March 1, 2016 — Noel Acciari surely has a lengthy entry in his hockey journal. The last standout ones were likely April 11, 2015, or right after on June 8.

April 11 – “Unreal! We won the NCAA national championship in a 4-3 come-from-behind win over Boston University at TD Garden…”

June 8 – “Yikes! Today, I signed a free-agent contract with the Boston Bruins…”

March 1 – “Wow! I played in my first NHL game – and at TD Garden and had a plus-1 in the 2-1 win…”

“You know everything kind of went by really fast actually,” Acciari said about the past year. “It’s just kind of a bit of a whirlwind.”

“I like what I saw from training camp, a real strong, gritty guy, good hockey sense, skates, forechecks hard,” head coach Claude Julien said after Acciari’s first NHL practice Tuesday morning. “Will go to the dirty areas. We’re going to have a real good look at him here. Coming in at this time of the season, for him to have that opportunity is pretty special.”

On a night when two other Bruins – Lee Stempniak and John-Michael Liles – joined the team at the trade deadline, each with an extensive NHL resume, it was Acciari with the most butterflies.

“Going into it was a little nerve-wracking,” he said about the debut.

The 24-year-old native of Johnston, Rhode Island, played the past three years with the Providence College Friars where he put up 65 points over 113 games. Last year, 15-17-32 in 41 games his junior year to help lead the team to a first-ever national championship with a scintillating third-period comeback in the 4-3 win.

One game and 32 points hardly seem fodder for a free-agent NHL contract. What piqued the interest of the Black and Gold to pluck Acciari out of the NCAA mix and into the NHL?

Three things: Acciari was named Hockey East’s Defensive Player of the year last season. And his 5-foot-10 208-pound frame. Acciari knows the game and puts his body in bowling-ball mode every shift. NHL executives tell of his development camp stints where Acciari stood out with his physical presence and defensive prowess.

Add that he also lighted up the stat sheet in big games. In the NCAA tournament last spring, Acciari had five points in the four games, including a goal in the first three games and an assist in the championship final at TD Garden. All good for being named to the All-Tournament Team.

With 31 points in 42 games and a plus-8 with the Providence Bruins, it all added up to that special invite.

Donning No. 55, Acciari’s first NHL shift came with just under four minutes gone in the first period, centering Jimmy Hayes and Matt Beleskey.

His highlight: Landon Ferraro putting Boston up, 1-0 at 7:05 with Acciari getting the plus-1 centering Ferraro and Brett Connolly.

“It didn’t take them long to get that first goal right?” Julien said. “They stepped on the ice, and it was in the net.

“I thought [Noel] handled himself real well, very responsible and gritty and you know seemed to be in the right place for the most part.  I thought he handled himself well for a guy in his first game.”

“It was a good feeling,” Acciari said in his first NHL postgame interview. “First shift with them and first plus, which is really nice.”

The game log ended with 8:31 played and 14 shifts and one shot on net.

Patrice Bergeron scored the game-winner at 16:36 on the power play. Acciari watched Bergeron as a teenager in high school. Now he’s getting tips from him on the bench.

“They’re very poised players,” he said about playing center behind Bergeron and David Krejci on the depth chart. “They see plays that are happening two steps in advance. It’s just great to see them do that, and ask some questions and just kind of learn from them.”

When asked how it’s been the past few days, he said: “I had to put my phone on airplane mode.”

No surprise there. Noel Acciari is flying quite high right now.