March 16, 2002

PROVIDENCE COLLEGE (19-13-4) Vs. NORTHEASTERN (27-6-1)

UConn Ice Arena -- ECAC Eastern League Finals

Saturday, March 16, 2002 -- 7:00 p.m.

TONIGHT'S GAME... Providence (19-13-4) will attempt to capture its seventh ECAC title on Saturday, March 16 when it faces Northeastern (27-6-1) at 7:00 p.m. at the UConn Ice Arena.

LAST NIGHT'S GAME... The Providence College women's ice hockey team upset the second-ranked team in the nation on Friday, March 15 with a 3-2 win in the ECAC Eastern Hockey League Semifinals at UConn Ice Arena in Storrs, Conn. The Purple Eagles entered the Semifinals as the No. 1 seed after defeating Quinnipiac, 8-1, in a one-game Quarterfinal on March 8 in Niagara, N.Y. Providence, which finished fourth in the ECAC Eastern League regular-season standings, defeated Maine, 5-3, in its Quarterfinal matchup on March 9 to earn its Semifinal matchup with Niagara. After a scoreless first period, Niagara tallied the first goal of the game at the 6:25 mark of the second period when Teresa Del Monte pushed in a rebound from the top of the crease. With 1:13 remaining in the second period, PC freshman Hilary Greaves evened the score at 1-1 when she wristed home a shot from five feet in front of the net. Niagara scored their final goal of the night at 8:15 of the third period on a tally by Brooke Bradburn. However, Friar rookie Rush Zimmerman scored the tying goal with 8:27 remaining in regulation. Neither team was able to score in the first 20 minute overtime. At 1:06 of the second overtime, junior forward Danielle Culgin scored for the Friars to advance the squad to its first ECAC Championship game since 1996. PC goaltender Amy Quinlan recorded 31 stops in the win. Tania Pinelli registered 43 stops for the Purple Eagles.

FRIARS IN ECAC TITLE GAME... Tonight, the Friars will try to capture their seventh ECAC title and first since 1995. In 19 seasons of competition in the ECAC, Providence has played in 11 ECAC title games, posting a 6-5 mark. In PC's most recent appearance in the ECAC Championship game, the Friars were defeated by UNH, 3-2, in the longest game in college hockey history on March 10, 1996. The game ended on a goal by UNH in the fifth overtime (129:30).

FRIARS VERSUS NORTHEASTERN IN THE ECAC TITLE GAME... Providence has posted a 1-3 mark all-time against Northeastern in ECAC championship games. The first meeting between the two teams in an ECAC title game was a 6-2 Huskies' victory in 1986. Northeastern won ECAC Championships by defeating the Friars in 1988 (5-2) and 1989 (4-2). PC's only victory against Northeastern in an ECAC championship game was in 1994 when the Friars earned a 2-1 win in overtime.

FRIARS IN THE ECAC TOURNAMENT... Providence has posted a 26-12 mark all-time in the ECAC Tournament, including six tournament titles. PC captured its last ECAC Tournament title in 1995. The Friars also were ECAC Champions in 1984, 1985, 1992, 1993 and 1994. Tonight's game will mark the Friars' first appearance in the Finals of the ECAC Tournament since the 1995-96 season. Prior to this season, the Friars had lost in the quarterfinals the last four years, including last season's 4-3 overtime loss at Harvard.

ALL-TIME VERSUS NORTHEASTERN IN THE ECAC TOURNAMENT... Tonight's game will be the ninth meeting all-time between the two teams in ECAC Tournament action. Providence has posted a 3-5 mark against the Huskies in the ECAC Tournament, including a 1-3 record in ECAC title games.

THIS SEASON VERSUS NORTHEASTERN... The Friars have recorded a 0-3 mark this season against the Huskies. Northeastern outscored the Friars, 14-6, in the three games. In the first meeting of the season, NU defeated the Friars, 6-3, at PC's Schneider Arena on December 1. In the second game, the Huskies earned a 3-2 win against PC on December 2 at Matthews Arena. In the final meeting of the regular season between the two teams, Northeastern defeated the Friars, 5-1, on February 1 at Schneider Arena.

ALL-TIME VERSUS NORTHEASTERN... Tonight, the Friars and Huskies will play for the 78th time in the all-time series. PC holds a 36-33-8 advantage in the series. Northeastern won all three games between the two teams this season.

FRIARS AGAINST RANKED TEAMS.... The Friars have posted a 4-10-1 record against ranked teams this season. PC's four wins against ranked teams came against Harvard (6-0 on 11/26), Niagara (6-0 on 11/26), Wisconsin (2-1 on 1/27) and Niagara (3-2 2 ot on 3/15). The three Friar losses against unranked teams were against Ohio State, New Hampshire and most recently against Boston College. The Friars began the 2001-02 season with a pair of losses at then No. 1 Minnesota-Duluth.

PC ON THE POWER PLAY... The Friars are 37-174 (.213) on the power play this season. Junior Danielle Culgin leads the Friars with seven power play goals, while junior assistant captain Jenn Butsch is second with six tallies in power-play situations. The Friars have scored three power play goals on three separate occassions this season, including a 3-8 effort against Niagara on December 8.

FRIARS AT SCHNEIDER... The Friars posted a 12-5-3 record at home this season, including a 7-3-2 mark against league foes this season. The Friars dropped a 1-0 home decision to Boston College on Sunday, March 3. The other two PC home league losses came against Northeastern. On the road, PC is 6-8-1 overall and 5-4-1 against league opponents.

FRIARS AT THE UCONN ICE ARENA... The Friars are 2-0 at the UConn Ice Arena this season. On Saturday, February 16. PC defeated UConn, 4-2, in its first ever contest at the UConn Ice Arena. Last night, the Friars earned their second win at the UConn Ice Arena with a 3-2 double-overtime victory against Niagara.

COACH BOB DERANEY... Head Coach Bob Deraney is in his third season at the helm of the Providence College women's hockey program. The 1987 Boston University graduate has guided the Friars to a 57-37-6 overall record, including a 20-10-3 mark in his first season at Providence. Deraney earned his first career win on October 24, 1999 as the Friars defeated eventual national champion Minnesota, 1-0. Deraney earned his first ECAC Tournament win when the Friars defeated Maine, 5-3, on Saturday, March 9, 2002. He is assisted by Marnie Hill, Bob Bellemore and Vicki Lamoriello.

SHATTUCK ST. MARY'S CONNECTION... Five members of the 2001-02 Providence College women's hockey team played together at prep school hockey powerhouse, Shattuck-St. Mary's in Faribault, Minnesota. Kelli Halcisak (Grosse Ile, Mich.), Ashley Payton (Chesterfield, Mo.), Meredith Roth (Dubuque, Iowa), Amy Thomas (Austin, Texas) and Rush Zimmerman (Grosse Pointe, Mich.) all played for the Sabres. Halcisak, a defenseman, holds the school's record for career goals scored (164) and total points (288). Last season, Zimmerman led the Sabres in scoring with 39 goals and finished second with 71 points.

BUTSCH LEADING THE WAY... Junior assistant captain Jenn Butsch leads the Friars in scoring through 36 games this season. She has scored career highs of 16 goals and 15 assists for 31 points this season. Butsch posted a season-high seven game scoring streak from February 3-17. Butsch has tallied a team best four game-winning goals. In addition, she is second on the squad with six power-play goals and is tied for the team lead with one short-handed tally. Last season, Butsch recorded 10 goals and nine assists and was the fourth leading scorer on the team.

OUTSHOOTING OPPONENTS... The Friars have outshot their opponents in 27 of the 36 games played this season. For the season, the Friars are averaging 32 shots per game, while opponents are averaging just 22 shots per game. The Friars have a 1-6-2 record when they are outshot. When PC holds a shot advantage over its opponents, it has an 18-8-2 mark.

BALANCED FRIAR ATTACK... The Friars have been led by a balanced offensive attack this season. PC has 13 players who have tallied 10 points or more, including seven players who have 20 or more points. Junior assistant captain Jenn Butsch leads the Friars with 31 points on 16 goals and 15 assists, while junior Danielle Culgin has registered 29 points, including the game-winning goal last night. Sophomores Darlene Stephenson and Kelli Halcisak each have 28 points. Senior captain Kim Mathias has recorded 27 points.

FRIAR FRESHMAN CLASS... The PC freshman class has been a key contributor to the Friars success this season. The eight freshmen skaters have combined to tally 39 goals and 44 assists, including six game-winning goals. In addition, freshman goaltender Amy Thomas has played in 17 games and has posted a 10-5-1 record. Rush Zimmerman leads all freshmen in scoring with 10 goals and 12 assists for 22 points. Hilary Greaves is second with 11 goals and nine assists for 20 points. Ashley Payton has nine goals and eight assists, including three game-winning tallies. On March 9 against Maine, Zimmerman led the Friars with a career-high three assists, while Greaves scored the game winner. Defenseman Danielle Bourgette recorded her first collegiate goal on Saturday, March 9 against Maine.

PC DEFEATS MAINE AND ADVANCES TO SEMIFINALS... The Providence College women's hockey team defeated Maine, 5-3, on Saturday, March 9 in the quarterfinals of the ECAC Eastern League Tournament at PC's Schneider Arena. Maine (16-15-4) took the early lead as sophomore Jamie Hill scored on the power play at the 4:35 mark of the first period. The Friars tied the game at 1-1 on the player advantage as junior Danielle Culgin recorded her 13th goal of the season. PC took its first lead when freshman Danielle Bourgette tallied her first collegiate goal with 47 seconds remaining in the opening period. After the Friars increased their lead to 3-1 on a goal by junior Melanie Ruzzi, the Black Bears quickly tied the game at 3-3 on goals from freshman Cheryl White and junior Cindy Biron in the third period, with both goals coming 2:06 apart. However, PC freshman Hilary Greaves scored the game winner at the 7:53 mark of the third period to lift PC into the semifinals. Ruzzi added an empty netter with 16 seconds remaining to cap off the scoring. PC outshot Maine, 34-15. Maine's sophomore goaltender Lara Smart made 29 saves in the loss, while Amy Quinlan stopped 12 shots.

ROTH RETURNS TO THE FRIAR LINEUP... Sophomore defenseman Meredith Roth returned to the Friar lineup on Saturday, March 9 against Maine after missing nine games because of an illness. In her return, Roth posted one assist in the Friars' 5-3 win over the Black Bears. Despite missing the nine games, Roth is still ninth on the squad in scoring with seven goals and 11 assists for 18 points. Roth is third on the team with five power-play goals.

MATHIAS JOINS THE CENTURY CLUB... Senior captain Kim Mathias became the 22nd Friar to record 100 or more career points. Mathias reached the century mark as she scored one goal and two assists in a 4-3 loss against Dartmouth on Sunday, February 3 in Hanover, N.H. Mathias has 42 goals and 63 assists for 105 career points. This season, she is fifth on the team with five goals and 22 assists for 27 points. Last season, she posted career highs of 17 goals and 17 assists to finish second on the team in scoring with 34 points.

HALCISAK LEADING FRIAR DEFENSEMEN... Sophomore defenseman Kelli Halcisak leads all Friar blueliners with nine goals and 19 assists. She is tied for third on the team in scoring with 28 points in 31 games. Last season at Ohio State, Halcisak led the Buckeyes with 13 goals and 27 assists. Last night, Halcisak recorded one assist in PC's 3-2 win against Niagara. She also is third on the team with a +16.