PC Hockey Draws Miami (OH) In NCAA Tournament, Will Play In Providence At Dunkin Donuts Center

Providence College Press Release

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – It was announced today (March 22) on ESPNU’s NCAA Men’s Hockey Championship Selection Show that the Providence College men’s hockey team has been selected to the 2015 NCAA Championship field as the No. 4 seed in the East Regional (Providence, R.I.).

The Friars, who are returning to the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back years for the first time in program history, will play top-seeded Miami at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 28 at the Dunkin Donuts Center. The game will be televised live on ESPNU and the WatchESPN app.

No. 2 seeded Denver and No. 3 seeded Boston College will play the other opening round game at the East Regional, which is being hosted by Brown University. Miami (25-13-1) is the No. 4 overall seed in the 16-team championship field.

The Friars and RedHawks have met 10 times but it will be the two teams’ first meeting in the postseason. Last season, Providence hosted Miami for a pair of games at Schneider Arena (Oct. 25-26, 2013) and went 1-0-1. In 2012, the teams played a pair of games at Miami’s Goggin Ice Center (Oct. 19-20) and the RedHawks posted a 1-0-1 mark.

Last season, the Friars returned to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2001 and in the opening round, Jon Gillies (South Portland, Maine) made 37 saves to lead Providence to a 4-0 win over Quinnipiac. It was the first NCAA Tournament win by the Friars since 1991. Providence’s goal scorers against the Bobcats are all current members of the team, including Mark Jankowski (Dundas, Ontario), Anthony Florentino (West Roxbury, Mass.), Shane Luke (Dauphin, Manitoba) and Trevor Mingoia (Fairport, N.Y.).

The Friars, who will be making their 11th NCAA Tournament appearance, are 10-16 all-time in NCAA Tournament games. Providence’s highest finish came during the 1984-85 season, when the Friars finished second overall after falling, 2-1, to Rensselaer in the NCAA Championship game.

Providence (22-13-2, 13-8-1 HEA) tied for second in the Hockey East regular season standings and earned the No. 2 seed for the Hockey East playoffs. After a first round bye, the Friars hosted New Hampshire for an extremely close series that saw a trio of 2-1 decisions, including overtime wins by UNH in game one and game three to knock the Friars out of the tournament.

Providence finished the regular season with a 21-11-2 record, tying for the second-most regular-season wins in program history. After finishing 22-11-6 last season, the Friars have now posted back-to-back seasons with at least 22 wins for the first time since 1989-90 (22-10-3) and 1990-91 (22-12-2).

Last week, junior goaltender Jon Gillies (South Portland, Maine) was selected as a Hockey East First Team All-Star (March 19) for the second time in his career (2013) to become just the fifth goaltender in Hockey East history to earn multiple First Team honors, joining Maine’s Scott King (1988 & 1990), Maine’s Blair Allison (1995-96), New Hampshire’s Ty Conklin (2000-01) and Boston University’s John Curry (2006-07). He is the second Friar to earn multiple First Team Hockey East honors, joining Mike Boback ’92, who earned First Team honors in 1990 and 1992.

Senior forward Ross Mauermann (Janesville, Wis.) was named a Hockey East Honorable Mention All-Star, while junior forward Noel Acciari (Johnston, R.I.) was named the league’s Best Defensive Forward.

The 2015 NCAA Tournament begins with eight regional semifinal games followed by four regional final games from March 27-29 and concludes with the Frozen Four in Boston, Mass., on Thursday, April 9 (semifinals) and Saturday, April 11 (finals).

Tickets are on sale at www.friars.com and all session passes (Saturday-Sunday) are $77.