Completed Event: Women's Ice Hockey versus #9/9 Clarkson University on October 18, 2025 , Loss , 0, to, 3
Women's Ice Hockey
vs #9/9 Clarkson University
Final
0
-
3
Providence College Athletics
Friday, October 18
Providence, R.I.
6:00 P.M.
Providence College
vs
Penn State
Women's Hockey Hosts Penn State
10/17/2019 3:58:00 PM | Women's Ice Hockey
Puck Drop
The Friars will host Penn State for their first home series of the season against the Nittany Lions on Friday (Oct. 18) at 6:00 p.m. and Saturday (Oct. 19) at 3:00 p.m.
Scouting the Friars
The Friars are currently 2-1-1 overall. Providence picked up three points on the road last weekend with a 5-1 win (Oct. 11) and 2-2 draw (Oct. 12) at Bemidji State. The Friars' win on Friday was fueled by four second-period goals, including two from Sara Hjalmarsson (Bankeryd, Sweden). Hayley Lunny (Bedford, N.Y.), Neve Van Pelt (Mitchell, Ontario) and Maureen Murphy (Buffalo, N.Y.) were the other goal scorers for Providence. Six different Friars picked up assists, while Clare Minnerath (Sartell, Minn.) made a season-high 31 saves.
Meaghan Rickard (Coventry, R.I.) and Lauren DeBlois (Lewiston, Maine) netted the Friars' goals in Saturday's 2-2 tie. Whitney Dove (Port Moody, British Columbia) notched assists on both goals. Minnerath made 21 saves in net.
Dove leads the Friars in points (four) and assists (four). Bailey Burton (Bloomington, Minn.), Hjalmarsson and Murphy each have two goals, one assist and three points. Rickard is the other Friar with three points, as she has one goal and two assists.
Minnerath is the only goaltender who has seen action in net. She holds a 1.72 goals against average and a .931 save percentage through four games.
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.
Burton Earns Rookie of the Week Honors
Burton scored a goal in each of her first two collegiate games, including the game winner against Quinnipiac (Oct. 5). For her efforts, she was named Hockey East Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Week on Oct. 7. Burton's two goals came on just two total shots over the weekend.
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 Nittany Lions
Penn State enters the weekend at 2-2-2 after a recent sweep of RPI. The Nittany Lions opened the season with back-to-back ties at Holy Cross (3-3, 1-1). The team continued on the road with 7-0 and 3-0 losses at No. 1 Wisconsin before opening play at home against RPI. Penn State posted two shutouts, capturing 2-0 and 3-0 victories over RPI.
Last season, Penn State finished 13-14-9 overall, including a 6-9-5 mark in the WCHA.
Who to Watch
Junior Natalie Heising leads Penn State offensively with four points (two goals, two assists). Three of her points came over the past weekend against RPI. Katie McMillan and Izzy Heminger each have three points for the Nittany Lions on two goals and one assist.
Junior Chantal Burke and senior Jenna Brenneman have both seen action in net. Burke has played in five total games and started the last four contests. She holds a 2.25 goals against average and a .915 save percentage. Brenneman has not seen action since the Holy Cross series.
All-Time Series with the Nittany Lions
Providence split the first series between these two teams last season in University Park, Pa. The Friars won in overtime in game one, 3-2, before dropping the series finale, 5-3.
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