December 5, 1998

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - PROVIDENCE COLLEGE (7-7-0, 4-4-0) HOCKEY NOTES:

FRIARS SPLIT WITH MERRIMACK... The Providence College Friars posted a 1-1 mark on Dec. 3-4 against Merrimack. On Dec. 3, PC was defeated 3-2 by Merrimack at the Volpe Complex. Junior Jerry Keefe (Billerica, Mass.) and senior Mike Omicioli (West Warwick, R.I.) each scored for PC. Senior Mark Kane (St. Albert, Alberta) 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 (Saco, Maine) and junior Fernando Pisani (Edmonton, Alberta) also scored for PC. Kane recorded 28 saves in the win.

KEEFE NOTCHES FIVE POINTS VS. WARRIORS... Junior center Jerry Keefe (Billerica, Mass.) recorded five points (one goal, four assists) in PC's two games against Merrimack on Dec. 3-4. On Dec. 3, Keefe scored one goal and added one assist in PC's 3-2 loss to Merrimack at the Volpe Complex. The following night, he assisted on all three Friar goals, including the game winner in overtime as PC earned a 3-2 victory against the Warriors. His three points against Merrimack on Dec. 4 marked the 16th multiple-point game of his career and his 10th this season. Keefe has tallied three or more points in four 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. One of the leading scorers in the nation, Keefe leads the Friars in points (28) and assists (19) and is tied for the team lead in power-play goals (four). In 66 career games, Keefe has registered 65 points (23 goals, 42 assists).

PISANI NOTCHES FIVE POINTS VS. WARRIORS... Junior right wing Fernando Pisani recorded five points in two games against Merrimack on Dec. 3-4. On Dec. 3, he registered two assists in PC's 3-2 loss to Merrimack at the Volpe Complex. The following night, 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 was his 21st career multiple-point game and seventh multiple-point game this season. It also 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 he has recorded four points in a game. A 1996 eighth-round draft pick of the Edmonton Oilers, Pisani has recorded 87 points (33 goals, 54 assists) in 85 career games. This season, he is tied for the team lead in power-play goals (four) and is second in scoring (23 points) and assists (18).

MIKE OMICIOLI SCORES IN FIVE STRAIGHT GAMES... Senior left wing Mike Omicioli (West Warwick, R.I.) scored the game-winning goal at 1:09 of overtime to give PC a 3-2 win against Merrimack on Dec. 4. For Omicioli, it marked the fifth straight game he scored a goal. He also added one assist, which was the 26th multiple-point game of his career and his seventh this season. On Nov. 6, Omicioli tallied two third-period goals and earned the game's No. 1 star in the Friars' 6-1 win against the UNH Wildcats at Schneider Arena. The two-goal effort was Omicioli's fifth career multiple-goal game. On Oct. 31, Omicioli recorded four assists in the Friars' 6-4 victory against BU at Walter Brown Arena. His four-assist effort against BU marked Omicioli's 12th game with three or more points. It also marked the seventh time in his career that he registered three or more assists in a game and the 10th time he posted more than two assists in a contest. This season, Omicioli leads the team lead in goals (10) and is tied for the team lead in power-play goals (four) and is third in scoring (22 points). He ranks 31st all-time in scoring at Providence College with 110 points (40 goals, 70 assists) in 111 games.

FIRST LINE PRODUCES... PC's first line of senior Mike Omicioli (West Warwick, R.I.), junior Jerry Keefe (Billerica, Mass.) and junior Fernando Pisani (Edmonton, Alberta) accounted for 13 of the team's 15 points and four of the five goals in the Friars' two games against Merrimack on Dec. 3-4. Point totals for the weekend were: Keefe (1-4-5), Omicioli (2-1-3) and Pisani (1-4-5). Keefe (28 points), Pisani (23 points) and Omicioli (22 points) have recorded 73 of the team's 163 points (44.8 percent) this season.

KANE IN NET... Senior goaltender Mark Kane registered 62 saves, posted a 2.48 goals against average and a .925 save percentage in PC's two games against Merrimack on Dec. 3-4. On Dec. 3, Kane recorded 34 saves in the Friars' 3-2 loss to Merrimack at the Volpe Complex. The following night, he recorded 28 stops in PC's 3-2 overtime win against Merrimack at Schneider Arena. In 39 career games, Kane has posted a 3.30 goals against average and an .892 save percentage.

NEXT GAME... The Friars will play at Dartmouth on Dec. 11 at 7:30 p.m. It is the Friars' final game before the holiday break. PC will return to action on Jan. 5 at Cornell.

THE PROVIDENCE-DARTMOUTH SERIES... Friday's game will be the 21st meeting between the two schools. Providence College leads the all-times series 13-7. The two teams first met on March 5, 1953 with Dartmouth defeating Providence, 6-2, at Davis Rink. PC's last win against the Big Green was a 5-2 victory at Schneider Arena on Jan. 21, 1997. The Friars' last loss to Dartmouth was a 4-1 defeat in the championship game at the Sheraton/USAirway Classic in Burlington, Vt. on Dec. 28, 1997.

AT THOMPSON ARENA... PC holds a 4-2 record against the Big Green at Thompson Arena. PC won the first meeting between the two schools at the Thompson Arena, 4-3, on Feb. 8, 1977. The Friars' last win at Thompson Arena was a 8-4 decision on Jan. 4, 1983. The last time Dartmouth defeated PC at Thompson Arena was Dec. 30, 1994 (4-2).

LAST SEASON AGAINST DARTMOUTH... In the only meeting between the two teams last season, Dartmouth defeated the Friars, 4-1, in the championship game of the Sheraton/USAirways Classic in Burlington, Vt on Dec. 28, 1997. J.J. Picinic tallied to lone goal for the Friars. Goaltender Boyd Ballard made 18 saves in the loss.

FRIARS VS. NON CONFERENCE OPPONENTS... PC has posted a 3-3 mark against non-conference opponents this season. The Friars are 1-1 versus CCHA teams, 1-1 against WCHA squads and 1-1 versus ECAC foes.