19 games at the AMP. That average of 11,113 per game is the highest single-season mark in the history of the program. The total of 211,147 is the second highest amount of fans to watch the Friars at home in the history of the program. In 1991, 211,498 fans attended 20 home games at the AMP. The 211,147 fans in 2023-24, also marked just the second time in the history of the program that the team drew more than 200,000 fans in a single season.
Friars Are 110-6 In Non-Conference Home Games Over The Last 15 Years: The Friars have posted a 110-6 mark (.948) in their last 15 seasons in non-conference home games. The team’s six losses over the last 15 years were to Brown (77-67) on December 8, 2014, Minnesota (86-74) on November 13, 2017, UMass (79-78) on December 7, 2018, Arkansas (84-72) on March 19, 2019, Penn (81-75) on November 23, 2019 and Boston College (62-57) on March 19, 2024. The Friars are 32-1 in their last 33 non-conference home games (2024-25, 6-0; 2023-24, 8-1; 2022-23, 7-0; 2021-22, 8-0; 2020-21, 2-0; 2019-20, 2-0).
Friars In Overtime: The Friars recorded a 1-0 record in overtime games in 2024-25. They have recorded a 80-71 mark all-time in overtime games, including 10-2 in their last 21 games. The Friars are 8-0 in their last eight overtime games at the AMP.
Friars At The Amica Mutual Pavilion: All-time, the Friars have recorded a 642-249 (.721) mark in 52 seasons of games at the Amica Mutual Pavilion. The AMP, formerly the Providence Civic Center and the Dunkin’ Donuts Center, opened on November 3, 1972. The Friars had played their home games there for 48 consecutive seasons, prior to the 2020-21 season when the team played on campus at Alumni Hall with no fans in attendance due to the pandemic. PC posted a 15-2 mark at the AMP in 2022-23 and a 16-1 record in 2021-22 — the team’s best record at home since 1973-74.
Providence College Basketball: The 2025-26 campaign marks the 99 th season of basketball at Providence College. Since the program started in 1926-27, Providence has posted a 1,576 -1,060 mark, good for a .600 winning percentage. The Friars have made the NCAA Tournament 22 times and the National Invitation Tournament on 21 occasions.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have been proactive in handing out extensions to some of their homegrown players on both sides of the ball over the past year or so, and it appears one of their wide receivers could be next in line for a pay day.
During a Steelers chat for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Gerry Dulac stated that he believes it’s likely Calvin Austin III is in order for an extension from the organization after the 2025 campaign concludes.
“Yes, he is next up more than likely,” Dulac wrote.
After posting a total of 2,541 yards and 22 touchdowns on 156 catches from 2018 to 2021 at the University of Memphis, where he was teammates with Kenneth Gainwell, the Steelers selected Austin in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL Draft.
He did not play as a rookie, however, due to a foot injury that eventually landed him on season-ending injured reserve. Austin returned in 2023 and appeared in all 17 of Pittsburgh’s games, finishing with 17 catches for 180 yards and a touchdown while playing 374 offensive snaps.
The 2024 campaign was where Austin displayed his true potential, though, starting eight of the Steelers’ 17 contests while recording 548 yards and four scores on 36 receptions. He also had a 73-yard punt return touchdown vs. the New York Giants in Week 8.
Austin has become even more integral to Pittsburgh’s offense this season, playing 75 percent of the unit’s snaps when healthy, per Pro Football Reference, while racking up 139 yards and two touchdowns on 10 catches.
He went down with a shoulder injury in Week 4 against the Minnesota Vikings, though, and he’s in danger of missing a second-straight game in Week 7 vs. the Cincinnati Bengals while on the mend.
Outside of DK Metcalf, who the Steelers acquired from the Seattle Seahawks in March and immediately handed a four-year extension worth $132 million, Austin is the only receiver on the team’s roster who has proven himself to be a reliable weapon at the position.
As Pittsburgh’s primary punt returner, he’s become a valuable component of what the team does on special teams as well. Considering the organization has struggled to put together a complete receiver room with adequate depth over recent years, it wouldn’t make a ton of sense to let a homegrown player like Austin walk in free agency this upcoming offseason once his rookie contract expires.
Though an extension would likely cost upwards of $10 million in average annual value, that’s a price worth paying for the Steelers. Austin is still just 26-years-old and only seems to be growing within Arthur Smith’s offense, and he’d lay a strong long-term foundation at receiver next to Metcalf should he ink a new deal with the team.
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