FRIDAY'S GAME... Friday's game will be the Friars' 30th game of the season and 16th home game (8-7). Tonight, the Friars will play the fourth of six consecutive home games.

THE PROVIDENCE-MERRIMACK SERIES... Friday's game will be the 74th meeting between the two schools. Providence College holds a 57-14-2 lead in its series against Merrimack. The Friars have a 9-1-0 record against the Warriors in the last 10 games. In the most recent meeting between the two teams, Providence defeated Merrimack, 3-2, in overtime on Dec. 4, 1998 at Schneider Arena. PC's last loss to the Warriors was a 3-2 defeat at the Volpe Complex on Dec. 3, 1998. The two teams first met on Feb. 13, 1960 with PC defeating Merrimack, 7-1, at the Billerica Forum.

AT SCHNEIDER ARENA... The Friars have posted 21-7-1 record against the Warriors at Schneider Arena. PC won the first meeting between the two schools at Schneider Arena, 4-2, on Jan. 20, 1973. The Friars' last win against Merrimack at Schneider Arena was a 3-2 overtime victory on Dec. 4, 1998. The last time Merrimack defeated PC at Schneider Arena was Nov. 5, 1994 (4-3).

THIS SEASON AGAINST MERRIMACK... The Providence College Friars have posted a 1-1 mark this season against Merrimack. On Dec. 3, PC was defeated by Merrimack, 3-2, at the Volpe Complex. With the win, Merrimack ended a 10-game winless streak and a nine-game losing streak against the Friars. Junior Jerry Keefe and senior Mike Omicioli each scored for PC. Senior Mark Kane made 34 saves in the loss. On Dec. 4, PC earned a 3-2 win against the Warriors in overtime at Schneider Arena. Omicioli tallied the game-winning goal for the Friars at 1:09 of the overtime period. Sophomore Matt Libby and junior Fernando Pisani also scored for PC. Kane recorded 28 saves in the win.

PLAYOFF PICTURE... The Friars are currently in fourth place in HOCKEY EAST standings. PC is four points ahead of fifth-place UMass-Lowell. The Friars are trying to secure the final spot for home ice in the Quarterfinals.

FRIARS DEFEAT ARMY AND BOSTON UNIVERSITY... Providence College posted a 2-0 mark on Feb. 12-13 with wins against Army and Boston University. The Friars improved their non-conference record to 6-4 on Feb. 12 with a 6-2 win against Army at PC's Schneider Arena. Sophomore Adam Lee and junior Nick Lent led the offense with one goal and two assists each. PC's other goals were scored by sophomore Cole Gendreau, junior Doug Sheppard, senior Jon Coe and junior Fernando Pisani. Senior Mark Kane made 17 saves in net to earn the win. The following night, PC earned a season sweep against BU with a 6-3 win at Schneider Arena. Senior Mike Omicioli and Sheppard each tallied two goals for the Friars. Lent and senior Troy Lake also added one goal each. Sophomore netminder Boyd Ballard made 25 stops in the victory.

HEAD COACH PAUL POOLEY... Is the 10th coach in the history of Providence College hockey. Since 1994, Pooley has compiled a 81-83-13 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 LEADS TEAM IN SCORING... Junior center Jerry Keefe leads the team in points (45 points) and assists (30). In 81 career games, Keefe has registered 82 points (29 goals, 53 assists). Keefe recorded two assists in PC's 6-3 win against Boston University on Feb. 13. His two points against BU on Feb. 13 marked the 20th multiple-point game of his career and his 14th this season. Keefe has tallied three or more points in six games this season, including two five-point games.

PISANI NOTCHES 40 POINTS... Junior left wing Fernando Pisani registered two assists in PC's 6-3 win against Boston University on Feb. 13. His second assist against BU was his 40th point of the season. The two-point effort against BU was his 26th career multiple-point game and his 12th multiple-point game this season. With two assists against UMass-Lowell on Feb. 5, Pisani surpassed the 100-point plateau in his career. Pisani became the first player to reach 100 or more points in his junior season since All-American Chad Quenneville accomplished the feat in 1995. He has recorded three or more points in a game 11 times in his career and has registered four or more points in a game three times in his career. A 1996 eighth-round draft pick of the Edmonton Oilers, Pisani ranks 38th all-time in scoring at PC with 104 points (40 goals, 64 assists) in 100 career games. In 29 games this season, he is third on the team in scoring with 12 goals and 28 assists.

OMICIOLI MOVING UP THE PC SCORING LIST... Senior Mike Omicioli tallied two goals, including the game winner, and added one assist in PC's 6-3 win against the BU Terriers on Feb. 13 at Schneider Arena. The two-goal effort against BU marked the seventh multiple-goal game of his career. The previous night he recorded one assist in the Friars' 6-2 win against Army. With his three points against BU on Feb. 13, Omicioli moved into the 22nd spot on the PC all-time scoring list with 131 points (46 goals, 85 assists) in 126 games. He also ranks 17th all-time in assists at PC with 85. His three-point effort against BU was the 15th time in his career that he recorded three or more points in a game, the 33rd multiple-point game of his career and his 14th multiple-point game this season. In his career he has registered two or more assists in a game 19 times and three or more assists in a game eight times. This season, he leads the team in goals (16) and is second in points (43).

40-POINT FRIARS... Junior Jerry Keefe (15-30-45), senior Mike Omicioli (16-27-43) and junior Fernando Pisani (12-28-40) have all registered 40 or more points this season for the Friars. It marks the first time since the 1991-92 season that PC has had three players record 40 or more points in a season.

OFFENSIVE DEFENSEMAN... Junior defenseman Jason Ialongo notched one assist in PC's 6-3 win against Boston University on Feb. 13. On Jan. 29, he tallied two power-play goals in PC's 7-4 loss to Maine. It marked his third multiple-point game this season. Six of Ialongo's nine goals this season have been scored in man-advantage situations. He is tied for the team lead in power-play goals with six. In 28 games this season, the Cranston, R.I. native has registered a career high 22 points (nine goals, 13 assists).

DREW OMICIOLI HELPS ON OFFENSE... Freshman Drew Omicioli notched one assist in PC's 6-2 win against Army on Feb. 12. On Jan. 22, he netted the game-winning goal and added one assist in PC's 3-0 win against Boston College. Omicioli is tied for the team lead in game-winning goals with three. He leads all Friar freshmen in scoring with 15 points (seven goals, eight assists) in 26 games.

BALLARD IN NET... Sophomore goaltender Boyd Ballard made 25 stops in PC's 6-3 win against BU on Feb. 13. Ballard recorded a season-high 36 saves while earning his first shutout of the season and becoming the first goalie to hold the Eagles scoreless in 1998-99 in PC's 3-0 shutout at sixth-ranked Boston College on Jan. 22. Ballard made a number of key saves in the game, including one on Mike Mottau's short-handed shot in the second period which was featured as CNN's "Play of the Day." The shutout at BC was the second of Ballard's collegiate career. For his efforts in the shutout against BC, Ballard earned HOCKEY EAST Defensive Player of the Week honors. Last season, Ballard earned HOCKEY EAST All-Rookie Team honors. In 20 games this season, Ballard has posted an 11-8 mark, a 3.46 goals against average and an .886 save percentage.

MacNEVIN PRODUCES ON OFFENSE... Junior defenseman Josh MacNevin is fourth on the team in scoring with 26 points (three goals, 23 assists). He notched two assists in PC's 6-2 win against Army on Feb. 12. The two-assist effort was the 12th multiple-point game of his career and his seventh this season. 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. A 1996 fourth-round draft pick of the New Jersey Devils, MacNevin has 59 points (13 goals, 46 assists) in 90 career games.

OFFENSIVE FRIARS... The Providence College offense has been very productive this season. The Friars enter tonight's game against Merrimack averaging 4.27 goals per game. PC has scored five or more goals in 15 of its 29 games this season.

SUCCESS ON THE ROAD, TROUBLES AT HOME... In the Friars' 14 games in 1999, the team has posted an 9-5 record. Interestingly in this 14-game span, the team's success has been on the road where the Friars have recorded a 6-1 mark. Unfortunately, PC has registered a 3-4 mark at home in 1999.