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, December 7
Providence, R.I.
6:00 P.M.
Providence College
vs
Holy Cross
Photo by: DSPics.com
No. 8 Women's Hockey Hosts Holy Cross to Close Out 2018
12/6/2018 11:46:00 AM | Women's Ice Hockey
Puck drop is at 6:00 p.m. on Dec. 7.
Puck Drop
The Friars conclude the 2018 portion of the schedule with a final game against Holy Cross. Puck drop is set for 6:00 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 7 at Schneider Arena.
Scouting the Friars
The Friars are off to an 14-3-0 start to the season and have a 8-2-0 record in Hockey East. It is the team's best start since the 1991-92 season. Last weekend, Providence split a series with UConn. The Friars prevailed 4-1 on the road on Friday night, before falling 2-1 at home on Saturday. Maureen Murphy (Buffalo, N.Y.) and Cassidy MacPherson (Oakville, Ontario) each scored two goals in Friday's win. Meaghan Rickard (Coventry, R.I.) was the lone goal scorer on Saturday. Madison Myers (Colchester, Vt.)Â made 29 saves on Friday and 26 on Saturday for a weekend total of 55 stops.
On Tuesday, the Friars captured their fourth-straight Mayor's Cup with an 8-0 victory at Brown. 16 different players recorded points in the win. Murphy, MacPherson, Annelise Rice (Excelsior, Minn.) and Hayley Lunny (Bedford, N.Y.) were the Friars with two points. Myers made 12 saves before Clare Minnerath (Sartell, Minn.) took over for the final 8:24 and made three stops.
Murphy leads the charge for the Friars with 28 points (15 goals, 13 assists). Christina Putigna (Grimsby, Ontario) is second. She's tallied seven goals, eight assists and 15 points. MacPherson and Sara Hjalmarsson (Bankeryd, Sweden) are third on the team in points (13). MacPherson has seven goals and six assists while Hjalmarsson has the opposite. Avery Fransoo (North Battleford, Saskatchewan) is second on the team in assists, as she has nine this season.
Myers has made 15 starts in net. She holds a .949 save percentage (ranked fourth in the nation) and a 1.15 goals against average (ranked third in the nation). The netminder has made 319 total saves and has three shutouts.
National Polls
The Friars are in the Top 10 nationally for the fourth-consecutive week. Providence was selected eighth in both the USCHO (Dec. 3) and USA Hockey (Dec. 4) weekly polls. The Friars were eighth in both last week, as well.
Last Time Vs. Holy Cross
Providence skated to a 5-0 shutout victory against Holy Cross earlier this season (Oct. 12). Sara Hjalmarsson scored a hat trick in the win. Cassidy MacPherson and Ciara Barone added the other tallies. Madison Myers made 12 total saves, while Jada Brenon made 49 stops for the Crusaders.
Hot at Home
Providence is 6-1-0 at home. Last weekend's loss to UConn marked the Friars' first defeat at Schneider all season.
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 is 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.
Multi-Point Murphy
Maureen Murphy has recorded at least two points in 10 of 17 games so far for Providence. She's only been held off the score sheet in two of 17 games this season. She's currently fifth in the nation in points per game (1.65) and fourth in goals per game (0.83). She is also first in the nation in game-winning goals (seven) and short-handed goals (three).
Where the Friars Rank
Providence ranks fourth in the nation in scoring defense (1.47), fourth in the nation in penalty kill (91.1%), eighth in the nation in power play percentage (21.6%) and tied for fourth in team winning percentage (.824).
Brick Wall Myers
Myers has been excellent for the Friars in net so far this season. In 15 games played, she's 13-2-0 and has three shutouts. She's in the top five nationally for goals against average, save percentage and shutouts. Nov. 23 against Yale marked her 100th career game. She ranks third all-time at Providence in goaltender games played.
Myers has allowed one goal or less in 10 of 15 games played this season.
Putigna Point Watch
Putinga currently has 95 career points. The senior forward has scored 38 goals and tallied 57 assists during her four seasons. With five more points, Putigna would become the 27th Friar to reach the 100-point mark.
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.
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.
Most recently, she was invited to participate in USA Hockey's Winter Training Camp. She is one of 44 players that will participate 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).
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 1-15-2 and 1-11-0 in Hockey East play. The Crusaders picked up a huge 5-3 win over then-No. 5 Northeastern last weekend (Nov. 30). The win marked the program's first-ever in Hockey East. As a team, Holy Cross scores 1.00 goals per game and allows 4.33. The team converts on 5.9% of power plays and kills 68.4% of penalties.
Who to Watch
Freshman Carlie Magier leads the team offensively with six points on five goals and an assist. Amanda Kewer, Rachel Moore and Julie Matthias each have five points. Matthias was recently named Hockey East Co-Player of the Week, as she picked up four assists in the historic win over the Huskies. Jada Brenon and Julia Pelletier have each played 10 games in net for the Crusaders. Brenon holds a .894 save percentage and a 4.03 goals against average, while Pelletier has a .885 save percentage and 4.62 goals against average.
All-Time Series with the Crusaders
Providence and Holy Cross have only met one time, which came earlier this year. The Friars lead the series 1-0-0.
- GO FRIARS! -
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