Noel Acciari is about to rewrite the town of Johnston’s illustrious sports history book.
In fact, when the puck drops this afternoon inside Boston’s TD Garden, Acciari will become the first ever Johnstonian to play in the prestigious NCAA Division I Frozen Four.
The son of Michael and Edna Acciari, Noel is the captain of Providence College’s red-hot hockey Friars and Tuesday was named the All-New England Best Defensive Forward of the Year.
Acciari will lead the Eastern Regional Champion hockey Friars in tonight’s national tournament semi-final opener against the Omaha Mavericks at TD Garden in Boston. Face-off is 5 p.m., and the game will be televised live on ESPN2.
The PC-Omaha winner will play for the NCAA National Championship Sunday against the winner of tonight’s Boston University-North Dakota contest. Face-off Sunday is 7:30 p.m. on ESPN 2.
Needless to say, excitement is running rampant all over Rhode Island because of the Friars’ success.
“There are a lot of people around the program right now who are just as excited as the guys,” PC head coach Nate Leaman said Tuesday. “But like we told the players, every time a person pats you on the back, just remember that there are two games left. The job isn’t done. It’s a business trip.”
Acciari is focusing on the task at hand.
“Things have been kind of crazy with the media and everyone congratulating us, but we have to put everything behind us going into Thursday,” said the 5-foot, 11-inch, 205-pound forward. “We have to treat it like it’s just another game. A two-game sweep is what we need to focus on.”
And that’s essentially the same approach his parents are taking for the biggest game of their son’s ice hockey career.
“Noel is excited and we’re excited,” Edna Acciari said. “It’s wonderful a lot of local people are following the team. We’ve been hearing a lot of nice things from people about Noel and the team. But we are trying to keep it low key … We’ve driven long, long distance during Noel’s career. Driving to Boston is short compared to some trips we’ve made.”
“This is an exciting time for a native son and his teammates,” Mayor Joseph Polisena said. “The ice hockey world will be watching Thursday’s game and seeing a native Johnstonian … leading the way in PC’s bid for a national championship. We wish the Friars the very best in their quest for the national title.”
Acciari’s mother – also a native of Johnston – said her son attended St. Rocco School and went to Bishop Hendricken before leaving after his junior year and spending the next two years at Kent School in Connecticut.
During his younger years, Acciari – who is a marketing major at PC – played in the once-famed Edgewood Hockey Association. Later he was a standout for the South Shore Kings, a high-level youth squad that plays out of Walpole, Mass.
No matter what the level, Acciari has achieved high honors. At Hendricken, for example, he was an All-Stater and helped the Hawks win the 2007 state title. He has also landed many honors as a Friar.
Acciari has recorded a season-high total in goals (14) and assists (16) for a career-best 30 points, which ranks him tied for second on the team. He’s known as a hard-hitting center that plays significant time on the power play and penalty killing units, and has scored four power-play goals while adding a shorthanded tally and two game winners.
He leads the Friars with a +21 plus-minus rating this season and has a .556 face-off win percentage. He also has blocked 38 shots this season.
Needless to say, his brothers – Michael, 30, and Ashton, 21 – are proud of the Friars’ captain, as are his parents.
“I’m also proud of the [PC] team,” Edna said. “It’s really hard to get into Frozen Four and even harder to get into the finals and win the national championship.”
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