Freshman defenseman Jake Walman had three assists for the Friars

Prd	Time	Team	Score	Type	Scored By	Assists
2nd	14:22	PRV	1-0	PP	Noel Acciari (14)	Shane Luke/17, Jake Walman/12
3rd	7:52	DEN	1-1	PP	Joey LaLeggia (15)	Quentin Shore/16, Will Butcher/14
3rd	14:59	PRV	2-1	PP GW	Tom Parisi (4)	Jake Walman/13, Shane Luke/18
3rd	18:28	PRV	3-1	EV EN	Brandon Tanev (9)	Jake Walman/14, Josh Monk/6
3rd	19:07.5	PRV	4-1	EV EN	Kevin Rooney (7)	-

Scoring	1st	2nd	3rd	Final
Providence	0	1	3	4
Denver	0	0	1	1

Shots on Goal	1st	2nd	3rd	SOG
Providence	5	10	9	24
Denver	8	10	6	24

Team Stats and Records	PP	PIM	SHGF
Providence (24-13-2)	2/4	4/8	0
Denver (24-14-2)	1/4	4/19	0

Providence Goaltending	MIN	GA	1	2	3	Saves
Jon Gillies (W, 22-13-2)	60:00	1	8	10	5	23

Denver Goaltending	MIN	GA	1	2	3	Saves
Tanner Jaillet (L, 15-8-0)	59:17	2	5	9	6	20
Empty Net	0:43	2

View full box score

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - For the first time 30 years, the Providence College men's hockey is headed to the Frozen Four after defeating the University of Denver, 4-1, in the East Regional Final of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday night at the Dunkin' Donuts Center (6,326).

Providence (24-13-2) was led offensively by a pair of power-play goals, including the game-winning goal by Tom Parisi (Commack, N.Y.) at 14:59 of the third period, to propel the team to its fourth Frozen Four appearance in program history. It was Parisi's first career game-wining goal.

Noel Acciari (Johnston, R.I.) netted a power-play goal in the second period, and Brandon Tanev (Toronto, Ontario) and Kevin Rooney (Canton, Mass.) scored empty net late in the third to seal the win. In net, Jon Gillies (South Portland, Maine) stopped 23 of the 24 shots he faced.

Following the opening period, Denver outshot the Friars by a measure of 8-5 but the game remained scoreless. Each team was awarded a power-play opportunity yet could not capitalize.

The Friars special teams continued to be a factor in the game through the second period. Acciari netted the game's first goal at 14:22 of the period while the Friars were on the power play. Jake Walman (Toronto, Ontario) set up the play from the blue line as he connected a pass to Shane Luke (Dauphin, Manitoba). Luke then fed Acciari with the puck, as the Friars captain was standing right along the goal line right outside of the Denver goaltender, Tanner Jaillet. Acciari's backhander slid through Jaillet's pads and crossed the Denver goal line for a 1-0 Providence lead.

Before the close of the second, Providence's shorthanded units would complete another solid penalty kill to hold the team's 1-0 lead over the Pioneers heading into the final twenty minutes of regulation.

Denver scored a power-play goal at 7:52 of the third period when Joey LaLeggia was credited with the game-tying goal. While playing the point for the Pioneers, LaLeggia fired a shot that went high over the net and hit off the glass. The puck then bounced back over the net and off of Gillies and past the goal line.

With 9:23 left to play in regulation, Denver's LaLeggia was assessed a major penalty that gave the Friars a five-minute power-play opportunity with the score still tied at 1-1.

Parisi capitalized on the man advantage, with what would prove to be the game-winning goal, to give the Friars the lead at 14:59 of the third period. Walman slid a pass to an open Parisi, who then waited before taking the shot. Parisi fired a shot that made its way through traffic to beat Jaillet for a 2-1 Providence lead.

The Friars, led by Gillies who made six saves in the third period, would shut down the Pioneers offense in the closing minutes of the game. Jaillet made his way to the bench with less than two minutes to play, and Tanev netted the first empty net goal to widen the Friars lead to 3-1 with 1:32 left in regulation. Tanev's goal was assisted by Walman and Josh Monk (Langley, British Columbia).

Kevin Rooney (Canton, Mass.) sealed the Friar victory with an empty net goal to make the score 4-1 at 19:07 of the period. After gaining possession of the puck in the Providence zone, Rooney skated out of the zone and fired the puck into the open net to clinch the Friars trip to the Frozen Four.

The Friars and the Pioneers finished the game even in shot on goal attempts with 24 apiece.

Gillies was strong in goal to backbone the Friars defense as he stopped 23 of the 24 Denver shots in the game. Denver's Jaillet finished the game with 20 saves.

The Friars' power-play went 2-for-4 in the game, while the penalty kill went 1-for-4.

Providence had four players make the All-East Regional Team including forwards Shane Luke and Noel Acciari, defenseman Tom Parisi, and goaltender Jon Gillies. In addition, Acciari was named the East Regional Most Outstanding Player.

The Friars will take on the winner of the Omaha/RIT Midwest Regional Final in the Frozen Four on Thursday, April 9 at the TD Garden in Boston, Mass. The game will be televised nationally on ESPN2 and WatchESPN with the time to be determined.

Notes

Providence will head to the Frozen Four for the first time in 30 years (1984-85) ... The Friars played in the NCAA East Regional Final for a second consecutive season ... It marked the seventh all-time appearance by Providence in the Quarterfinal/Regional Final stage of the NCAA Tournament ... The Friars were a combined 5-for-6 on the penalty kill in their two East Regional games ... Jake Walman set career highs in both assists (3) and points (3) ... Noel Acciari has a three game point streak (2-2-4), including three points in the two East Regional games ... Shane Luke has a two game point streak (2-2-4) as he was the team's leading scorer in the two East Regional NCAA tournament games ... Providence finished the East Regional with 5.50 goals per game average ... Brandon Tanev has a three-game point streak (2-2-4) ... Providence has posted 24 wins for the first time since the 1982-83 seasons, when the team had 33 wins ... The Dunkin' Donuts Center was also the site of Providence's Hockey East Championship Tournament win in 1985.