GAME INFORMATION VS. NO. 6/7 UCONN
JANUARY 2 | SCHNEIDER ARENA | PROVIDENCE, R.I. | 2:00 PM
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JANUARY 3 | TOSCANO FAMILY ICE FORUM | STORRS, CONN. | 3:00 PM
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PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Providence College women's hockey team returns to action in 2026 with a Hockey East matchup against No. 6/7 Connecticut. The Friars will host the Huskies on Friday, January 2 at 2:00 p.m. at Schneider Arena before traveling to Storrs, Conn. on Saturday, January 3 for a game at Toscano Family Ice Forum. Puck drop is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.
Scouting the Friars
Providence enters the second half of the season with a 7-10-2 overall record and 4-4-2 in Hockey East play. The Friars sit seventh in the Hockey East standings with 13 points. Northeastern leads the conference with 34 points after 12 games. Providence finished the first half of the season on a three-game win streak with a 3-2 overtime victory in the Mayor's Cup against No. 11/11 Brown and a sweep of Merrimack in conference play. The Friars started the final week of 2025 with their third consecutive overtime game, where junior
Audrey Knapp (Stevens Point, Wis.) scored her second straight overtime winner. Providence followed with a 3-2 win over the Warriors behind sophomore
Jessie Pellerin's (Bowmanville, Ontario) two goals, her first career multi-goal game.
Pellerin In The Dots
After moving to center this season, sophomore
Jessie Pellerin (Bowmanville, Ontario) has won 180 faceoffs for a team-high 57.3 percent. Her faceoff wins rank fifth in Hockey East and 33rd nationally.
Walinski Making Saves
Graduate student goaltender
Hope Walinski has started all 19 games for the Friars this season. She has posted a 2.86 goals against average, a .909 save percentage and 529 saves. Her 529 saves rank third in Hockey East this season and sixth in the country.
Kirchmair-Knapp Duo
The duo of former Hockey East First Team All-Stars in senior
Reichen Kirchmair (Oakville, Ontario) and junior
Audrey Knapp (Stevens Point, Wis.) lead the Friars in points this season. Kirchmair has 17 points in 19 games (nine goals and eight assists) while Knapp has 16 points on six goals and 10 assists. Knapp is the first Friar to reach double digit assists this season. The duo, who have been on the top line together since the second weekend of the season, rank sixth and ninth, respectively, in overall Hockey East scoring. Both players have two game-winning goals this season. Kirchmair's 0.47 goals per game ranks third in the conference. The senior is eight points away from reaching 100 career points, aiming to become one of 29 players in program history to reach the mark.
Ranked Start
The Friars opened the season playing seven of their first eight games against ranked opponents. Providence is 3-5-0 this season against ranked foes. Last year, the Friars went 7-5-0, their most ranked wins in a season under Head Coach
Matt Kelly and the most since 2009-10. Including the 2025-26 season, Kelly holds a 24-45-6 record against ranked opponents at Providence. The Friars will play No. 6/7 UConn this weekend.
Overtimes
Providence headed to overtime for the sixth time this season on Friday, Dec. 5 in a 3-2 win over Merrimack College. Prior to the final game of 2025, the Friars' previous three games went to overtime. Providence holds a 4-0-2 record in overtime this season after going 4-1-3 in extra time last year. Under Head Coach
Matt Kelly, the Friars are 18-10-22 all-time in overtime. Their six overtime games this season are tied with Maine for the most in Hockey East.
Power Play Opportunities
Through the first half of the season, the Friars have had only 47 power play opportunities, tied for 37th most among 45 collegiate teams. Providence has scored eight goals in those 47 opportunities for a 17 percent success rate, which ranks 24th nationally. The Friars have had six games this season with just one power play chance and one game with none.
Kirchmair Reaches 50 Career Goals
In the Friars' game against Boston University on Saturday, Nov. 22, senior
Reichen Kirchmair (Oakville, Ontario) scored her 50th career goal. The last Friar to reach 50 career goals was Sara Hjalmarsson (2018-23), who finished with 62 and sits 20th all-time in program history. Cammi Granato (1989-93) tops the career goals list with 139.
Reichen Kirchmair Named Hockey East Player Of The Week
Senior
Reichen Kirchmair (Oakville, Ontario) was named Hockey East Player of the Week on Monday, Oct. 27, marking her first weekly honor of the season. Kirchmair led the Friars with four goals in Friday's 7-6 overtime victory over No. 13/13 St. Thomas. She recorded a second-period hat trick in just 4:41 before netting the game-winner in overtime. The four-goal outing marked Kirchmair's second career hat trick, seventh three-point game, and second four-point game. It was also her 22nd career multi-point effort and 12th game-winning goal. Kirchmair is the first Friar to score four goals in a game since Sara Hjalmarsson did so against Maine on Nov. 19, 2022, and the first to record multiple hat tricks since Hjalmarsson, who tallied three in her career.
Returning for the Friars
Providence returns senior forward
Reichen Kirchmair (Oakville, Ontario), the 2024-25 Cammi Granato Award winner as Hockey East Player of the Year and the league's scoring champion. She became the first Friar to earn Player of the Year honors since 2004-05 and the first to claim the scoring title since 2002-03. Kirchmair was the only unanimous selection to the Hockey East First Team after leading the league with 15 goals and 15 assists in conference play. The senior paced all league players with 19 goals and 18 assists for 37 points in 34 games.
Junior forward
Audrey Knapp (Stevens Point, Wis.) also returns for the Friars after being named a Hockey East First Team All-Star last season. Knapp tied for the conference lead in goals with 15, alongside Kirchmair, making them the only Friars to achieve the feat in the Hockey East era with Sara Hjalmarsson in 2022-23. The junior finished the season with 19 goals and 16 assists for 35 points.
In net, graduate student
Hope Walinski (Lincoln, R.I.) returns for Providence. Walinski started 33 games for the Friars, posting a 1.87 goals against average, a .922 save percentage, four shutouts and a 19-11-3 record. Walinski was awarded as a Hockey East Third Team All-Star and named to the "Watch List" for the National Goalie of the Year Award last season.
Largest Freshman Class Since 2008-09
Providence welcomes nine freshmen to the 2025-26 roster, the most in a single class since 2008-09.
Audrey Knapp Invited to USA Hockey Women's National Festival
Junior
Audrey Knapp (Stevens Point, Wis.) was invited to the 2025 USA Hockey Women's National Festival on Aug. 3-9 at the Olympic Center in Lake Placid, N.Y. The group is made up of 76 college and professional players, along with 46 players under the age of 18. The Festival assisted in the evaluation process for the 2026 U.S. Olympic Women's Ice Hockey Team.
Former Friars Selected in 2025 PWHL Draft
Former Friars Sara Hjalmarsson (Bankeryd, Sweden) '22, '23G and
Brooke Becker (Orchard Park, N.Y.) '24, '25G were selected in the 2025 PWHL Draft. Hjalmarsson was chosen in the fifth round (35th overall) by the Toronto Sceptres, while Becker was taken in the sixth round (46th overall) by the Minnesota Frost. The duo becomes the third and fourth Friars in program history to be selected in the PWHL Draft, joining Sandra Abstreiter '22, '23G (2023) and Noemi Neubauerová '23G (2024).
Last Season's Second Half Climb
The Friars opened the second half of the 2024-25 season with an 8-1-0 record in January, their most wins in the month since 1998-99. Providence started the second half of the season in eighth place with 11 points through 11 games. From January through the end of the regular season, Providence earned points in 17 of its final 20 conference games, posting a 13-3-0 record in the second half, the best mark in Hockey East after the new year.
Hats Flying
Providence recorded four hat tricks in 2024-25, its most in a single season since 2004-05. Three of those came from current returners:
Reichen Kirchmair,
Audrey Knapp and
Kiara Kraft.
Hockey East Preseason Poll
The Friars were picked to finish fifth in the Hockey East Preseason Poll, which was released on Monday, Sept. 16. Providence received 61 points and were picked to finish behind UConn (86), Boston University (82), Northeastern University (76) and Boston College (64). The Huskies and Terriers each received five first place votes.
Fresh Friar Faces
Providence welcomes 10 new players (one transfer and nine freshmen) to the roster for the 2025-26 season.
Taylor Porthan (Edina, Minn.) is a sophomore from UConn. The nine freshmen are
Molly Farace (Otonabee, Ontario),
Sophie Harold (Cobourg, Ontario),
Mallory Hartl (Askov, Minn.),
Izzy King (Bedford, Mass.),
Taylor Leemrijse (Toronto, Ontario),
Lauren Mack (Excelsior, Minn.),
Brenna O'Reilly (Burlington, Mass.),
Bella Paolucci (Groose Pointe Woods, Mich.) and
Sami Snyder (Waterloo, Ontario).
Friars Under Head Coach Matt Kelly
Including the 2025-26 campaign,
Matt Kelly has posted an overall record of 132-97-27 (.568) and 100-68-21 (.585) in Hockey East play. Last season's 20 wins marked the third time during Kelly's tenure the Friars have reached the 20-win mark. In his inaugural season, the 2018-19 Friars tied the school-record with 24 wins.
In 2020-21, Kelly led the Friars to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2005, marking the program's second appearance in school history. The Friars have reached the Hockey East Championship twice under Kelly, in 2020-21 and 2022-23.
Kelly Reaches 100 Hockey East Wins
Providence Head Coach
Matt Kelly won his 100th Hockey East game in the 3-2 victory over Merrimack College on Dec. 6. With the win, Kelly become the second coach in program history to reach 100 Hockey East wins since the league's inception in 2002-03, joining Bob Deraney. He currently ranks third all-time in program history with 132 overall wins, trailing Deraney (319) and John Marchetti (264).
Through 40
In the Kelly era, the Friars are 89-8-6 when taking the lead into the third period. They are 28-20-14 when tied after two periods and 15-69-7 when trailing.
Three is the Number
Under Kelly, Providence is 100-7-3 all-time when scoring three or more goals. The Friars are 6-0-0 this season when scoring three goals. Last season, Providence went 18-1-0 when scoring three or more, including a perfect 10-0-0 mark when scoring four and 5-0-0 when scoring five.
Scouting the Huskies
No. 6/7 UConn enters the second half of the season with a 13-3-2 overall record and a 6-1-1 mark in Hockey East play. The Huskies sit tied for fourth in the Hockey East standings and have played four fewer games than the top three teams. UConn closed 2025 with a 1-1 tie and a 3-2 victory over Boston University. In the 3-2 win, the Huskies scored with 7.3 seconds left in regulation to secure all three points. UConn leads Hockey East in team faceoff win percentage at 55.7 percent, seventh best in the country. The Huskies' penalty kill ranks fourth in the conference and ninth nationally at 87.8 percent. UConn's 1.70 goals-against average is second best in Hockey East and fifth in the country.
Who to Watch for UConn
Senior forward Kyla Josifovic leads UConn with 17 points in 18 games (eight goals, nine assists). Her 0.94 points per game ranks fifth in the conference and her 0.44 goals per game ranks sixth. On defense, junior Maya Serdachny leads the blueline with 12 points in 18 games (three goals, nine assists) and 37 blocked shots. She has been named Hockey East Defender of the Week twice this season. Boston College transfer Julia Pellerin leads the Huskies with four game-winning goals.
In goal, graduate student Tia Chan has appeared in 17 games for UConn. She enters the weekend with a 1.64 goals-against average, .949 save percentage, two shutouts and a 12-3-2 record. Her save percentage ranks first in the country and her two shutouts are second most in the conference and 11th in the nation. Chan has been named Hockey East Player of the Week once this season and Goaltender of the Week three times.
All-Time Series with the Huskies
The Friars lead the all-time series, 42-27-12. The first meeting came during the 1976-77 season when UConn was not yet a varsity program. The first official game was played on Jan. 26, 2002. Providence won last season's series, sweeping a home-and-home in February after dropping a 3-2 matchup at Schneider Arena in Oct. 2024. Prior to the wins in February, the Friars were winless in eight straight games against the Huskies.
-GO FRIARS!-