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, November 16
Providence, R.I.
6:00 P.M.
Providence College
vs
Merrimack College
#10 Women's Hockey Set for Series with Merrimack
11/15/2018 11:25:00 AM | Women's Ice Hockey
The Friars play at home on Friday and on the road on Saturday.
Puck Drop
The Friars welcome the Merrimack College Warriors to Schneider Arena on Friday, Nov. 16 at 6:00 p.m. Providence then plays at Merrimack on Saturday, Nov. 17 at 4:00 p.m.
Scouting the Friars
The Friars are off to an 8-2-0 start to the season and have a 5-1-0 record in Hockey East. Last weekend, Providence defeated Maine, 3-1, on Friday night (Nov. 9) at Schneider Arena. The Friars then notched a 2-0 shutout at Vermont on Sunday (Nov. 11). Neve Van Pelt (Mitchell, Ontario), Kate Friesen (Altona, Manitoba) and Christina Putigna (Grimsby, Ontario) scored on Friday. Putigna and Friesen each finished with two points on one goal and one assist. Maureen Murphy (Buffalo, N.Y.) and Putigna were the goal scorers in Sunday's win. Avery Fransoo (North Battleford, Saskatchewan) assisted both goals.
Murphy leads the charge for the Friars with 16 points (nine goals, seven assists). Hjalmarsson is second on the team in both points (10) and goals (five). Putigna is third, despite only playing in six games this season. She's tallied five goals, three assists and eight points. Fransoo is fourth on the team in points with six. All six have come as assists.
Myers has made eight starts in net. She holds a .958 save percentage (ranked fourth in the nation) and a 1.00 goals against average (ranked second in the nation). The netminder has made 183 total saves and has three shutouts.
National Polls
The Friars are in the Top 10 nationally for the first time this season. Providence was selected tenth in both the USCHO (Nov. 12) and USA Hockey (Nov. 13) polls this week.
Streaks on Streaks
Murphy, Putigna and Fransoo are all on point streaks for the Friars. Murphy and Putigna each have four-game streaks. They have both scored in three out of the last four games as well. Fransoo has had assists in the last three games, giving her a three-game point streak as well.
Multi-Point Murphy
Maureen Murphy has recorded at least two points in six of ten games so far for Providence. Last season, she had seven multi-point performances in 36 games. She currently ranks tied for sixth in the nation in points per game (1.60) and fourth in goals per game (0.90). She's also tied for first in short-handed goals (two).
Where the Friars Rank
Providence ranks ninth in the nation in scoring margin (1.30), fifth in the nation in penalty kill (93.3%), ninth in the nation in power play percentage (21.1%) and sixth in team winning percentage (.800).
Brick Wall Myers
Myers has been excellent for the Friars in net so far this season. In eight games played, she's 7-1-0 and has three shutouts. She's in the top five nationally for goals against average, save percentage and shutouts. With her 24 saves at Vermont, she moved into third all-time at Providence in total saves. She now has 2,341 and is just three games away from playing in her 100th career game.
Spreading Out the Scoring
Through ten games, 15 of 18 skaters who have appeared in the lineup have registered at least one point. 13 of those players have multiple points. Additionally, 10 different players have scored goals for Providence.
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.
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).
Scouting the Warriors
The Warriors enter the game on a six-game winning streak. Merrimack is 9-1-2 overall and 6-1-1 in Hockey East. The team's lone loss came on Oct. 19 at Boston College (3-1). Three of the last six wins have come against Holy Cross, including two shutout victories. As a team, Merrimack averages 3.08 goals per game and only allows 1.08 (first in the nation). The Warriors convert on 22.4% of power plays (seventh in the nation) and kill 94.9% of penalties (fourth in the nation).
Who to Watch
Senior Katelyn Rae leads Merrimack with 15 points on 10 goals and five assists. Sophomore Megan Fergusson has a team-leading eight assists and three goals for 11 points. Junior Mikyla Grant-Mentis is the other player with double-digit points. She has four goals and six assists for 10 points. Samantha Ridgewell has played 12 games in net. She holds a .962 save percentage and a 1.02 goals against average. She's posted three shutouts and is 9-1-2.
All-Time Series with the Warriors
Providence leads the all-time series 7-1-1. Last season, Providence won the series with a 2-1-0 record. The Warriors got their first-ever win over the Friars in the final meeting last season, winning 4-1.
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