THE PROVIDENCE-BOSTON COLLEGE SERIES... Friday's game will be the 118th meeting between the two schools. Boston College leads the all-time series 75-36-6. The two teams first met on Dec. 1, 1953 with Boston College defeating Providence, 8-5, at the Rhode Island Auditorium. In the most recent meeting between the two teams, BC defeated PC, 6-3, in the second game of the HOCKEY EAST Quarterfinals at Kelley Rink on March 13, 1998. The Friars' last win against the Eagles was a 4-2 victory on Feb. 7, 1997 at Schneider Arena.

AT KELLEY RINK... The Friars have posted 4-12-2 record against BC at Kelley Rink. PC's last win against BC at Kelley Rink was a 4-1 victory on Feb. 9, 1996. PC's last loss to the Eagles at Kelley Rink was a 6-3 defeat on March 13, 1998 in the second game of the HOCKEY EAST Quarterfinals.

AT SCHNEIDER ARENA... The Friars have posted a 17-15-3 record against BC at Schneider Arena. In PC's last game against BC at Schneider Arena, the BC defeated the Friars, 8-0, on Jan. 17, 1998. PC's last win against the Eagles was a 4-2 victory on Feb. 7, 1997.

LAST SEASON AGAINST BC... Last season, Providence College posted a 0-4-1 mark against the Eagles. On Jan. 16, 1998, BC defeated PC, 6-0, at Kelley Rink. Boyd Ballard and Mark Kane combined to make 33 stops for the Friars. The following night, the Eagles earned their second consecutive shutout against PC with an 8-0 win at Schneider Arena. Ballard and Kane combined to make 26 saves. On Feb. 6, 1998, the two teams met for the final time during the regular season and skated to a 3-3 tie at Kelley Rink. Josh MacNevin, Jerry Keefe and Nick Lent all scored for the Friars. Kane made a season high 32 stops in net for the Friars. On March 12, BC scored with four seconds remaining in the game to break a 3-3 tie and earn the win against the Friars in the first game of the best-of-three HOCKEY EAST Quarterfinal series at Kelley Rink. Mike Farrell, Jon Coe and Doug Sheppard each scored for the Friars. Ballard recorded 31 stops in the loss. The following night, the Eagles completed the sweep in the Quarterfinal series with a 6-3 victory at Kelley Rink. Mike Omicioli, MacNevin and Coe all scored for the Friars. Ballard registered 41 stops in the loss.

FRIARS POST 3-0 RECORD LAST WEEK... The Friars posted a 3-0 mark last week. On Jan. 12, freshman Drew Omicioli scored at 10:30 of the third period to give the Friars a 3-2 win against cross-town rival Brown University in the 13th annual Mayor's Cup game. The win raised the Friars' record to 8-4-1 in the Mayor's Cup series and gave PC its first win against Brown since Jan. 17, 1995. Senior Jon Coe and junior Jerry Keefe also scored for the Friars. Friar senior netminder Mark Kane registered 27 saves. On Jan. 15, PC used its largest offensive output of the season to defeat UMass-Amherst, 8-1, at Schneider Arena. Senior Troy Lake and senior Mike Omicioli led the Friar offense with two goals each. Keefe, junior Josh MacNevin, junior Nick Lent and sophomore Matt Libby also scored for the Friars. Kane recorded 22 stops in net for PC. On Jan. 17, the Friars defeated UMass-Lowell, 5-2, for their third win of the week. Freshman Marc Suderman, junior Jon Cameron, junior Doug Sheppard, Lake and Mike Omicioli all scored for Providence. Sophomore Boyd Ballard registered 23 stops in the win.

FRIAR OFFENSE ON A TEAR... Providence College is one of the top offensive teams in the country. The Friars enter Friday's game against Boston College averaging 4.47 goals per game. PC has scored five or more goals in 12 of its 21 games this season.

HEAD COACH PAUL POOLEY... Is the 10th coach in the history of Providence College hockey. Since 1994, Pooley has compiled a 77-79-13 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, who recorded three points (one goal, two assists) in PC's 8-1 win against UMass-Amherst on Jan. 15, leads the team in scoring with 36 points (13 goals, 23 assists) in 21 games this season. He also leads the team in assists (23) and is second in goals (13). His three points against UMass-Amherst on Jan. 15 marked the 17th multiple-point game of his career and his 11th this season. Keefe has tallied three or more points in five 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 73 career games, Keefe has registered 73 points (27 goals, 46 assists).

PISANI POSTS THIRD 30-POINT SEASON... Junior right wing Fernando Pisani notched one assist in PC's 5-2 win against UMass-Lowell on Jan. 17. The assist against UMass-Lowell was his 30th point of the season, giving him three consecutive seasons at Providence with 30 or more points each year. This season, he is second on the team in assists with 22 and is tied for second on the team in scoring (30 points). On Jan. 9, Pisani registered one goal and one assist in PC's 5-4 loss to Northeastern. The two-point effort was his 22nd career multiple-point game and eighth multiple-point game this season. 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 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 94 points (36 goals, 58 assists) in 92 career games.

LAKE HEATS UP... Senior center Troy Lake registered five points (three goals, two assists) in three games last week. On Jan. 12, Lake notched one assist in PC's 3-2 win against Brown in the Mayor's Cup. On Jan. 15, Lake tallied two goals in PC's 8-1 win against UMass-Amherst. For Lake it was his second multiple-goal game this season. On Jan. 19, Lake recorded two points (one goal, one assist) in PC's 5-2 win against UMass-Lowell. He also notched his team leading third game-winning goal. His two-point effort against UMass-Lowell was his sixth multiple-point game this season. He is third on the team in goals with 11 and tied for fourth in scoring with 20 points. He has recorded 58 points (29 goals, 29 assists) in 111 career games.

MIKE OMICIOLI TIED FOR SECOND IN SCORING... Senior center Mike Omicioli, who scored one goal and added one assist in PC's 5-2 win against UMass-Lowell on Jan. 17, is tied for second on the team in scoring with 30 points (14 goals, 16 assists). The two-point effort against UMass-Lowell was the 29th multiple-point game of his career and his 10th this season. On Jan. 15, Omicioli netted two goals in PC's 8-1 win against UMass-Amherst. The two-goal effort was Omicioli's sixth career multiple-goal game. On Jan. 5, Omicioli recorded three points (one goal, two assists) in PC's 7-3 win against Cornell. It 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. He leads the team in goals (14) and power-play goals (five). 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 28th all-time in scoring at Providence College with 118 points (44 goals, 74 assists) in 118 games. Omicioli also ranks 20th all-time in assists with 74.

DREW OMICIOLI LEADS PC FRESHMAN... Freshman Drew Omicioli registered one goal and one assist last week. Omicioli recorded the game-winning goal at the 10:30 mark of the third period in PC's 3-2 victory against Brown on Jan. 12. The goal gave PC its eighth Mayor's Cup victory in 13 games, but it's first win since the 1994-95 season. Omicioli leads all Friar freshman in scoring with nine points (three goals, six assists) in 18 games. On Jan. 8, he recorded two assists in PC's 5-3 win against Northeastern. His two assists against the Huskies was his second multiple-point game this season. On Oct. 24, he tallied two goals, including the game winner, in the Friars' 7-2 win against Lake Superior. For his two-goal effort, Omicioli was named HOCKEY EAST Rookie of the Week on Oct. 26.

MacNEVIN NAMED DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK... Junior defenseman Josh MacNevin notched five points in three games last week. For his efforts, he was named HOCKEY EAST Defensive Player of the Week on Jan. 18. In PC's 3-2 win against Brown on Jan. 12 in the Mayor's Cup, MacNevin assisted on all three Friar goals. His three assist-effort against Brown marked the third time in his career he recorded three assists in a game. He tallied one goal and one assist in PC's 8-1 win against UMass-Amherst on Jan. 15. The two-point effort was the 11th multiple-point game of his career and his sixth this season. MacNevin, who is third on the team in assists with 18, has notched two or more points in five of the last seven games. A 1996 fourth-round draft pick of the New Jersey Devils, MacNevin has 53 points (12 goals, 41 assists) in 82 career games.