Kevin Rooney’s Two Goals Lead Providence Past Notre Dame On The Road

Providence College Press Release

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Kevin Rooney scored a pair of goals, including the game winner, as the tenth-ranked Providence College men’s hockey team posted a 3-2 win over Notre Dame on Saturday night at the Compton Family Ice Arena (5,002).

All five of the game’s goals were scored in an eventful second period, while Ross Mauermann (Janesville, Wis.) had Providence’s second goal of the night. With the win, the Friars improved to 18-10-2 (10-7-1 HEA) on the season and ended the night in fourth-place in the Hockey East standings. Robbie Russo and Sam Herr scored power-play goals for Notre Dame (13-15-4, 8-6-4 HEA).

The game opened with a scoreless first period, but both teams had several scoring chances. Stefan Demopoulos (La Mesa, Calif.) was setup in slot by a Mark Jankowski(Dundas, Ontario) in the early going but his shot hit the post.

In the Notre Dame net, Cal Petersen stopped all 13 shots he faced in the period, while at the other end Jon Gillies (South Portland, Maine) turned aside 14 shots.

In the second period, the Friars took a 1-0 lead on Rooney’s (Canton, Mass.) fifth goal of the season. Steve McParland (Schreiber, Ontario) got the puck to Josh Monk(Langley, British Columbia) at the point, who fired a shot on net that Rooney tipped past Petersen at 5:16 of the frame.

Notre Dame answered while on the power play at 7:32 of the second when Russo’s shot from the point found the back of the net through a screen in front to make it 1-1. Anders Bjork assisted on the play.

But Providence regained the lead less than two minutes later when Mauermann notched his eighth goal of the season. Tom Parisi (Commack, N.Y.) and Brian Pinho (North Andover, Mass.) combined on a quick passing sequence that allowed Mauermann to finish into an empty net following a cross-crease feed from Parisi.

The Friars went ahead 3-1 at 13:26 of the second on Rooney’s second goal of the night. Jake Walman (Toronto, Ontario) poked a puck free at the defensive blue line to McParland, who broke into the offensive zone. Petersen turned aside McParland’s shot, but Rooney followed up and jammed the puck home at the near post for his first career two-goal game. The goal also proved to be his second career game winner.

The Irish got another power-play goal with time winding down in the second as a diving defensive play by the Friars deflected the puck past Gillies with two seconds left in the period to make it a 3-2 game after two periods of play. Sam Herr was credited with the goal, with assists going to Bjork and Russo.

In the third period, Petersen turned aside the 10 shots he faced, including a stop on Jankowski on a two-on-one chance midway through the period. At the other end, Gilles stopped all five shots he faced to ensure the game ended 3-2 in favor of the Friars.

Petersen finished with 32 saves for Notre Dame, while Gillies made 23 stops. Providence finished 0-for-5 on the power play, while Notre Dame was 2-for-3 with the man advantage.

The Friars continue Hockey East play next weekend with a home-and-home series against UMass. Game one of the series on Friday, Feb. 20 will be played at Schneider Arena (7:00 p.m.), while game two will be played in Amherst, Mass. on Saturday (Feb. 21) at the Mullins Center (7:00 p.m.). Game one of the series will be televised locally by CoxSports on the Ocean State Network.