With just three weekends left in the regular season, the Providence Friars find themselves in bit of a strange spot. Standing sixth in Hockey East, the Friars are just five points out of fourth place and the all-important fourth home-ice spot for the league playoffs. In the other direction, though, that same total is all that separates Providence from missing out on the playoffs altogether.

With the margin for error razor thin and the difference between home ice and being home for the playoffs as the backdrop, the Friars have taken a playoff-like approach to much of their schedule during the second half of the season. It’s a bit of a unique situation for Providence, which hasn’t made the postseason since 2008.

“It feels great—there’s nothing better than being in a dogfight at the end of the year and jockeying for position,” sophomore forward Derek Army said. “Everyone plays to win championships, so every game is like a playoff game for us. Nothing is more exciting, knowing that every day, you’re fighting for a championship.”

Army has responded well to the Friars’ tumultuous offseason. Not only has he had to adjust to a new coaching staff, but he also had to make the transition from playing for his father, Tim, who stepped down as head coach of the program last March. Tim Army is now an assistant coach with the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche.

Derek Army and his Providence teammates are trying to land the school's first Hockey East postseason berth since 2008.

“Looking back, it’s not often that you get to play for two great coaches,” Derek Army said. “One year, playing for a coach who is currently coaching some of the best players in the world and the next year, playing for the coach of the year for all of college hockey. In both cases, there’s no better way to get to the rink, knowing you’re going to improve. I treated the transition like any other player, trying to impress and earn the new coach’s respect.”

“I think he’s been terrific, and handed the transition with maturity,” first-year Provdence head coach Nate Leaman said of the younger Army. “We met right after my press conference here and in the first meeting we had, I mentioned to him that I was going to treat him like every other player on the team. He was great about that from the start. He loved playing for his father, but maybe there was a little pressure to perform there and maybe he’s not carrying that anymore. He’s a kid who shows up at the rink and busts his tail, and it’s impossible for a coach not to like how hard he works.”

Leaman credits that desire to improve as a key part in the increase of production from Army, who has appeared in all 28 games this season, scoring 18 points on eight goals and 10 assists, surpassing the 13 points on six goals and seven assists he posted during his freshman season.

“He sees the ice well and has poise with the puck and good offensive instincts,” Leaman said. “He’s growing with the game a little bit and makes plays every game—a lot of that has to do with how hard he works every day.”

“I feel stronger this year,” Army said. “I worked a lot over the summer on my game. Coming in, you often hear of players having a sophomore slump and I wanted to make sure that didn’t happen with me. I knew I had to improve every day—lifting weights, running, on-ice work—to be the best player I could be. I’ve gained more confidence, and Coach Leaman has instilled more  of that into my game.”

For a team fighting for its first berth in the playoffs in four seasons, the Friars have experienced ups and downs over the past few weeks. Providence is 3-3-0 in its last six games, losing once in overtime and the other two by two goals, one of which included an empty-net goal to provide the final margin of defeat. Of the three wins, though, two came last weekend, one against Maine, arguably the hottest team in Hockey East, and the other at Massachusetts, which had only lost twice at home all season.

“I thought we played pretty good hockey in those three previous games, but we just struggled to score in those games,” Leaman said. “That’s as good of a stretch as we’ve put together. We’re competing well and doing the little things well in those games. All were close but none went our way, so it was good to win those two close games (last weekend) for our confidence.”

Leaman has been preparing his team for the playoff race for the past six weeks, instructing them about what to expect. Both Leaman and Army are looking forward to this weekend’s two-game set at Northeastern as a preview of what playoff hockey is all about.

“I’ve experienced the playoffs in prep school—the environment was similar, but it was single game, so this is nothing I’ve experienced before,” Army said. “This weekend, having to play two games in an opposing team’s barn, should give us a taste for what it’s like for a playoff series for Hockey East.”

“As soon as we got back from Christmas, we had a meeting about what the second half is like and what we have to improve on to be successful,” Leaman said. “I think it’s great that we’ll have the same team for two games in each of the next three weekends. We want to build on what we’ve done the past five or six games. This weekend will be a tremendous test, facing a Northeastern team that also wants to rise in the standings. It’ll be a tough environment, a lot like a road playoff test for us.”

Though none of the Providence players have collegiate playoff experience to draw upon, Leaman speaks from the knowledge gained in his previous stop as the head coach at Union, where he guided the Dutchmen to that school’s first-ever playoff series victory in 2009 and its first NCAA appearance in 2011.

“I think it’s very similar to what I’ve gone through in previous processes at Harvard (where he was an assistant coach) and Union,” he said. “Learning to win is about growth, poise, mental toughness, and composure. We’re learning those things and what it takes to win games in this league. I love the way the guys come to work every day. I can’t say enough about how hard they’ve worked and the attitude they bring to the rink every day. It’s been fun to go down there every day for practice.”

FRIES AT THE BOTTOM OF THE BAG

• Playoff hockey is the recurring theme around Hockey East this weekend. All 10 league teams will play a pair of games against the same opponent, the first of three such weekends to close out the regular season. Highlighting the league slate are the home-and-home matchups featuring Boston College against Merrimack and Boston University against UMass Lowell.

• With the top four teams in the league standings facing off against one another, it’s also a make-or-break weekend for both Maine and Massachusetts. Maine, currently in a tie for fourth place but two points out of first, needs a strong weekend to remain in contention for home ice, while Massachusetts is fighting for its playoff life, entering the weekend tied for the eighth and final playoff berth.

• A bright spot in an otherwise forgettable season for Vermont has been the play of junior forward Sebastian Stalberg, who leads Hockey East in power-play scoring in league games with 15 points on five goals and 10 assists. Stalberg has had a hand in more than three-quarters of the Catamounts’ 21 power-play goals on the year.