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, March 1
Providence, R.I.
6:00 P.M.
Providence College
vs
Merrimack College
Photo by: Stew Milne
Women's Hockey Hosts Merrimack in Hockey East Quarterfinal Series
2/28/2019 3:30:00 PM | Women's Ice Hockey
The fourth-seeded Friars are set to host the fifth-seeded Warriors in a best-of-three series.
Puck Drop
The fourth-seeded Friars are set to host the fifth-seeded Warriors in a best-of-three quarterfinal series this weekend. Games are set for 6:00 p.m. on March 1 and March 2 and then 3:00 p.m. on March 3 (if necessary).
Scouting the Friars
The Friars wrapped up the regular season with a pair of wins to finish at 22-10-2 overall and 16-9-2 in Hockey East. Providence shutout Holy Cross (Feb. 22), 3-0, and then captured a 2-1 road win at No. 8 Boston University (Feb. 23). Christina Putigna (Grimsby, Ontario) led the offense with four points over the weekend, including a goal and an assist in each game. The Friars' other goals all came from defensemen, as Kate Friesen (Altona, Manitoba), Avery Fransoo (North Battleford, Saskatchewan) and Whitney Dove (Port Moody, British Columbia) found the back of the net. Madison Myers (Colchester, Vt.) made 28 saves in her fifth shutout of the season on Friday, before posting 25 saves in her 21st win of the season on Saturday.
Maureen Murphy (Buffalo, N.Y.) leads the charge offensively for the Friars with 41 points (21 goals, 20 assists). Christina Putigna is second with 13 goals and 14 assists for 27 points. Sara Hjalmarsson (Bankeryd, Sweden) is third with 11 goals, 11 assists and 22 points. Meaghan Rickard (Coventry, R.I.) is close behind with 21 points on eight goals and 13 assists. Avery Fransoo is second on the team in assists, as she has 15 this season.
Myers has made 32 starts in net. She holds a .928 save percentage and a 1.76 goals against average. The netminder has made 725 total saves and has five shutouts.
Regular Season Vs. Merrimack
The Friars went 2-0-1 against Merrimack during the regular season. Most recently, the teams played to a 2-2 tie in overtime at Merrimack (Feb. 1). Hayley Lunny (Bedford, N.Y.) and Emily Landry (Orangeville, Ontario) scored in the first period before the Warriors responded with two goals to force the tie. Providence swept a home-and-home weekend series with the Warriors back in Novemeber, winning 3-1 and then 5-3. Murphy had three points in Friday's home win, while Whitney Dove and Meaghan Rickard had two points apeice. Murphy continued her strong weekend with another three-point game, including two goals, on Saturday. Putigna also chipped in three points.
Historically Speaking
Providence reached 22 wins for the first time since the 2010-11 season. One more win would push the Friars to their best total since the '02-'03 season, which featured a program-best 24 wins. In terms of winning percentage, Providence already has its best season since 2002-03. The Friars' current winning percentage is .676 and was .750 back in '02-'03.
For Hockey East specifically, Providence eclipsed the program record for league wins (16). The Friars earned their best conference winning percentage since 2009-10. Providence posted a .630 winning percentage in Hockey East play and was .643 back in '09-'10.
Friars Against Hockey East
Providence is just one of three teams in Hockey East to beat every other conference opponent at least once during the regular season. With late wins against #3 Northeastern (Feb. 17) and #8 Boston University (Feb. 23), Providence defeated every league foe at least once. The Friars had one win against the top-three teams in the league, but beat everyone else at least twice. The other teams that defeated everyone are Northeastern and Boston College.
Myers Earns Hockey East Goaltender of the Month
Madison Myers was named Hockey East Goaltender of the Month for February. It marked the second time this season that she won the award, as she also earned the title in November. She started all eight of the Friars' games, posting a 5-1-2 record. The senior ranked second in the conference in goals against average (1.48) and save percentage (.942) for the month. She also recorded a conference-high 196 saves and posted one shutout.
Protecting Leads
The Friars are an impressive 7-0-1 when leading after the first period and 16-1-1 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 14-2-1 when they light the lamp first.
Killing Off Penalties
Providence ranks 10th in the nation in penalty kill (86.6%). The Friars have killed 97-of-112 penalties this season. In addition, Providence has notched five short-handed goals.
Murphy's Numbers
Maureen Murphy ranks tied for fourth in Hockey East in points (41) and is third in goals scored (21). She's only been held off the scoresheet in nine of 34 games all season. Additionally, she's had 12 multi-point games.
The sophomore forward is currently tied for 19th in the nation in points per game (1.21) and is 13th in goals per game (0.62). She is also second in the nation in game-winning goals (seven) and tied for fourth 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 121 total games and is just 6 games away from leader, Genevieve Lacasse '12. Myers is also just two 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 2,883 total saves.
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 44 goals and 63 assists in 132 games played.
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 1:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. Sunday's finale will be played at 1:30 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). Providence is currently receiving votes in both polls.
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 Warriors
Merrimack finished fifth in Hockey East, which marks the program's best league finish in history. The Warriors went 16- 11-7 overall and 12-10-5 in league play. The team concluded the regular season with a 4-4 tie against No. 3 Northeastern. Four of Merrimack's last eight games have gone to extra time. In total, they've had nine games reach extra time and hold an 0-2-7 record in those contests. Merrimack has the ninth-best power play in the nation, converting 20.0% of the time. The Warriors also best the seventh-best penalty kill in the nation (87.5%).
Who to Watch
Senior Katelyn Rae leads the team offensively with 39 points on 24 goals and 15 assists. She's sixth in the nation in goals per game (0.71). Junior Mikyla Grant-Mentis is second on the team in points (34) and leads the team in assists (22). Rae and classmate Paige Voight lead the Merrimack power play, each having scored five goals on the man-advantage. In net, senior Samantha Ridgewell has played 31 games. She's 15-8-7 with a 1.91 goals against average and a .936 save percentage. Her save percentage is currently ranked eighth in the nation.
All-Time Series' with the Warriors
Providence leads the all-time series with Merrimack, 9-1-2. The Friars went 2-0-1 against Merrimack this season, including one win on home ice.
- GO FRIARS! -
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/ Women's Ice HockeyWomen's Ice Hockey vs. Northeastern
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