Providence forward Noel Acciari has signed an entry-level contract with the Boston Bruins, leaving the 2015 national champions with one year of eligibility remaining.
Acciari, who recently graduated with a degree in marketing, served as a co-captain during the 2014-15 season. He sat out his freshman season.
“Growing up in Rhode Island, it was a dream of mine to become a Friar,” Acciari said in a news release. “With the support of my friends and family, I was able to accomplish that dream. My success at Providence was due to my amazing teammates and coaches. My teammates have been the greatest group of brothers I could have asked for and together, along with the coaches and staff, we accomplished something truly unimaginable, a national championship.
“I will always be grateful for my coaches and how much they believed in me and allowing me the opportunity to become a Friar. I have mixed emotions announcing I will not be returning, but I’m excited to pursue another dream. I will never forget the love and support of my family, friends, teammates, coaches, staff and everyone at Providence and I am forever a Friar.”
“We are very excited and happy for Noel to have earned this opportunity,” Providence coach Nate Leaman added. “He’s had a tremendous career at Providence, he’s been a great player and a great leader and he was an important part of building our culture. Noel will always be a Friar.”
Acciari finished the 2014-15 season with 15 goals and 17 assists for 32 points and was selected as the 2015 Hockey East Defensive Forward of the Year and named the All-New England Best Defensive Forward of the Year.
For his college career, Acciari played in 113 games, scoring 32 goals and adding 33 assists for 65 points. He also closed his career by playing in 98 consecutive games.
