ATTENTION SPORTS        FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 19, 2002        Contact Jorge Rocha
        (401) 865-2201


no. 13 Providence men’s hockey defeats
minnesota state, mankato, 5-3

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The 13th-ranked Providence College men’s hockey team
defeated Minnesota State, Mankato, 5-3, on Saturday, October 19 at
Schneider Arena.  The win, the second in as many nights for Providence
against Mankato, gave the Friars a 4-0 record and marked the first time the
team started the season 4-0 since the 1990-91 season.
        Mankato took advantage of its second power-play opportunity in the game to
open the scoring at 7:38 of the first period.  Cole Bassett collected a
rebound off the pads of PC freshman goaltender Bobby Goepfert (Kings Park,
N.Y.) and fired in a low shot to give the Mavericks a 1-0 lead.  The
Mavericks struck again on the power play at 13:15 of the first period when
Bassett one-timed a shot from three feet in front of the net past Goepfert.
 Providence cut the Mankato lead in half on freshman Torry Gajda’s third
goal of the season.  Gajda (Westfield, Mass.) broke in the zone and fired a
low shot through a screen that found the back of the net at 14:58 of the
first period.
        Providence came out of the lockerroom flying in the second period.  After
being outshot, 17-10, in the first period, the Friars carried the play in
second period, outshooting Mankato, 17-7.  The Friars also scored two goals
in the second stanza and finished the period with a 3-2 lead.  Junior Cody
Loughlean (Innisfail, Alberta) tied the game at 2-2 when he broke down the
right side and fired a low shot through Mankato goaltender Jon Volp’s pads
at 3:41 of the second period.  The Friars took their first lead of the
night at the 14:19 mark on a goal by senior Jon DiSalvatore (South Windsor,
Conn.).  DiSalvatore lifted a rebound high into the top of the net for his
third goal of the season.
        Mankato continued to put pressure on the Friars on the power play.  Five
seconds after Providence got to full strength, the Mavericks capitalized
for their third goal of the night at 1:05 of the third period.  Mankato’s
Grant Stevenson blasted a shot from the right point that beat Goepfert to
the glove side to tie the game at 3-3.  The Friars regained the lead at the
9:58 mark of the third period when junior Peter Zingoni (Newtown, Conn.)
pushed in a rebound.  DiSalvatore sealed the win for PC with his second
goal of the night on a power play 7:09 remaining in the game.
        Goepfert recorded 32 stops while earning his second victory for the
Friars.  Volp made 40 saves for Mankato.
        The Friars are back in action on Friday, October 25 versus UMass-Lowell in
the team’s HOCKEY EAST opener at Schneider.

Saturday, October 19, 2002
Minnesota State, Mankato (0-2)  2       0       3       --      3
Providence College (4-0)        1       2       2       --      5

Per     Time    Team    Goal Scorer (Assists)
1       7:38    M       Cole Bassett (Grant Stevenson, Shane Joseph) PP
1       13:15   M       Cole Bassett (Shane Jospeh, Grant Stevenson) PP
1       14:58   PC      Torry Gajda (James Pemberton, Jonathan Goodwin)
2       3:41    PC      Cody Loughlean (Chris Chaput, Jeff Mason)
2       14:19   PC      Jon DiSalvatore (Jeff Mason, Devin Rask)
3       1:05    M       Grant Stevenson (Shane Joseph, BJ Abel)
3       9:58    PC      Peter Zingoni (Jason Platt, Stephen Wood) GW
3       12:51   PC      Jon DiSalvatore (Devin Rask, Peter Fregoe) PP

Saves:
Jon Volp (M)            9       15      16      --      40      (59:13)
Bobby Goepfert (PC)     15      7       10      --      32      (60:00)

Attendance: 1750 (Schneider Arena)


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