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, October 19
University Park, Pa.
2:00 P.M.
Providence College
at
Penn State University
Photo by: Stew Milne
Women's Hockey Travels to Penn State
10/17/2018 1:16:00 PM | Women's Ice Hockey
Puck Drop
The Friars hit the road for the first time this season, traveling to Penn State for a two-game series. Games are set for Friday, Oct. 19 at 2:00 p.m. and Saturday, Oct. 20 at 12:00 p.m. Both games will be played at Pegula Ice Arena.
Scouting the Friars
The Friars are off to a 3-0-0 start for the second-consecutive season. Providence swept Bemidji State to start the season and picked up its first Hockey East win over Holy Cross (Oct. 12).Â
Maureen Murphy (Buffalo, N.Y.) leads the charge for the Friars with six points (three goals, three assists). She picked up two of those assists in the 5-0 win over Holy Cross. Sara Hjalmarsson (Bankeryd, Sweden), who was just tabbed Hockey East Rookie of the Week, notched a hat trick against the Crusaders. She is second on the team in points (five) and first in goals (four). Senior Cassidy MacPherson (Oakville, Ontario) scored her second goal of the season against Holy Cross. She now has three total points. Freshman Ciara Barone (North Tonawanda, N.Y.) was the fifth goal scorer in the shutout win.
Just three games in, Providence already has 14 different players in the line-up with at least a point. 13 different players have posted an assist, while seven players have found the back of the net.Â
Senior Madison Myers (Colchester, Vt.) has made two starts in net. She holds a .975 save percentage and a 0.50 goals against average. The netminder has made 39 total saves and has one shutout.
Career Nights
Six different Friars broke career highs in the Oct. 12 game against Holy Cross. Sophomore Giana Savastano (Mapleville, R.I.) picked up her first-career point on an assist. Classmate Maureen Murphy tied her career-high in assists with two helpers. Similarly, sophomore defenseman Ariane Julien (Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec) had her first two-point game. She posted two assists for the first time in her career. It was also a big night for the rookies, as Hjalmarsson recorded her first hat trick and three-point game. Barone notched her first goal, assist, and two-point outing in her first-career appearance. Lastly, Caroline Peterson (East Falmouth, Mass.) tallied her first point on an assist.
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).
Friars in the National Polls
The Friars received two votes in the most recent USA Hockey poll (Oct. 16). Providence has earned votes in all four USA Hockey polls and three of the four USCHO polls to start the season.
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.
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.
Exhibition vs. Concordia
The Friars defeated Concordia, 6-1, in an exhibition game on Sept. 28. Five different players scored in the win, including MacPherson, who notched two goals. Murphy led the team in points with three. She had one goal and two assists. Hjalmarsson posted two assists in her first-career action. Friesen and Meaghan Rickard (Coventry, R.I.) were the other multi-point scorers. They each had a goal and an assist. All three goaltenders played for the Friars. Myers made five saves before Clare Minnerath (Sartell, Minn.) came in and made two saves in the second period. Sandra Abstreiter (Freising, Germany) played the third period, but did not record a save. Providence was 2-5 on the power play and 4-4 on the penalty kill.Â
Fresh Friar Faces
Providence welcomes four new players to the roster for 2018-19. Annelise Rice (Excelsior, Minn.) joins the program as a sophomore transfer. She played 25 games at North Dakota (2016-17) and registered two points on one goal and one assist. Freshmen Ciara Barone (North Tonawanda, N.Y.), Sara Hjalmarsson (Bakeryd, Sweden) and Caroline Peterson (East Falmouth, Mass.) round out the new additions. Barone attended the Nichols School, while Peterson attended Saint Mark's School. Hjalmarsson went to school and played in Sweden, most notably for the national team in the 2018 Olympic Games in PeyongChang.
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.
2017-18 Award Winners
Maureen Murphy headlined the Friars' Hockey East awards last season. At the conclusion of the season, she was selected to the league's All-Rookie team and was also a Second Team All-Star. Additionally, she was tabbed a New England Hockey Writers All-Star, making her the first to earn the honor since Genevieve Lacasse in 2011-12. During the season, she earned Hockey East Rookie of the Week honors three times. She was also the Rookie of the Month in December.
Kate Friesen was recognized as a Hockey East All-Star Honorable Mention at the end of the season, despite missing 11 games due to injury.
During the season, several other Friars were recognized by the league. Madison Myers was named Defensive Player of the Week twice and Goaltender of the Month in October. Whitney Dove was also named Defensive Player of the Week once.
Scouting the Nittany Lions
The Nittany Lions enter the game at 3-2-1. Penn State opened the season with a split at Colgate before a 0-1-1 weekend against Merrimack. Most recently, the Nittany Lions swept Union College on the road, earning 3-1 (Oct. 12) and 3-2 (Oct. 13) wins. Penn State has not played a CHA game thus far. The team averages 2.17 goals per game is 2/19 on the power play and 15/18 on the penalty kill.
Who to Watch
Sophomore Natalie Heising leads the team offensively. She has seven points on three goals and four assists. Senior Kelsey Crow leads the team in assists (five) and is second in points (five). The other Nittany Lions to record multiple goals are juniors Abby Welch, Katie McMillan and Brooke Madsen.
Junior Jenna Brenneman has played all six games in net. She holds a 1.66 goals against average, a .922 save percentage and a 3-2-1 record.
All-Time Series with the Nittany Lions
This meeting between the Friars and Nittany Lions marks the first in program history. Penn State's inaugural season was 2012-13.
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