March 4, 2010

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FRIARS HOST MERRIMACK ON SENIOR NIGHT... Providence College will complete its home schedule on Friday, March 5 against Merrimack at Schneider Arena. It will mark the final home game for seniors David Cavanagh (Warwick, R.I.), John Cavanagh (Warwick, R.I.), Greg Collins (Hingham, Mass.), Chris Eppich (Surrey, B.C.), Mark Fayne (Sagamore Beach, Mass.) and Ryan Simpson (Bow, N.H.).

SERIES HISTORY VERSUS MERRIMACK... In 106 meetings between the two teams, the Friars lead 73-26-7, including a 41-14-2 mark in Providence. In the first meeting between the two teams this season, Merrimack posted a 2-1 overtime win on January 23 in North Andover, Mass. Last season, the Friars posted a 1-1-1 record against the Warriors with the win (5-3) coming at Schneider Arena on January 31.

SCOUTING MERRIMACK... The Warriors come into this weekend looking to clinch a Hockey East playoff berth for the first time since 2004. Last weekend, Merrimack split a home series against Maine, winning on Friday (6-3) before being defeated on Saturday (5-1). In the 6-3 victory on Friday, the Warriors had 11 different players record a point including Bobby Kramer and Fraser Allan who each scored their first goals of the season. Freshman Stephane Da Costa leads the team in scoring with 42 points (15 goals, 27 assists), while Chris Barton is second with 34 points on 19 goals and 15 assists. In goal, Joe Cannata has played in 20 games and has a 3.26 goals against average and a .893 save percentage.

FRIAR QUICK NOTES... • Freshman defenseman Alex Velischek (Kinnelon, N.J.) has 11 assists this season which is the most by a PC freshman defenseman since Cody Wild had 15 assists during the 2005-06 season. • Senior defenseman Mark Fayne (Sagamore Beach, Mass.) who has played in 137 career games, has missed just one game in his four years at Providence College. • Providence goalie Alex Beaudry has made 39 saves in four different games this season, including at Merrimack on January 23. • The Friars have posted a 6-6-3 record at home this season, including three wins against ranked opponents.

BEAUDRY REACHES SINGLE SEASON TOP-10 MARK... Alex Beaudry (Cumberland, Ont.), who has 859 saves this season, ranks sixth all-time in PC’s single season saves leaders. Beaudry has played in 29 games and is averaging 31.2 saves per game.

FRIAR PENALTY KILL AMONG THE TOP 13... The Friars have thwarted 59 of their opponents’ last 67 power-play opportunities, including 21 of the last 22. The Friars had a streak in which they killed off 18 straight penalties, but the streak ended on January 19 at Northeastern. PC ranks 13th in the country on the penalty kill (122-144 - 84.7%).

LAST TIME OUT... Providence College played to a 2-2 overtime tie against UMass Lowell Saturday night at Schneider Arena. The Friars jumped to a 2-0 first period lead as they scored twice in a span of 29 seconds. Sophomore Matt Bergland (Faribault, Minn) scored on the power play, while classmate Andy Balysky (Randolph, N.J.) added to the lead as he potted his second goal of the season. The River Hawks pulled to within 2-1 in the second period and scored the equalizer at 1:02 of the third period. UMass Lowell finished with a 33-26 shot advantage, but the Friars had a 7-3 edge in overtime. Alex Beaudry finished with 31 saves for the Friars, while Carter Hutton stopped 24 shots for UML.