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, February 22
Worcester, Mass.
7:00 P.M.
Providence College
at
Holy Cross
Photo by: Stew Milne
Women's Hockey Wraps Up Regular Season
2/21/2019 11:49:00 AM | Women's Ice Hockey
The Friars will play the final two games of the 2018-19 regular season.
Puck Drop
The Friars are set to play the final regular season games of 2018-19. Friday (Feb. 22) features a 7:00 p.m. game at Holy Cross, while Saturday (Feb. 23) features a 3:00 p.m. tilt at #8 Boston University.
Scouting the Friars
The Friars are currently 20-10-2 overall and 14-9-2 in Hockey East. Providence earned a split with #3 Northeastern last weekend, with each team picking up a road win. Meaghan Rickard (Coventry, R.I.) scored the lone goal in Friday's 3-1 loss. Sara Hjalmarsson (Bankeryd, Sweden) then notched two goals on Saturday. Neve Van Pelt (Mitchell, Ontario), Christina Putigna (Grimsby, Ontario) and Rickard added goals en route to a 5-2 victory. Cassidy MacPherson (Oakville, Ontario) assisted both of Hjalmarsson's goals for two points in the game. Madison Myers (Colchester, Vt.) made 26 saves on Friday and 19 on Saturday for a weekend total of 45.
Maureen Murphy (Buffalo, N.Y.) leads the charge offensively for the Friars with 40 points (21 goals, 19 assists). Christina Putigna is second with 11 goals and 12 assists for 23 points. Sara Hjalmarsson is close behind with 11 goals, 11 assists and 22 points. Cassidy MacPherson is in fourth with 20 points on nine goals and 11 assists. Avery Fransoo (North Battleford, Saskatchewan) is second on the team in assists, as she has 14 this season.
Myers has made 30 starts in net. She holds a .924 save percentage and a 1.84 goals against average. The netminder has made 672 total saves and has four shutouts.
Earlier This Season Vs. Holy Cross
The Friars posted wins over the Crusaders on Oct. 12 (5-0) and Dec. 7 (5-1). Hjalmarsson recorded a hat trick in the October win. Rickard tallied four points in the December win, putting up one goal and three assists. In addition, Murphy scored two goals and added an assist, while Putigna had a goal and two assists.
Earlier This Season Vs. Boston University
Providence fell to Boston University twice earlier this season. The Terriers earned a 5-3 win at Schneider Arena (Jan. 11) and then a 4-2 win in Boston (Jan. 12). Murphy, Hjalmarsson and Hayley Lunny (Bedford, N.Y.) scored in game one, while Putigna and MacPherson scored in game two. The Terriers scored first in both games and held 3-2 leads entering the third period on each day.
Putigna Hits 100
Christina Putigna registered her 100th career point on Feb. 8 at Maine. The senior forward became the 27th player in program history to reach the threshold. She now has 42 goals and 60 assists in 130 games played.
Protecting Leads
The Friars are an impressive 6-0-1 when leading after the first period and 14-1-1 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 13-2-1 when they light the lamp first.
Killing Off Penalties
Providence ranks 11th in the nation in penalty kill (86.4%). The Friars have killed 89-of-103 penalties this season. In addition, Providence has notched five short-handed goals.
Murphy's Numbers
Maureen Murphy ranks fifth in Hockey East in points (40) and is third in goals scored (21). She's only been held off the scoresheet in eight of 32 games all season. Additionally, she's had 12 multi-point games.
The sophomore forward is currently tied 17th in the nation in points per game (1.25) and tied for 11th in goals per game (0.66). She is also second 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 17 this season. The sophomore forward has nine goals and eight assists for the Friars. She ranks tied for fourth on the team in goals and is sixth on the team in points. She had a career-high three-point performance on Jan. 18 against New Hampshire.
Milestones for Myers
Myers recently moved into second place all-time in games played by a goaltender. The senior has played in 119 total games and is just 8 games away from leader, Genevieve Lacasse '12. Myers is also just four wins away from moving into second in career wins by a goaltender. The netminder already took over second place in all-time saves earlier this season. She currently has 2,830 total saves.
Progressing Toward Playoffs
With one weekend remaining in the regular season, Providence is fourth in Hockey East. The top four seeds will host #5-8 in best-of-three quarterfinal series from March 1-3. The Friars have hosted the quarterfinal round in the last two seasons.
Providence has clinched a playoff spot and can finish in either fourth or fifth place. The Friars' remaining games are against last-place Holy Cross and third-place Boston University.
Hockey East Championship Weekend at Schneider
The 2019 Hockey East Championship will be held on the campus of Providence College, March 9 and 10. Semifinal games will take place on Saturday at 1:35 p.m. and 4:35 p.m. Sunday's finale will be played at 1:35 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online at friars.com/tickets or by calling 401-865-4672.
National Rankings This Season
The Friars were ranked in the top-10 nationally for seven-consecutive USCHO and USA Hockey polls, from Nov. 12 - Jan. 14. The best ranking for the Friars so far this season is No. 7 in both polls (Dec. 10/11).
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.Â
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.
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).
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.
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 Crusaders
Holy Cross is currently last in Hockey East play. The Crusaders are 1-28-3 overall and 1-24-1 in league play. The team's lone win came back on Nov. 30 oven then-No. 5 Northeastern. The Crusaders secured the program's first Division I win with a 5-3 victory. Last weekend, Holy Cross fell to Vermont in back-to-back games. The Catamounts won 3-0 and 4-1.
Who to Watch
Junior Rachel Moore leads the team in goals (seven) and points (14). She is also tied for first in assists with senior Julie Matthias (seven). Her and freshman Carlie Magier each have 11 points on the year. Freshman Jada Brenon has played 21 games in net. She holds a 3.89 goals against average and a .894 save percentage.
All-Time Series' with the Crusaders and Terriers
Providence leads the all-time series with Holy Cross, 2-0-0. The series with the Terriers is close, as the Friars hold a slight 29-27-3 edge. At BU, Providence trails 9-18-1.
Scouting the Terriers
BU is currently eighth in the nation and third in Hockey East. The Terriers are 14-5-6 in conference and 18-6-8 overall. BU is on the nation's longest unbeaten streak, having gone 10-0-3 over the last 13 games. The Terriers boast the sixth-best power play in the nation (23.1%) and the eighth best scoring defense (1.88 goals against per game). Last weekend, BU played to a 3-3 tie at home against New Hampshire and then took a 2-1 road victory in game two.
Who to Watch
Sophomore Jesse Compher and junior Sammy Davis are two of the most prolific scorers in women's college hockey. Compher, who is fourth in the nation in points per game (1.72), has 17 goals and 38 assists for 55 points. Davis is sixth in the nation in points per game (1.50) and has 23 goals, 24 assists and 47 points. In net, Corinne Schroeder holds a 1.88 goals against average and a .932 save percentage. She's 15-5-7 and has two shutouts on the season.
- GO FRIARS! -Â
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