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, January 11
Providence, R.I.
6:00 P.M.
Providence College
vs
Boston University
Photo by: DSPics.com
No. 8 Women's Hockey Prepares For Home-And-Home With BU
1/10/2019 12:26:00 PM | Women's Ice Hockey
The Friars and Terriers have not met yet this season.
Puck Drop
The Friars continue Hockey East play against Boston University on Jan. 11 and 12. Puck drop is Friday at 6:00 p.m. at Schneider Arena and Saturday at 3:00 p.m. at Walter Brown Arena.
Scouting the Friars
The Friars are currently 16-4-0 overall and 10-3-0 in Hockey East. Last weekend, the Friars hosted Vermont for a two-game series, earning a split. On Saturday (Jan. 5), Providence fell to Vermont by a score of 5-4 in overtime. Maureen Murphy (Buffalo, N.Y.) had two goals in the game, while Eve-Audrey Picard racked up three points for the Catamounts. Ali O'Leary scored the game-winner at the 2:29 mark of the extra period. Myers finished with 25 saves in net and Melissa Black had 20 for Vermont. Seven other players recorded points for the Friars, including Ariane Julien (Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec), who notched her first goal of the season.
On Sunday, Whitney Dove (Port Moody, British Colubmia) and Emily Landry (Orangeville, Ontario) scored second-period goals to help the Friars to a 2-1 victory over Vermont. Myers made 14 saves in her 15th win of the season.
Murphy leads the charge offensively for the Friars with 33 points (19 goals, 14 assists). Christina Putigna is second. She's tallied eight goals, 10 assists and 18 points. Cassidy MacPherson (Oakville, Ontario) is third on the team with eight goals and seven assists, while Sara Hjalmarsson (Bankeryd, Sweden) has six goals and eight assists. Avery Fransoo (North Battleford, Saskatchewan) is third on the team in assists, as she has nine this season.
Myers has made 18 starts in net. She holds a .940 save percentage (ranked sixth in the nation) and a 1.34 goals against average (ranked third in the nation). The netminder has made 375 total saves and has three shutouts.
National Polls
The Friars have been ranked in the top-10 nationally for six-consecutive polls. Providence is currently No. 8 in both the USCHO and USA Hockey polls. The best ranking for the Friars so far this season is No. 7 in both polls (Dec. 10/11).
Last Season Vs. Boston University
Providence has not yet faced the Terriers this season. Last year, the Friars went 2-1-0, winning both home contests and dropping the road game. In both wins, Providence was able to tally six goals. Meaghan Rickard (Coventry, R.I.) had three points in game one against the Terriers, while Maureen Murphy had a hat trick in game three of the series.
Hot at Home
Providence is 8-2-0 at home. The Friars' losses at Schneider came against UConn on Dec. 1 (2-1) and Vermont on Jan. 6 (5-4, OT).
Protecting Leads
The Friars are an impressive 12-1-0 when leading at the end of two periods. Providence has done well to protect leads and also finds success when scoring first. The Friars are 10-2-0 when they light the lamp first.
Multi-Point Murphy
Maureen Murphy has recorded at least two points in 12 of 20 games so far for Providence. She's only been held off the score sheet in three of 20 games all season. She's currently fifth in the nation in points per game (1.65) and second in goals per game (0.95). She is also first in the nation in game-winning goals (seven) and short-handed goals (three).
Where the Friars Rank
Providence ranks second in the nation in scoring defense (1.60), 10th in scoring offense (3.25), eighth in the nation in penalty kill (89.8%) and fifth in team winning percentage (.800).
Brick Wall Myers
Myers has been excellent for the Friars in net so far this season. In 18 games played, she's 15-3-0 and has three shutouts. She's in the top ten nationally for goals against average, save percentage and winning percentage. Myers is nine games away from moving into second all-time in goaltender games played. She is also just 23 saves away from moving into second place in career saves in the Providence record books.
Myers has allowed one goal or less in 12 of 18 games played this season.
Putigna Point Watch
Putinga currently has 98 career points. The senior forward has scored 39 goals and tallied 59 assists during her four seasons. With two more points, Putigna would become the 27th Friar to reach the 100-point mark.
Notching Awards in November
Murphy and Myers were named Player and Goaltender of the Month, respectively, by both Hockey East and the WHCA in November. It was the first national monthly award for either of them.
Murphy finished the month tied for a conference-lead in goals (eight). She registered at least one point in every game of November, scoring goals in five of eight games. Five of her strikes came as game winners, which lead the nation for the month. The sophomore forward added six assists during the month for 14 total points. Murphy had a nine-game point streak from Oct. 28-Nov. 30.
Myers went 8-0-0 and had one shutout during November. She had the best goals against average in Hockey East (1.25) and ranked second in save percentage (.944). She made 167 saves during the month and picked up one shutout. The senior netminder allowed one goal or fewer in six of the eight games during November.
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.
Most recently, she was invited to participate in USA Hockey's Winter Training Camp. She was one of 44 players that participated in the camp from Dec. 17 to 21 in Michigan.
Hjalmarsson at Four Nations
Freshman Sara Hjalmarsson missed the Friars' Nov. 9 and Nov. 11 games to represent Sweden at the Four Nations Cup in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Sweden dropped its games against Canada (6-1), Finland (3-2) and the United States (5-1).
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 Terriers
Boston University is 9-6-5 overall and 6-5-4 in Hockey East play. The Terriers are currently in fourth place and just four points behind the Friars. Last weekend, BU split at Maine. The Terriers were shutout on Saturday (L, 1-0) before blanking the Black Bears on Sunday (W, 3-0). The Terriers' power play is ranked fifth in the nation (22.2%) and their scoring defense is eighth (1.75 goals against per game).
Who to Watch
Sophomore Jesse Compher leads the Terriers in nearly every offensive category. She has 34 points on 12 goals and 22 assists. She ranks fourth in the nation in points per game (1.70) and third in assists per game (1.10). Junior Sammy Davis also has 12 goals for BU. She's added 13 assists for 25 total points. Defenseman Abby Cook is the other Terrier with double-digit points, as she has 13 on six goals and seven assists. In net, sophomore Corinne Schroeder has been strong for Boston University. The reigning Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week holds a 1.75 goals against average and a .936 save percentage in 17 games played.
All-Time Series with the Terriers
Providence leads the all-time series with a record of 29-25-3. The Friars hold a 19-6-2 edge at home, but are 9-17-1 on the road against the Terriers.
- GO FRIARS! -
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