Women's Hockey Travels To Bemidji State

Puck Drop
The Friars will play their first road series of the 2019-20 season with a two-game series against the Bemidji State Beavers on Friday (Oct. 11) at 4:07 p.m. (ET) and Saturday (Oct. 12) at 3:07 p.m. (ET).

Split with the Bobcats
Providence opened the season with a home-and-home series against Quinnipiac. The Friars fell, 2-1, at home on Friday (Oct. 4) before prevailing 3-2 on the road on Saturday (Oct. 5). Freshman Bailey Burton notched her first-career goal in Friday's loss. Whitney Dove earned the assist and Clare Minnerath made 23 saves.

The Friars trailed 2-0 in Saturday's game before storming back with three unanswered tallies. Annelise Rice got the scoring started at 8:12 of the second period and Maureen Murphy tied the game with 7 seconds remaining in the middle frame. Burton scored the game-winning goal with 1:01 remaining in regulation to give the Friars their first win of the season. Meaghan Rickard led the team offensively with two points on two assists.

Minnerath Between the Pipes
Clare Minnerath earned both starts in goal during opening weekend. She made 42 total saves between the pipes, posting a 2.02 goals against average and a .913 save percentage. The senior netminder, who had played eight career games entering this season, holds a 1-1 record so far this season.

Burton Earns Rookie of the Week Honors
Burton scored a goal in each of her first two collegiate games, including the game winner on Saturday (Oct. 5). For her efforts, she was named Hockey East Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Week. Burton's two goals came on just two total shots over the weekend.

Scouting the Friars
The Friars finished 2018-19 with a 24-11-2 overall record and a 16-9-2 mark in Hockey East. The 24 wins tied a program high, previously set in 2002-02. The Friars also posted their highest winning percentage in conference (.630) since 2009-10. The Friars advanced to the Hockey East Semifinals for the first time since 2013.

Providence returns top scorer, Maureen Murphy (Buffalo, N.Y.), who posted 22 goals and 21 assists last season for 43 points. Murphy's 22 goals ranked tied for ninth in the nation. Offensive threat Sara Hjalmarsson (Bankeryd, Sweden) also returns to the lineup. Hjalmarsson tallied 11 goals and 12 assists for the third most points on the team in her rookie campaign.

The Friars return six of seven defensemen from last season, including senior Whitney Dove (Port Moody, British Columbia). She had six goals in 37 games played, including nine assists. Senior captain Avery Fransoo (North Battleford, Saskatchewan) led defensemen in points with one goal and 17 assists last season, playing in all 37 games.

In net, Providence will have to replace Madison Myers (Colchester, Vt.). Myers started 35 of the Friars 37 games last season. She finished her career ranked second all-time at Providence in games played (125), wins (59) and saves (2,938). Myers also finished second in shutouts (13) and ranked fifth in save percentage (.913). Sandra Abstreiter will look to fill the duty in net, after playing in just two games last season.

Hockey East Preseason Poll
The Friars were picked to finish fourth in the Hockey East Preseason poll, which was released on Thursday, Sept. 26. Providence received 56 points and was picked to finish behind Northeastern (81), Boston University (71) and Boston College (65).

Rounding out the poll were New Hampshire (42), UConn (41), Merrimack (30), Maine (29), Vermont (25), and Holy Cross (nine).

Meet the Staff
Matt Kelly joined the Friars in 2018-19 for his inaugural season at the helm. He led the team to a 24-11-2 record, helping the Friars to tie the program-high for wins in a season. Kelly led Providence to the Hockey East Semifinals for the first time since 2013 and coached three Friars to Hockey East honors at the conclusion of the season.

Prior to Providence, Kelly 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. During his time with USA Hockey, Kelly won a total of eleven gold medals. He recently captured a gold medal with the Women's National Team at the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang. Additionally, he helped the U18 team win four-consecutive gold medals (2015-2018). This marked the first time any U18 team won four World Championships in a row.

Kelly hired Jake Anderson, Ali Domenico and Doug Ferry to round out his staff. Anderson focused mainly on the Friars' defensive unit during his first season. Providence gave up just 1.89 goals per game in 2018-19, which ranked seventh nationally. The Friars' penalty kill also ranked seventh, killing off 87.4 percent of opponents' opportunities. Domenico guided the Friars' offensive unit in her first season. Providence finished 13th nationally in goals per game, averaging 2.81 per game. The power play unit also finished 13th nationally, converting at on 19.1 percent of chances.

Fresh Friar Faces
Providence welcomes eight new players to the roster for the 2019-20 season. Isabelle Hardy (Oakville, Ontario) comes from Canada as the remaining six enter Providence from the United States; Lauren DeBlois (Lewiston, Maine), Bailey Burton (Bloomington, Minn.), Delaney Couture (Shrewsbury, Mass.), Sonja Bjornson (Philadelphia, Pa.), Jamie Comeau (Wakefield, R.I.) and Katrina Broccoli (North Haven, Conn.).

Hjalmarsson with Team Sweden
During the off-season, Sara Hjalmarsson had several chances to compete for Team Sweden. She was named to Sweden's National Team roster for the 2019 IIHF Ice Hockey Women's World Championship. She played four games for Team Sweden without tallying a point.

2018-19 Award Winners
The team had four players pick up Hockey East post-season honors. Murphy earned Second Team All-Star status for the second-consecutive season. Myers and Fransoo were named All-Star Honorable Mentions, marking each of their first-career league honors. Additionally, Sara Hjalmarsson was named to the All-Rookie Team.

Five different Friars earned Hockey East Weekly honors over the course of the season. Myers was named Defensive Player of the Week twice (Nov. 12, Mar. 4). Christina Putigna (Nov. 5), Maureen Murphy (Nov. 19) and Hayley Lunny (Nov. 26) each earned Player of the Week honors. Sara Hjalmarsson was named Rookie of the Week on Oct. 16.

Murphy and Myers were also recognized with monthly awards from the league. Myers was Hockey East Goaltender of the Month in November and February. Murphy was Hockey East Player of the Month in November.

Scouting the Beavers
Bemidji State opened its 2019-20 slate splitting a series with Lindenwood University. The Beavers dropped the season opener, 3-2, before posting a 1-0 shutout on Saturday, Oct. 5. Bemidji State will host Providence for two games before wrapping up its six-game homestand to open the season.

Who to Watch
Lydia Passolt and Tina Kampa tallied two points apiece in the opening weekend of play. Passolt scored two goals while Kampa tallied two assists.

Kerigan Dowhy and Lauren Bench have shared duty in net. Dowhy played all 60 minutes in the team's shutout victory in game two against Lindenwood while Bench allowed three goals in the season opening 3-2 loss.

All-Time Series with the Beavers
Providence leads the all-time series with Bemidji State, 3-2-1.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Sandra Abstreiter

Sonja Bjornson

Katrina Broccoli

Bailey Burton

Jamie Comeau

Delaney Couture

Lauren DeBlois

Whitney Dove

Avery Fransoo

Isabelle Hardy

Sara Hjalmarsson

Hayley Lunny

Clare Minnerath

Maureen Murphy

Madison Myers

Christina Putigna

Annelise Rice

Meaghan Rickard

Completed Event: Women's Ice Hockey versus #14/RV Holy Cross on January 24, 2026 , Loss , 0, to, 3

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