Oct. 13, 2009

Providence College Game Notes in PDF Format

PROVIDENCE COLLEGE HEADS TO THE MIDWEST... Providence College will make its first ever trip to South Bend, Ind. to play two games against No. 7/7 Notre Dame beginning on Thursday, October 15 at the Joyce Center. Thursday night's game is the first of four consecutive road games for the Friars who also will play two contests at Bowling Green State next weekend.

FRIARS WIN SEASON-OPENER...Providence College posted its first season-opening win since 2004 with a 2-1 victory over Holy Cross on Saturday, October 10 at Schneider Arena. Junior Kyle MacKinnon (Walnut, Calif.) recorded one goal, while sophomore Daniel New (White Plains, N.Y.) scored the game-winning goal and added one assist to lead the Friars. In goal, classmate Alex Beaudry (Cumberland, Ont.) stopped 33 of the 34 shots he faced. The Friars finished with a 37-34 shot advantage for the game.

FRIARS AGAINST THE CCHA...Providence College will play four games against teams from the Central Collegiate Hockey Association this season. In addition to the two contests against Notre Dame, the Friars also will play two games at Bowling Green State University on October 23 and 24 in Bowling Green, Ohio. Last season, PC posted a 1-1 record against CCHA teams with a home win against Bowling Green and a home loss against Notre Dame. The Friars' last win away from home versus a CCHA opponent was on December 29, 2007 when PC posted a 5-3 triumph against Michigan State at the Great Lakes Invitational in Detroit, Mich.

SERIES HISTORY AGAINST NOTRE DAME...The Friars are 1-2 all-time against the Fighting Irish. PC defeated UND, 2-1, in the first meeting between the two teams at the Ice Breaker Tournament on October 15, 1999 at Magness Arena in Denver, Colo. The Fighting Irish have won the last two meetings at Schneider Arena (6-1 on 10/21/06 and 4-1 on 10/8/08).

SCOUTING NOTRE DAME... The Fighting Irish are coming off a weekend home split against Alabama-Huntsville. UND was defeated, 3-2, in the season-opener on October 10. The Fighting Irish outshot the Chargers, 41-31, but the Chargers scored twice in the third period, including the game winner with five seconds left. Riley Sheahan and Kyle Palmieri scored for UND. The following night, the Fighting Irish posted a 3-1 win over the Chargers. Notre Dame peppered the Alabama-Huntsville net with 51 shots and scored one goal in each period to earn its first victory of the season. Brett Blatchford, Kyle Lawson and Palmieri each scored for Notre Dame. Last season, the Fighting Irish posted a 31-6-3 record and earned their third consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament. In addition, UND captured the CCHA Tournament title for the second time in three seasons.

FRIAR QUICK NOTES...• Sophomore Daniel New (White Plains, N.Y.) scored the game-winning goal and added one assist in PC's 2-1 season-opening win over Holy Cross. The two points were a career-high for New, who scored his first collegiate goal last season at Holy Cross. • Providence's win over Holy Cross was the team's first season-opening victory since October 8, 2004 when they defeated Clarkson, 4-2, at Schneider Arena. • Providence College was defeated by the University of New Brunswick, 6-3, in an exhibition game on Friday, October 9. Senior Chris Eppich (Surrey, B.C.), sophomore Matt Bergland (Faribault, Minn.) and junior Jordan Kremyr (Cloverdale, B.C.) each scored for the Friars, who are now 21-18 all-time against Canadian teams.

BEAUDRY NAMED HOCKEY EAST DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK...Sophomore goaltender Alex Beaudry (Cumberland, Ontario) was named Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week on Monday, October 12. For Beaudry, who earned two Hockey East Rookie of the Week honors last season, it marks the first time he has earned defensive player of the week accolades. Beaudry made 33 saves and led the Friars to a 2-1 season-opening victory over Holy Cross on Saturday, October 10 at Schneider Arena.

FAMILY TIES...Providence College freshmen Chris Rooney (Canton, Mass.) and Alex Velischek (Kinnelon, N.J.) are sons of former Friar hockey greats. Rooney is the son of former Friar, Steve Rooney. Steve Rooney scored the game-winning goal as the Friars defeated Boston College, 2-1, in double overtime in the inaugural Hockey East championship game in 1985. Steve, who finished his collegiate career with 124 career points, went on to play in the NHL for the Montreal Canadiens team that claimed the 1985 Stanley Cup title. Alex is the son of former Friar Randy Velischek, who is one of the best defensemen to play at the College. He was named ECAC Player of the year in and 1982-83 earned All-America honors. Randy, who helped the Friars to the 1981 ECAC championship and two NCAA Tournament appearances (1981, 1983), played 10 seasons in the NHL (509 games). He played for Minnesota, New Jersey and Quebec.

FRIARS AGAINST NON-CONFERENCE FOES...The Friars will play seven non-conference games this season, including four against CCHA squads (two at Notre Dame and two at Bowling Green). PC opened the season with a 2-1 win against Atlantic Hockey foe Holy Cross on October 10. The Friars also will play against Brown and Dartmouth from ECAC Hockey. Last season, the Friars posted a 3-4-0 record in non-league action.

SOPHOMORE CLASS GOT THE UPPER HAND...In 2008-09, the PC sophomore class led the other classes in scoring with 23 goals and 48 assists. Four sophomores ranked in the top-10 in scoring, led by Ian O'Connor (Londonderry, N.H.), who finished fifth with 16 points (six goals, 10 assists). Matt Germain (Rockland, Mass.), who had four goals and 10 assists, finished seventh with 14 points, while Kyle MacKinnon (Walnut, Calif.), who totalled six goals and seven assists, finished eighth with 13 points.

FRESHMAN LED PROVIDENCE COLLEGE IN SCORING IN 2008-09...Matt Bergland (Faribault, Minn.) became the first Friar freshman to lead the team in points since Rob Gaudreau did it during the 1988-89 season. That season, Gaudreau totaled 57 points on 28 goals and 29 assists. Bergland finished the 2008-09 season with 27 points (10 goals, 17 assists). Bergland had six multiple-point games, including a three-point performance (one goal, two assists) in a win over Bowling Green on October 18 at Schneider Arena.

FRIARS DRAFTED BY NHL TEAMS...This year's PC team features two players who were selected in the NHL Entry Draft. Senior Mark Fayne (Sagamore Beach, Mass.) was chosen in the fifth round, 155th overall by the New Jersey Devils in the 2005 draft. Freshman Alex Velischek (Kinnelon, N.J.) was selected in the fifth round, 123rd overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins.

FROM THE LAND OF 10,000 LAKES TO THE OCEAN STATE...The 2009-10 Friar squad has six players from Minnesota, more than any other state or province. Last season, Matt Bergland (Faribault) and Rob Maloney (Eagan) were the representatives on the squad from Minnesota. In addition, David Brown (Centennial, Colo.) played high school hockey in Minnesota. This season, the team will have four more players from the "Land of 10,000 Lakes." They are: Willie Hess (Lino Lakes), Aaron Jamnick (Hibbing), Tyler Landman (Roseau) and Billy Simon (Burnsville).

OCEAN STATE CONNECTION...The 2009-10 men's hockey team has a strong contingent of Rhode Islanders. In addition to four players, Head Coach Tim Army (East Providence) and Assistant Coach David Berard (Coventry) also hail from the Ocean State. The Rhode Islanders on this season's team are: seniors David Cavanagh (Warwick) and John Cavanagh (Warwick), junior Eric Baier (North Kingstown) and sophomore Justin Gates (Cranston).

FRIAR CAPTAINS...The Friars will be led this season by senior co-captains John Cavanagh (Warwick, R.I.) and Mark Fayne (Sagamore Beach, Mass.). John Cavanagh, who also served as co-captain during the 2008-09 season and assistant captain in 2007-08, recorded a career-high 19 points (10 goals, nine assists) last season. As an assistant captain last season, Fayne finished with four goals and five assists for nine points.

FRIAR ALUMNI UPDATE...Two Providence College alumni are currently playing in the NHL. Fernando Pisani `00 is playing for the Edmonton Oilers, while Hal Gill `97, who helped the Pittsburgh Penguins to the 2009 Stanley Cup title, is currently skating with the Montreal Canadiens. In addition, there are two former Friars who will play an integral part on U.S.A. men's hockey team at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. Brian Burke `77, who is the general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs, will serve as the general manager of Team U.S.A. Ron Wilson `77, the head coach of the Maple Leafs, will be the head coach of Team U.S.A. Lou Lamoriello `63, former student-athlete, head coach and athletic director at PC, is the current President and General Manager of the New Jersey Devils. Lamoriello will be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fall on November 9, 2009 in Toronto, Ontario.