November 20, 2000
Weekly Release #8

Providence Doubles Up NU; Sweeps Into First Place
Wildcats hot again with wins at Boston University and Boston College
(Download Weekly Release in PDF Format)


Riding the stingy defense and goaltending that has allowed them to be so
successful so far this season, the Providence College Friars took both games
of a home-and-home series this weekend against No. 10 Northeastern to vault
past No. 2 Boston College for first place in the Hockey East standings.
Junior forward Peter Fregoe provided Friday's heroics in Providence,
notching two goals to pace a 3-1 victory. Sophomore goalie Nolan Schaefer
continued his hot streak with 28 saves. In Saturday's rematch at NU's
Matthews Arena, Hockey East Player of the Week J.J. Picinic scored two first
period goals and added two assists in the final 14 seconds of a dramatic 4-2
win. Linemate Marc Suderman collected both of the late scores, the first and
second of his junior season, and set up both of Picinic's tallies. Senior
netminder Boyd Ballard survived a first period shooting gallery, stopping
all 18 Husky shots and a game total of 39. Providence turned the tables in
the third period, sending 21 shots on goal, finally overwhelming
Northeastern goalie Jason Braun with the last two of the game.

Minutes earlier, in the nearby Boston suburb of Chestnut Hill, the UNH
Wildcats had handed Boston College its first conference loss of the season,
courtesy of two goals by David Busch and 37 saves from Hobey Baker candidate
Ty Conklin. The final score of 4-1 included a pair of empty-netters from the
Wildcats, who had clung to a 2-1 margin for the duration of the third
period. The victory capped a triumphant weekend in Boston for the 'Cats, who
had also edged the host Terriers by a 2-1 final on Friday night. New
Hampshire's third consecutive Hockey East win allowed the team to steer into
striking position just behind BC and Providence atop the conference
standings.

Boston College did manage to pick up two points earlier in the weekend,
easily skating to a 6-1 win at Merrimack. It was the Warriors' first home
loss of the season. The University of Maine also took a step forward, calmly
dispatching host Lowell by a 2-0 final on Friday. Junior netminder Matt
Yeats made 21 saves for his first career shutout. UMass Lowell rebounded
with a convincing 7-0 win against Army Sunday. Six River Hawks recorded
multiple points, led by Ed McGrane's two second period goals.


KOHO PLAYER OF THE WEEK

J.J. PICINIC - Providence College Junior Forward; Fort Lee, NJ Spearheaded a
weekend sweep of Northeastern, notching the game-winning goal in 3-1 win at
Schneider Arena and posting a 2-2-4 line to pace a 4-2 victory at NU.


ROOKIE OF THE WEEK

TONY VOCE - Boston College Freshman Forward; Philadelphia, PA Last week's
honoree is named again for scoring Boston College's only goal against UNH
Saturday after posting a 1-1-2 line in a 6-1 win at Merrimack on Friday.


DEFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

MATT CARNEY - UNH Jr. G; Bridgewater, MA Stopped 29 of 30 shots, including
14 in the third period, for a 2-1 victory at BU.

TY CONKLIN - UNH Sr. G; Anchorage, AK Made 37 saves at BC, dealing the
Eagles' their first conference loss by a final of 4-1.


HOCKEY EAST HONOR ROLL

Brian Gionta, BC (Sr. F; Rochester, NY) - Scored two goals, including his
third short-hander, in a 6-1 win at Merrimack.

Krys Kolanos, BC (So. F; Calgary, AB) - Hockey East's scoring leader tallied
two more goals vs. the Warriors.

Matt Yeats, ME (Jr. G; Innisfail, AB) - Stopped all 21 UMass Lowell shots
Friday to earn his first career shutout.

Chris Davidson, UML (Fr. G; Elrose, SASK) - Needed to make just nine saves
to record a 7-0 shutout in first career start.

Ed McGrane, UML (So. F; Hamilton, ONT) - Tallied two second period goals to
pace a convincing 7-0 win at Army.

David Busch, UNH (Jr. F; Toronto, ONT) - Chipped in two goals, including the
game-winning score, in a 4-1 win at BC.

Eric Lind, UNH (Sr. D; New Canaan, CT) - Got the Wildcats on the board at BU
Friday with his first goal of the season. Also paced the penalty-killing
unit to a 7-for-7 showing on the weekend.

Nathan Martz, UNH (Fr. F; Chilliwack, BC) - Rookie posted two assists to aid
New Hampshire's 4-1 win at Boston College.

Joe Mastronardi, NU (So. F; Vestal, NY) - Scored two of Northeastern's three
goals this weekend.

Boyd Ballard, PC (Sr. G; Weyburn, SASK) - Made 18 saves in the first period
and 39 total in a 4-2 win at Northeastern.

Peter Fregoe, PC (Jr. F; Massena, NY) - Two goals in a 3-1 win Friday
jumpstarted Friars to a weekend sweep over the Huskies.

Marc Suderman, PC (Jr. F; Regina, SASK) - First two goals of the season
clinched a 4-2 win in the final 14 seconds of play at Northeastern Saturday.
Suderman also notched two assists in the game to add to one in Friday's
victory.


HOCKEY EAST NOTES

Boston College: Tandem snipers Brian Gionta and Krys Kolanos each scored
twice in a 6-1 win at Merrimack, and currently stand atop the Hockey East
scoring leaderboard ... Three of Gionta's seven goals have come shorthanded
... Freshman Chuck Kobasew is the only rookie among Hockey East's Top 20
point producers ... BC is a perfect 7-0 on the road, but only 2-3 at Conte
Forum.

Boston University: Lack of finishing power has plagued the Terriers, who
have scored just four goals in three straight losses. The team has been
scoreless in the third period during its slump, despite accumulating 34
total shots ... The offense has been limited to a 2.75 goals-per-game
average this season, and has managed only eight even-strength goals.

University of Maine: Matt Yeats' shutout against UMass Lowell was the first
of his career, but the second by a Maine goaltender this year. Teammate Mike
Morrison blanked Ohio State on Oct. 28 ... UMaine will play three games in
five days this week, staking its claim in ECAC territory at Cornell, Brown,
and Dartmouth.

UMass Amherst: The Minutemen hold third place in Hockey East with a 3-1-0
record, but have slipped to an 0-5-2 start in non-conference action ... J.R.
Zavisza scored off a pass from Anthony Scaparotti at 3:47 of the second
period at RPI on Saturday night to notch the Minutemen's first goal of the
game. It was the first career point for each player ... A first period
incident marred Saturday's game at RPI. Three players from each squad
receiving fighting majors and game disqualifications. Minutemen Randy
Drohan, Luke Duplessis, and Thomas Pock will have to sit out Tuesday's game
at Vermont.

UMass Lowell: Six River Hawks notched multiple-point games in Sunday's 7-0
win at Army ... Rookie stopper Chris Davidson became the second Hockey East
goalie this season to record a shutout in his collegiate debut. BU's Sean
Fields was the first, with a 3-0 win over Merrimack on Nov. 4.

Merrimack College: Senior defenseman Steve Moon is second on the team in
scoring with a career-high nine points. His previous career-high was six in
1998-99 ... Playing in the 100th game of his career, senior co-captain John
Pyliotis scored the lone goal in a loss to BC ... The loss to BC was
Merrimack's first at home this year after starting 4-0.

University of New Hampshire: In 12 all-time occurrences of playing BU and BC
on back-to-back nights, this weekend's sweep was the first time UNH has
managed to come away with two wins ... The Wildcats are back on the winning
track, having won three straight games after suffering a three-game losing
streak. UNH started its season at 5-0-1.

Northeastern University: Chris Lynch's power play goal against Providence
Saturday broke an 0-for-20 slump by the Husky advantage unit. Lynch is tied
for team lead in goals with seven, four of which have come on the power
play.

Providence College: The Friars have streaked to a 6-0-1 record at Schneider
Arena this season, and are 10-1-2 in their last 13 games at home ... Seven
of Providence's first 10 games have come against nationally ranked
opponents, and the team has managed to go 5-1-1 against those squads ... The
Friars have had Northeastern's number since the start of last season.
Providence has won five straight contests against the Huskies, outscoring NU
17-6 in the process. The Friar goaltending duo of Boyd Ballard and Nolan
Schaefer has turned aside 175 of 181 Husky shots in that span, posting an
impressive shared save percentage of .967.


WHO'S HOT

BC on the road - The Eagles have streaked to a 7-0 record away from Conte
Forum this season. This marks their best road start since they began playing
home games on campus in 1958.

Jason Braun, NU (Jr. G; Fruitport, MI) - Totalled 30 saves in Saturday's 4-2
loss against Providence, including 19 in the third period alone. He has made
at least 30 saves in his last three outings and in four of his five starts
this season.

UNH Defensive Unit - The Wildcats' defense and goaltending have allowed just
one goal in each of the last three contests. Penalty-killing has been a
major part of that success, going 7-for-7 on the weekend and 20-for-22 over
the last five games. Saturday's victory at BC was especially impressive,
considering the Eagles had been averaging 4.60 goals per game. Hobey
candidate Ty Conklin made 37 saves.

Providence Goaltenders - Senior Boyd Ballard and sophomore Nolan Schaefer
have toiled in tandem to a 7-2-1 record, a 2.08 goals-against-average, and a
.938 save percentage.


ITECH THREE STARS UPDATE

As part of a long-term agreement between Hockey East and ITECH, SIDs and
media will designate ITECH "Three Stars of The Game" in each of the 108
Hockey East league games. The progressive point leaders will be listed in
weekly press releases, and the player earning the most points over the
course of the season will be recognized at the Hockey East championship
banquet at season's end.
   Times   Total
Player, School  Selected Points
Krys Kolanos, BC    3  8
Devin Rask, PC      3  7
Carl Corazzini, BU 3  6
Ty Conklin, UNH  2  6
Markus Helanen, UMA 2  6
Nolan Schaefer, PC 2  5
Jeff Turner, UMA 3  4
Brian Gionta, BC 2  4
Ron Hainsey, UML 2  4
Darren Haydar, UNH 2  4