Upcoming Event: Women's Ice Hockey versus Sacred Heart University (Exhibition) on September 27, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Women's Ice Hockey
vs Sacred Heart University (Exhibition)
3:00 PM
Providence College Athletics
Friday, October 12
Providence, R.I.
6:00 P.M.
Providence College
vs
Holy Cross
Photo by: Stew Milne
Women's Hockey Set to Open League Play Against Holy Cross
10/11/2018 10:18:00 AM | Women's Ice Hockey
This game marks the first-ever meeting between the two schools.
Puck Drop
The Friars open league play against first-year Hockey East member, Holy Cross. The game is set for Friday, Oct. 12 at 6:00 p.m.
Scouting the Friars
The Friars kicked off the 2018-19 regular season with a sweep of Bemidji State. It was the team's first opening weekend sweep over the same opponent since 2009-10. Friday (Oct. 5) featured a commanding 4-1 win, while Saturday (Oct. 6) was a comeback victory where Providence prevailed 4-3. The Friars were down 3-0 in the second period before storming back for the win.
Maureen Murphy (Buffalo, N.Y.) led the charge for the Friars, scoring four points in opening weekend. On Friday she tallied a goal and an assist, while on Saturday she scored two unassisted goals. Hayley Lunny (Beford, N.Y.) had a big opening night, recording her first-career multi-point game. She had a goal and an assist. Sara Hjalmarsson (Bakeryd, Sweden) kicked off her career with an assist in Friday's game and a goal in Saturday's game. Cassidy MacPherson (Oakville, Ontario) and Neve Van Pelt are the other Friars with multiple points following opening weekend. MacPherson picked up both her points on Friday (one goal, one assist) and Van Pelt scored the game-winning goal on Saturday. Just two games in, Providence already has ten different players in the line-up with at least a point. Nine different players tallied an assist in opening weekend, while six players found the back of the net.
Senior Madison Myers (Colchester, Vt.) got the start in net for Friday's game, while redshirt freshman Sandra Abstreiter (Freising, Germany) saw her first career action on Saturday. Myers made 26 saves in Friday's game and Abstreiter made 14 in Saturday's win.
Exhibition vs. Concordia
The Friars defeated Concordia, 6-1, in an exhibition game on Sept. 28. Five different players scored in the win, including MacPherson, who notched two goals. Murphy led the team in points with three. She had one goal and two assists. Sara Hjalmarsson (Bakeryd, Sweden) posted two assists in her first-career action. Friesen and Meaghan Rickard (Coventry, R.I.) were the other multi-point scorers. They each had a goal and an assist. All three goaltenders played for the Friars. Myers made five saves before Clare Minnerath (Sartell, Minn.) came in and made two saves in the second period. Sandra Abstreiter (Freising, Germany) played the third period, but did not record a save. Providence was 2-5 on the power play and 4-4 on the penalty kill.
Hockey East Preseason Poll
The Friars were picked to finish fourth in the Hockey East Preseason poll, which was released on Sept. 20. Providence received 54 points and was picked to finish behind Boston College (81), Northeastern (73) and Maine (59).
Rounding out the poll were Boston University (44), UConn (43), New Hampshire (41), Vermont (25), Merrimack (21), and first-year member Holy Cross (9).
Friars in the National Polls
The Friars are receiving votes in both the USCHO and USA Hockey polls. Providence has sat just outside the top-10 for the first three weeks of the season.
Meet the Staff
Matt Kelly was named the sixth head coach in Providence College women's ice hockey history on June 18, 2018. Most recently, he served as a Head Scout for USA Hockey and the Women's National Team. His primary responsibility was to oversee and maintain the player pools for the U-18 and U-22 squads, in addition to the Women's National Team. He recently captured a gold medal with the Women's National Team at the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang. Prior to USA Hockey, Kelly served as an assistant women's ice hockey coach at Clarkson University. There, he helped the Golden Knights to the 2014 National Championship. He played at Wayne State and graduated in 2007.
Kelly hired Jake Anderson, Ali Domenico and Doug Ferry to round out his staff. Anderson previously coached at Merrimack, RPI and Holy Cross. He graduated from American International College in 2011, where he was a goaltender. Domenico, a 2009 St. Lawrence graduate, coached at Syracuse prior to arriving at Providence. Ferry remains with the program as the Director of Hockey Operations after serving as a student manager and then the program's graduate assistant for the past two seasons.
Fresh Friar Faces
Providence welcomes four new players to the roster for 2018-19. Annelise Rice (Excelsior, Minn.) joins the program as a sophomore transfer. She played 25 games at North Dakota (2016-17) and registered two points on one goal and one assist. Freshmen Ciara Barone (North Tonawanda, N.Y.), Sara Hjalmarsson (Bakeryd, Sweden) and Caroline Peterson (East Falmouth, Mass.) round out the new additions. Barone attended the Nichols School, while Peterson attended Saint Mark's School. Hjalmarsson went to school and played in Sweden, most notably for the national team in the 2018 Olympic Games in PeyongChang. Murphy with USA Hockey During the off-season, Murphy had several chances to compete for USA Hockey. In August, she competed for the USA U-22 Women's Select Team in a three-game series against Canada. She recorded two goals in three games. In September, Murphy was invited to U.S. Women's National Team Evaluation Camp. From Sept. 13-17 she participated in practices and scrimmages with the top players in the country, including 17 players that won gold at the recent Olympics.
2017-18 Award Winners
Maureen Murphy headlined the Friars' Hockey East awards last season. At the conclusion of the season, she was selected to the league's All-Rookie team and was also a Second Team All-Star. Additionally, she was tabbed a New England Hockey Writers All-Star, making her the first to earn the honor since Genevieve Lacasse in 2011-12. During the season, she earned Hockey East Rookie of the Week honors three times. She was also the Rookie of the Month in December.
Kate Friesen was recognized as a Hockey East All-Star Honorable Mention at the end of the season, despite missing 11 games due to injury.
During the season, several other Friars were recognized by the league. Madison Myers was named Defensive Player of the Week twice and Goaltender of the Month in October. Whitney Dove was also named Defensive Player of the Week once.
Scouting the Crusaders
The Crusaders enter the game at 0-1-2. Holy Cross suffered a season-opening loss at RIT (2-0) before battling to a 1-1 tie the following night against the Tigers. Last weekend, the Crusaders played to another 1-1 tie, this time with RPI. Holy Cross jumped out to a lead in the tie against RIT, but came from behind to tie RPI. Like the Friars, Holy Cross has yet to convert on a power play (0/11). The team averages 0.67 goals per game and has held opponents to just 1.33 goals per game.
Who to Watch
Senior Amanda Kewer leads the team on offense. She has two points off of a goal and an assist. Carlie Magier is the only other Crusader to score a goal so far this season. Katie MacCuaig, Danielle Doherty and Victoria Young each have an assist. In net, sophomore Julia Pelletier has played two of the three games. She holds a 1.45 goals against average and a .946 save percentage. The team's returning scorers from last year are seniors Maeve Reilly and Julie Matthias. Reilly racked up 28 points on eight goals and 20 assists. Matthias had 26 points on 11 goals and 15 assists. All-Time Series with the Crusaders This meeting between the Friars and Crusaders marks the first in program history. The Crusaders are entering their first season as a Hockey East member.
- GO FRIARS! -
The Friars open league play against first-year Hockey East member, Holy Cross. The game is set for Friday, Oct. 12 at 6:00 p.m.
Scouting the Friars
The Friars kicked off the 2018-19 regular season with a sweep of Bemidji State. It was the team's first opening weekend sweep over the same opponent since 2009-10. Friday (Oct. 5) featured a commanding 4-1 win, while Saturday (Oct. 6) was a comeback victory where Providence prevailed 4-3. The Friars were down 3-0 in the second period before storming back for the win.
Maureen Murphy (Buffalo, N.Y.) led the charge for the Friars, scoring four points in opening weekend. On Friday she tallied a goal and an assist, while on Saturday she scored two unassisted goals. Hayley Lunny (Beford, N.Y.) had a big opening night, recording her first-career multi-point game. She had a goal and an assist. Sara Hjalmarsson (Bakeryd, Sweden) kicked off her career with an assist in Friday's game and a goal in Saturday's game. Cassidy MacPherson (Oakville, Ontario) and Neve Van Pelt are the other Friars with multiple points following opening weekend. MacPherson picked up both her points on Friday (one goal, one assist) and Van Pelt scored the game-winning goal on Saturday. Just two games in, Providence already has ten different players in the line-up with at least a point. Nine different players tallied an assist in opening weekend, while six players found the back of the net.
Senior Madison Myers (Colchester, Vt.) got the start in net for Friday's game, while redshirt freshman Sandra Abstreiter (Freising, Germany) saw her first career action on Saturday. Myers made 26 saves in Friday's game and Abstreiter made 14 in Saturday's win.
Exhibition vs. Concordia
The Friars defeated Concordia, 6-1, in an exhibition game on Sept. 28. Five different players scored in the win, including MacPherson, who notched two goals. Murphy led the team in points with three. She had one goal and two assists. Sara Hjalmarsson (Bakeryd, Sweden) posted two assists in her first-career action. Friesen and Meaghan Rickard (Coventry, R.I.) were the other multi-point scorers. They each had a goal and an assist. All three goaltenders played for the Friars. Myers made five saves before Clare Minnerath (Sartell, Minn.) came in and made two saves in the second period. Sandra Abstreiter (Freising, Germany) played the third period, but did not record a save. Providence was 2-5 on the power play and 4-4 on the penalty kill.
Hockey East Preseason Poll
The Friars were picked to finish fourth in the Hockey East Preseason poll, which was released on Sept. 20. Providence received 54 points and was picked to finish behind Boston College (81), Northeastern (73) and Maine (59).
Rounding out the poll were Boston University (44), UConn (43), New Hampshire (41), Vermont (25), Merrimack (21), and first-year member Holy Cross (9).
Friars in the National Polls
The Friars are receiving votes in both the USCHO and USA Hockey polls. Providence has sat just outside the top-10 for the first three weeks of the season.
Meet the Staff
Matt Kelly was named the sixth head coach in Providence College women's ice hockey history on June 18, 2018. Most recently, he served as a Head Scout for USA Hockey and the Women's National Team. His primary responsibility was to oversee and maintain the player pools for the U-18 and U-22 squads, in addition to the Women's National Team. He recently captured a gold medal with the Women's National Team at the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang. Prior to USA Hockey, Kelly served as an assistant women's ice hockey coach at Clarkson University. There, he helped the Golden Knights to the 2014 National Championship. He played at Wayne State and graduated in 2007.
Kelly hired Jake Anderson, Ali Domenico and Doug Ferry to round out his staff. Anderson previously coached at Merrimack, RPI and Holy Cross. He graduated from American International College in 2011, where he was a goaltender. Domenico, a 2009 St. Lawrence graduate, coached at Syracuse prior to arriving at Providence. Ferry remains with the program as the Director of Hockey Operations after serving as a student manager and then the program's graduate assistant for the past two seasons.
Fresh Friar Faces
Providence welcomes four new players to the roster for 2018-19. Annelise Rice (Excelsior, Minn.) joins the program as a sophomore transfer. She played 25 games at North Dakota (2016-17) and registered two points on one goal and one assist. Freshmen Ciara Barone (North Tonawanda, N.Y.), Sara Hjalmarsson (Bakeryd, Sweden) and Caroline Peterson (East Falmouth, Mass.) round out the new additions. Barone attended the Nichols School, while Peterson attended Saint Mark's School. Hjalmarsson went to school and played in Sweden, most notably for the national team in the 2018 Olympic Games in PeyongChang. Murphy with USA Hockey During the off-season, Murphy had several chances to compete for USA Hockey. In August, she competed for the USA U-22 Women's Select Team in a three-game series against Canada. She recorded two goals in three games. In September, Murphy was invited to U.S. Women's National Team Evaluation Camp. From Sept. 13-17 she participated in practices and scrimmages with the top players in the country, including 17 players that won gold at the recent Olympics.
2017-18 Award Winners
Maureen Murphy headlined the Friars' Hockey East awards last season. At the conclusion of the season, she was selected to the league's All-Rookie team and was also a Second Team All-Star. Additionally, she was tabbed a New England Hockey Writers All-Star, making her the first to earn the honor since Genevieve Lacasse in 2011-12. During the season, she earned Hockey East Rookie of the Week honors three times. She was also the Rookie of the Month in December.
Kate Friesen was recognized as a Hockey East All-Star Honorable Mention at the end of the season, despite missing 11 games due to injury.
During the season, several other Friars were recognized by the league. Madison Myers was named Defensive Player of the Week twice and Goaltender of the Month in October. Whitney Dove was also named Defensive Player of the Week once.
Scouting the Crusaders
The Crusaders enter the game at 0-1-2. Holy Cross suffered a season-opening loss at RIT (2-0) before battling to a 1-1 tie the following night against the Tigers. Last weekend, the Crusaders played to another 1-1 tie, this time with RPI. Holy Cross jumped out to a lead in the tie against RIT, but came from behind to tie RPI. Like the Friars, Holy Cross has yet to convert on a power play (0/11). The team averages 0.67 goals per game and has held opponents to just 1.33 goals per game.
Who to Watch
Senior Amanda Kewer leads the team on offense. She has two points off of a goal and an assist. Carlie Magier is the only other Crusader to score a goal so far this season. Katie MacCuaig, Danielle Doherty and Victoria Young each have an assist. In net, sophomore Julia Pelletier has played two of the three games. She holds a 1.45 goals against average and a .946 save percentage. The team's returning scorers from last year are seniors Maeve Reilly and Julie Matthias. Reilly racked up 28 points on eight goals and 20 assists. Matthias had 26 points on 11 goals and 15 assists. All-Time Series with the Crusaders This meeting between the Friars and Crusaders marks the first in program history. The Crusaders are entering their first season as a Hockey East member.
- GO FRIARS! -
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