PROVIDENCE COLLEGE (15-14-1, 7-11) HOCKEY NOTES:

FRIARS POST 1-1 MARK IN TOUGH WEEKEND SCHEDULE... On February 11-12, Providence College recorded a 1-1 mark in two HOCKEY EAST games. On February 11, the Friars were defeated by fifth-ranked Boston College, 8-0, at Conte Forum. It marked the second time this season the Eagles have shutout the Friars. Junior Boyd Ballard (Weyburn, Saskatchewan) played 15:59, allowed three goals and made seven stops in the loss. Freshman Nolan Schaefer (Yellow Grass, Saskatchewan) came in relief of Ballard and recorded 24 saves in 44:01. The following night, the Friars earned a 4-3 upset win against second-ranked New Hampshire at PC's Schneider Arena. Senior Doug Sheppard (Georgetown, Ontario) scored a short-handed goal with 1:32 remaining in the game to give PC the win. Freshman Devin Rask (Parkside, Saskatchewan) recorded his first collegiate two-goal game. Senior Fernando Pisani (Edmonton, Alberta) netted PC's other goal. Ballard played strong in net for PC, making 32 stops in the win.

HEAD COACH PAUL POOLEY EARNS 100TH WIN... PC Head Coach Paul Pooley earned his 100th victory as a the Friar bench boss in the team's 4-3 upset against second-ranked New Hampshire on February 12. Pooley joins former Friar head coaches Lou Lamoriello (248-179-13) 1968-83 and Mike McShane (151-153-31) 1985-94 as the only PC hockey head coaches to earn 100 or more wins. Since 1994, Pooley has compiled a 100-101-15 record. Pooley has led the Friars to two HOCKEY EAST Finals, three HOCKEY EAST Semifinals 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. He came to PC after spending three years as an assistant coach at Lake Superior State (1991-94). Pooley began his coaching career at his alma-mater, Ohio State, where he served as an assistant to Jerry Welsh from 1988-91.

PISANI NOTCHES THREE POINTS... Senior Fernando Pisani (Edmonton, Alberta) registered three points (one goal, two assists), including an assist on the short-handed gamewinner, in PC's 4-3 win against No. 2 New Hampshire on February 12. For Pisani, the three points against UNH was his ninth multiple-point game this season and the 38th in his career at Providence. It also marked the 14th time in his career he registered three or more points in a game. Pisani is second on the team in scoring this season with 31 points (12 goals, 19 assists) in 30 games. Pisani now ranks 14th on the PC all-time scoring chart with 146 points (54 goals, 92 assists) in 139 games. He also ranks 12th all-time in assists (92) and 14th all-time in games played (139). He is a 1996 eighth-round draft pick of the Edmonton Oilers.

RASK SCORES TWO GOALS VS. UNH... Freshman Devin Rask (Parkside, Saskatchewan) recorded two goals in PC's 4-3 win against second-ranked New Hampshire on February 12. For Rask it was his first collegiate two-goal game and his third multiple-point contest. This season, he has registered 12 points (four goals, eight assists) in 30 games. Last season, Rask recorded 100 points (45 goals, 55 assists) for the Yorkton Terrers of the SJHL.

SHEPPARD SCORES GAMEWINNER... Senior captain Doug Sheppard (Georgetown, Ontario) scored a short-handed, game-winning goal with 1:32 remaining in the third period in PC's 4-3 upset against second-ranked New Hampshire on February 12. For Sheppard it was his team leading fourth game-winning goal. He also leads the team in scoring (34 points), goals (15), assists (19) and power-play goals (10). Sheppard now ranks 42nd all-time in scoring at PC with 101 career points (47 goals, 54 assists). On February 4, he scored one goal and notched one assist in PC's 3-1 win against Northeastern for his 10th multiple-point game of the season and the 22nd of his career. He was named HOCKEY EAST Player of the Month for November after recording 14 points (six goals, eight assists) in eight games. Sheppard earned HOCKEY EAST Player of the Week accolades after registering five points (three goals, two assists), including a hat trick, in PC's two wins against Northeastern on November 19-20.

BALLARD MAKES 32 SAVES IN WIN VS. NEW HAMPSHIRE... Junior goaltender Boyd Ballard (Weyburn, Saskatchewan) recorded 32 stops in PC's 4-3 upset win against second-ranked New Hampshire. For Ballard it was the seventh time in 18 starts this season he has recorded 30 or more stops. On February 4-5, Ballard earned wins against Northeastern (3-1) and Merrimack (4-3) in overtime while posting a 1.98 goals against average and making 65 stops (.942 save percentage). For his efforts, the junior netminder was named HOCKEY EAST Player of the Week. This season, he has posted a 9-9 mark, a 2.84 goals against average and a .907 save percentage. On December 10, he posted his third career shutout in the Friars' 2-0 win against Dartmouth at Schneider Arena. He made a season-high 40 saves in PC's 3-2 win over Cornell on November 23 at Schneider Arena. For his career at Providence, Ballard has posted a 35-33-2 record, a 3.38 goals against average and an .890 save percentage. He ranks eighth all-time at PC in saves (1,799) and seventh all-time in games played (73).

NEXT WEEK... Providence College will play a home-and-home series against Boston University next week. On Friday, February 18, PC will host the Terriers at Schneider Arena. The following night, the Friars will play at BU's Walter Brown Arena. Both games will begin at 7:00 p.m.

PROVIDENCE-BOSTON UNIVERSITY ALL-TIME SERIES... Friday's game will be the 119th meeting between the two schools. Boston University leads the all-time series 74-37-7. The two teams first met on February 25, 1927 with Boston University defeating Providence, 12-0, at the Rhode Island Auditorium. The loss to the Terriers was one of seven defeats the Friars suffered in their first season of collegiate competition (1-7-0). The Friars' last win against the Terriers was a 5-1 victory in the third game of the HOCKEY EAST Quarterfinals at Schneider Arena on March 14, 1999. PC's last loss to Boston University was a 3-2 defeat on October 30, 1999 at Walter Brown Arena.

PC VS. BU ALL-TIME AT SCHNEIDER ARENA... The Friars have posted an 18-19-3 record against BU at Schneider Arena. In PC's last game against BU at Schneider Arena, the Friars defeated the Terriers, 5-1, in the third game of the HOCKEY EAST Quarterfinals at Schneider Arena on March 14, 1999. The Friars last loss to the Terriers at Schneider Arena was an 8-2 defeat on March 13, 1999 in the second game of the HOCKEY EAST Quarterfinals.

AT WALTER BROWN ARENA... The Friars have posted 10-21-3 record against BU at Walter Brown Arena. PC's last win against BU at Brown Arena was a 6-4 victory on October 31, 1998. PC's last loss to BU at Brown Arena was a 3-2 defeat on October 30, 1999.

THIS SEASON AGAINST THE TERRIERS... In the only meeting between the Friars and the Terriers this season, BU defeated PC, 3-2, at Walter Brown Arena on October 30, 1999. Mike Farrell and Doug Sheppard each scored for the Friars. Boyd Ballard recorded 24 saves in the loss.