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 25
Chestnut Hill, Mass.
2:00 P.M.
Providence College
at
Boston College
Women's Hockey Set to Face No. 9 Boston College
1/24/2019 2:28:00 PM | Women's Ice Hockey
The Friars conclude the regular-season series with the Eagles on Jan. 25 and 26.
Puck Drop
The Friars are set for a home-and-home series with No. 9 Boston College this weekend. Friday's game (Jan. 25) will be played at 2:00 p.m. at Conte Forum. Saturday's game (Jan. 26) is set for 3:00 p.m. at Schneider Arena.
Scouting the Friars
The Friars are currently 17-7-0 overall and 11-6-0 in Hockey East. Last weekend, the Friars split a home series with the UNH Wildcats. Friday (Jan. 18) featured a 4-0 shutout win, while Saturday (Jan. 19) was a 5-0 loss. Hayley Lunny (Bedford, N.Y.) led the Friars on Friday, scoring a career-high three points in the win. The sophomore forward notched two goals and added an assist. Madison Myers (Colchester, Vt.) made 29 saves in her fourth shutout of the season. The senior netminder tied her season-high in saves on Saturday, making 30.Â
Maureen Murphy (Buffalo, N.Y.) leads the charge offensively for the Friars with 34 points (20 goals, 14 assists). Christina Putigna (Grimsby, Ontario) is second. She's tallied nine goals, 10 assists and 19 points. Cassidy MacPherson (Oakville, Ontario) and Sara Hjalmarsson (Bankeryd, Sweden) are third on the team with 16 points. MacPherson has nine goals and seven assists, while Hjalmarsson has seven goals and nine assists. Avery Fransoo (North Battleford, Saskatchewan) is second on the team in assists, as she has 11 this season.
Myers has made 22 starts in net. She holds a .930 save percentage and a 1.65 goals against average (ranked third in Hockey East). The netminder has made 478 total saves and has four shutouts.
Earlier This Season Vs. Boston College
Providence bested then-No. 5 Boston College by a score of 4-2 at Schneider Arena on Nov. 3. Murphy and Putigna each scored two goals in the win, while Daryl Watts notched two for BC. Putigna also added an assist for a three-point performance. Myers made 22 saves for Providence and Maddy McArthur made 24 for the Eagles.
Protecting Leads
The Friars are an impressive 13-1-0 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 11-2-0 when they light the lamp first.
Multi-Point Murphy
Maureen Murphy has recorded at least two points in 12 of 24 games so far for Providence. She's only been held off the score sheet in six of 24 games all season. She's currently ninth in the nation in points per game (1.42) and second in goals per game (0.83). She is also first in the nation in game-winning goals (seven) and tied for second in short-handed goals (three).
The Launch of Lunny
Lunny collected three points during her freshman season and already has 13 this season. The sophomore forward has seven goals and six assists for the Friars. She ranks tied for fourth on the team in goals and fifth on the team in points.
Where the Friars Rank
Providence ranks 10th in the nation in scoring margin (1.17), sixth in the nation in penalty kill (88.9%) and ninth in team winning percentage (.708).
National PollsÂ
The Friars were ranked in the top-10 nationally for seven-consecutive polls, before being just outside the top-10 this week. The best ranking for the Friars so far this season is No. 7 in both polls (Dec. 10/11).
Brick Wall Myers
Myers has been excellent for the Friars in net so far this season. In 22 games played, she's 16-6-0 and has four shutouts. She ranks tenth nationally in goals against average (1.65) and winning percentage (.727). Myers is five games away from moving into second all-time in goaltender games played, as she's played 111 games in her career.
Myers has allowed one goal or less in 13 of 22 games played this season.
Putigna Point Watch
Putinga currently has 99 career points. The senior forward has scored 40 goals and tallied 59 assists during her four seasons. With one more point, 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 Eagles
Boston College is 16-9-0 overall and 13-7-0 in Hockey East. The Eagles are currently ranked ninth in both national polls. BC is currently on a three-game winning streak after defeating Northeastern (7-5) and sweeping last weekend's series with Vermont. As a team, the Eagles average 3.16 goals per game and 2.04 goals against per game. They rank 11th in the nation in scoring margin.
Who to Watch
Senior Megan Keller leads the team in assists (16) and total points (29). She leads the nation in points per game by defensemen (1.21). Sophomore Daryl Watts is the leading goal scorer, as she has 14 goals on the season. Caitrin Lonergan and Makenna Newkirk are also over 20 total points on the season. Lonergan has 24 on ten goals and 14 assists and Newkirk has 23 on eight goals and 15 assists. Freshman Maddy McArthur is 15-8-0 in net. She holds a 2.05 goals against average and a .909 save percentage.
All-Time Series with the Eagles
Providence leads the all-time series, 52-35-3. In the last six meetings, Boston College holds a 4-2-0 edge. Both of the Friars' wins came at Schneider Arena.
- GO FRIARS! -Â
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