January 7, 1999

THE PROVIDENCE-NORTHEASTERN SERIES... Friday's game is the 102nd meeting between the two schools. Providence leads the all-time series 61-33-7. The two teams first met on Dec. 22, 1953 with Northeastern defeating Providence, 5-4, in overtime at the Boston Garden. PC's last win against the Huskies was a 6-4 victory at Schneider Arena on Jan. 9, 1998. The last time PC was defeated by Northeastern, the Friars dropped a 3-2 decision on Nov. 25, 1997 at Matthews Arena.

AT MATTHEWS ARENA... Since 1957 the Friars have posted a 28-17-4 mark against the Huskies at Matthews Arena. In the Friars' last game at Matthews Arena, Northeastern defeated PC, 3-2, on Nov. 25, 1997. PC's last win against Northeastern at Matthews Arena was a 5-4 victory on Jan. 9, 1997.

AT SCHNEIDER ARENA... The Friars have posted a 17-14-3 mark against Northeastern at Schneider Arena. PC's last win against the Huskies at Schneider Arena was a 6-4 victory on Jan. 9, 1998. PC's last loss to Northeastern at Schneider Arena was a 2-0 defeat on Oct. 24, 1997.

LAST SEASON AGAINST NORTHEASTERN... The Friars posted a 1-2 mark against Northeastern last season. On Oct. 24, 1997, Northeastern ended a nine-game losing streak against PC with a 2-0 win at Schneider Arena. Mark Kane recorded 27 saves in the loss. On Nov. 25, the Huskies earned a 3-2 win against PC at Matthews Arena. The loss marked PC's first regular-season defeat at Matthews Arena since 1989. Doug Sheppard and Mike Omicioli each scored for the Friars. Boyd Ballard made 21 stops in his first collegiate loss. On Jan. 9, PC earned its only win of the season against the Huskies with a 6-4 victory at Schneider Arena. Fernando Pisani led the PC offense with two goals. Josh MacNevin, Jason Ialongo, Mike Mader and Troy Lake also scored for the Friars. Ballard registered 25 stops in the win.

FRIARS DEFEAT CORNELL... In PC's last game, the Friars earned a 7-3 victory against Cornell on Jan. 5 in Ithaca, N.Y. Troy Lake led the Friar offense with two goals in the third period, including the game winner. Heath Gordon, Fernando Pisani, Mike Omicioli, Matt Libby and Nick Lent also scored for PC. Boyd Ballard made 21 stops in net while earning his sixth win of the season.

FRIAR OFFENSE ON A TEAR... Providence College is one of the top offensive teams in the country. The Friars enter the game against Northeastern averaging 4.30 goals per game. PC has scored five or more goals in nine of its 16 games this season.

HEAD COACH PAUL POOLEY... Is the 10th coach in the history of Providence College hockey. Since 1994, Pooley has compiled a 73-78-13 record and brought the Friars to two HOCKEY EAST Finals and one NCAA Tournament appearance. In 1994-95, Pooley became the first head coach to bring a team to the HOCKEY EAST Championship Game in his inaugural season behind the bench. In 1995-96, he guided the Friars to their second HOCKEY EAST title and first since 1985. Pooley also led the team to its eighth appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The 38-year-old head coach came to PC after spending three years as an assistant coach at Lake Superior State (1991-94). He began coaching at his alma mater, Ohio State, where he served as an assistant to Jerry Welsh from 1988-91.

KEEFE LEADING FRIAR OFFENSE... Junior center Jerry Keefe leads the team in scoring with 30 points (10 goals, 20 assists) in 16 games this season. He also leads the team in assists (20) and is tied for the team lead in power-play goals (four). He notched one assist in PC's 7-3 win against Cornell on Jan. 5. On Dec. 4, Keefe assisted on all three Friar goals, including the game winner in overtime, as PC earned a 3-2 victory against the Warriors. His three points against Merrimack on Dec. 4 marked the 16th multiple-point game of his career and his 10th this season. Keefe has tallied three or more points in four games this season, including two five-point games. On Nov. 27, Keefe recorded five points (two goals, three assists) in PC's 6-5 loss to Princeton at Schneider Arena. On Oct. 30-31, Keefe tallied eight points (three goals, five assists) in PC's two HOCKEY EAST wins against Boston University and earned HOCKEY EAST Player of the Week and U.S. College Hockey Online Offensive Player of the Week honors. On Oct. 31, he led the Friar offense with his first career hat trick, scored the game-winning goal and added two assists in the Friars' 6-4 win against the Terriers at Walter Brown Arena. In 68 career games, Keefe has registered 67 points (24 goals, 43 assists).

PISANI SECOND IN ASSISTS... Junior right wing Fernando Pisani is second on the team in assists with 18. Pisani, who notched one goal in PC's 7-3 win against Cornell on Jan. 5, has recorded 24 points (six goals, 18 assists) in 16 games. Also, he is tied for the team lead in power-play goals (four). On Dec. 4, he recorded three points (one goal, two assists) in PC's 3-2 overtime win against the Warriors at Schneider Arena. The three points against Merrimack on Dec. 4 was his 21st career multiple-point game and seventh multiple-point game this season. It also marked the 11th time in his career he has recorded three or more points in a game. On Nov. 27, Pisani notched four assists in the Friars' 6-5 loss to Princeton at Schneider Arena. The four-point effort marked the third time in his career he has recorded four points in a game. A 1996 eighth-round draft pick of the Edmonton Oilers, Pisani has recorded 88 points (34 goals, 54 assists) in 87 career games.

MIKE OMICIOLI POSTS THREE POINTS AGAINST CORNELL... Senior left wing Mike Omicioli recorded three points (one goal, two assists) in PC's 7-3 win against Cornell on Jan. 5. The three-point effort was the 27th multiple-point game of his career and his eighth this season. It also marked the 13th time in his career that he recorded three or more points in a game and the 11th time he recorded two or more assists in a contest. Omicioli, who has scored one goal in six of the last seven games, leads the team in goals with 11. He is tied for the team lead in power-play goals with four. On Nov. 6, Omicioli tallied two third-period goals and earned the game's No. 1 star in the Friars' 6-1 win against the UNH Wildcats at Schneider Arena. The two-goal effort was Omicioli's fifth career multiple-goal game. On Oct. 31, Omicioli recorded four assists in the Friars' 6-4 victory against BU at Walter Brown Arena. The four-assist effort against BU was the seventh time Omicioli registered three or more assists in a game. He ranks 31st all-time in scoring at Providence College with 114 points (41 goals, 73 assists) in 113 games.

FIRST LINE PRODUCES... PC's first line of senior Mike Omicioli (11-15-26), junior Jerry Keefe (10-20-30) and junior Fernando Pisani (6-18-24) have recorded 80 of the team's 197 points (40.6 percent) this season. BALLARD IN NET... Sophomore goaltender Boyd Ballard made 21 saves in PC's 7-3 win against Cornell on Jan. 5. For Ballard it was his sixth win of the season, but his first since Nov. 13. On Nov. 6-7, Ballard recorded 63 saves in two HOCKEY EAST games against the seventh-ranked New Hampshire Wildcats. For his 63-save effort, Ballard was named HOCKEY EAST Defensive Player of the Week on Nov. 9 and U.S. College Hockey Online Defensive Player of the Week on Nov. 10. Last season, Ballard earned HOCKEY EAST All-Rookie Team honors. In 11 games this season, Ballard has posted a 6-4 mark, a 3.67 goals against average and an .870 save percentage.

LAKE NETS TWO GOALS... Senior center Troy Lake tallied two third period goals, including the game winner, in PC's 7-3 win at Cornell on Jan. 5. It was his fourth multiple-point game this season. Lake leads the team in game-winning goals with two and is fourth on the team in scoring with 15 points (eight goals, seven assists) in 16 games.