Providence College Defeats Omaha In Frozen Four Semifinals, 4-1
Junior forward Nick Saracino registers goal and two assists for Friars

Junior forward Nick Saracino had a goal and two assists for the Friars
Prd Time  Team Score Type Scored By Assists
2nd 11:02  PRV1-0 EV Noel Acciari (15)Nick Saracino/23, Brian Pinho/12
2nd 14:58  PRV2-0 EV GW Mark Jankowski (7)Nick Saracino/24, Jake Walman/15
3rd 10:46  UNO1-2 EV Jake Guentzel (14)Tyler Vesel/15
3rd 11:10  PRV3-1 EV Trevor Mingoia (15)Mark Jankowski/19, Ross Mauermann/15
3rd 19:29.3 PRV4-1 EV EN Nick Saracino (14)Kevin Rooney/7, Anthony Florentino/12
Scoring 1st 2nd 3rd Final
Providence  0224
Omaha  0011
Shots on Goal 1st 2nd 3rd SOG
Providence  16171548
Omaha  971026
Team Stats and Records  PP PIM SHGF
Providence (25-13-2)  0/2 2/4 0
Omaha (20-13-6)  0/2 2/4 0
Providence Goaltending MIN GA 1 2 3 Saves
Jon Gillies (W, 23-13-2)60:001 97925
Omaha Goaltending MIN GA 1 2 3 Saves
Ryan Massa (L, 14-8-6)58:323 16151344
Empty Net1:281     

BOSTON, Mass. - For the second time in program history and the first time since 1985, the Providence College men's hockey team will play for a national championship as the No. 4 seeded Friars defeated the No. 3 University of Nebraska Omaha Mavericks by the score of 4-1 on Thursday, April 9 at the TD Garden in Boston, Mass.

The Friars peppered Omaha goaltender Ryan Massa through a period and a half before Noel Acciari (Johnston, R.I.) opened the scoring for the Friars with an even strength goal at the 11:02 mark of the second. Mark Jankowski (Dundas, Ontario) netted the second goal, which would hold up as the game winner to clinch a spot in the title game for Providence (25-13-2). Jankowski took a pass from Nick Saracino and wristed home the goal.

The Friars generated 16 shots on goal in the first period of play but Massa kept them all out of the net. Providence's best chances in the period belonged to Trevor Mingoia (Fairport, N.Y.), as he had two quality opportunities, and Brandon Tanev (Toronto, Ontario), who fired a shot through the goal crease that hit the post.

Jon Gillies (South Portland, Maine) stopped all nine shots by the Mavericks to keep the first period scoreless.

Providence continued to outshoot Omaha in the second period (17-7) and eventually beat Massa for the first time in the game at 11:02 when Acciari netted his 15th goal of the season. Acciari followed up on a scoring chance by Nick Saracino (St. Louis, Mo.) and Brian Pinho (North Andover, Mass.) and capitalized on the loose rebound.

Jankowski extended the Friars' lead to 2-0 over the Mavericks at 14:58 of the second period. Defenseman Jake Walman (Toronto, Ontario) wrapped the puck around the boards to Saracino. Saracino connected a pass to Jankowski, who was wide open in front of Massa. As Massa was down on the play, Jankowski lifted the puck over Massa's right leg for his seventh goal of the season.

Omaha cut the Friars' lead in half at 10:46 of the third period as Jake Guentzel scored for the Mavericks. Tyler Vesel sent a pass from the boards to Guentzel, in the slot. Guentzel's wrist shot beat Gillies for a score of 2-1.

The Friars quickly responded to the Omaha goal as Mingoia scored to regain the two-goal lead. After getting the puck from Ross Mauermann (Janesville, Wis.), Jankowski won a battle for the puck along the corner boards and found Mingoia open in the slot. Mingoia's shot from the circles beat Massa to put the Friars ahead 3-1 at 11:10 of the third period. Mingoia's goal came just 24 seconds after Omaha got on the board.

Saracino capped off the game's scoring and sealed the win for the Friars with an empty net goal at 19:29 of the third period. Kevin Rooney (Canton, Mass.) and Anthony Florentino (West Roxbury, Mass.) recorded the assists.

Gillies was strong in goal for the Friars as he stopped 25 of the 26 shots he faced. Massa was solid for the Mavericks, despite the loss, as he finished the game with 44 saves.

Providence outshot Omaha, 48-26.

The Friars will play the winner of the Boston University/North Dakota Semifinal for the National Championship on Saturday, April 11. The game is slated for a 7:30 p.m. start at the TD Garden in Boston, Mass., and will be televised live on ESPN.

Notes: The Friars will play for a national championship for the second time in program history and the first time since 1985 when the team was defeated by RPI, 2-1, at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit ... Providence's 25 wins are the most for the Friars since 1982-83 when the team posted a 33-10-0 record ... This season, the Friars are 18-1-0 when leading after two periods ... Over the last three seasons, Providence is now 20-2-2 when Mark Jankowski scores a goal and 40-5-3 when he records at least one point ... Noel Acciari scored a goal for the third consecutive game in the NCAA Tournament and now has four points in the 2015 NCAA Tournament (3-1-4) ... Acciari has a four-game point streak (3-2-5) ... With a pair of second period assists and an empty net goal, Nick Saracino posted his 10th multi-point game of the season and his second of the NCAA Tournament ... Saracino now has six points (2-5-7) in five career NCAA Tournament games ... Jake Walman has a two-game assist streak (0-4-4) ... Providence earned its first win in the all-time series against Nebraska-Omaha (1-2-0).