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 25
Providence, R.I.
6:00 P.M.
Providence College
vs
Northeastern
Photo by: Stew Milne
Women's Hockey Opens Hockey East Play Against No. 3 Northeastern And New Hampshire
10/24/2019 3:12:00 PM | Women's Ice Hockey
Puck Drop
The Friars will open Hockey East play with two home contests against No. 3 Northeastern and the University of New Hampshire Wildcats. Friday's tilt with the Huskies is set for 6:00 p.m. and Saturday's game against UNH is at 2:00 p.m.
Scouting the Friars
The Friars are currently 2-2-2 overall. Providence fell to Penn State, 4-2, on Friday (Oct. 18) and tied the Nittany Lions, 2-2, on Saturday (Oct. 19). Maureen Murphy (Buffalo, N.Y.) and Sara Hjalmarsson (Bankeryd, Sweden) scored in Friday's loss. Hayley Lunny (Bedford, N.Y.) assisted both goals. On Saturday, Chloe Gonsalves (Toronto, Ontario) notched her first goal of the season. Murphy scored the game-tying goal with just 1:08 remaining in the third period. Clare Minnerath (Sartell, Minn.) made 37 total saves over the weekend.
Murphy leads the Friars in points (six) and goals (four). Hjalmarsson has five points on three goals and two assists. Whitney Dove (Port Moody, British Columbia) leads the Friars in assists, with five. Nine different Friars have registered goals through six games.
Minnerath is the only goaltender who has seen action in net. She holds a 1.96 goals against average and a .916 save percentage through six games.
Strong on the Power Play
Providence ranks 10th nationally in power play percentage, converting on 22.2% of chances. The Friars have scored four goals on 18 opportunities so far this season. Hjalmarsson leads the way on the power play, as she's notched two goals during man advantages.
Burton Earns Rookie of the Week Honors
Burton scored a goal in each of her first two collegiate games, including the game winner against Quinnipiac (Oct. 5). For her efforts, she was named Hockey East Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Week on Oct. 7. Burton's two goals came on just two total shots over the weekend.
Hockey East Preseason Poll
The Friars were picked to finish fourth in the Hockey East Preseason poll, which was released on Thursday, Sept. 26. Providence received 56 points and was picked to finish behind Northeastern (81), Boston University (71) and Boston College (65).
Rounding out the poll were New Hampshire (42), UConn (41), Merrimack (30), Maine (29), Vermont (25), and Holy Cross (nine).
Meet the Staff
Matt Kelly joined the Friars in 2018-19 for his inaugural season at the helm. He led the team to a 24-11-2 record, helping the Friars to tie the program-high for wins in a season. Kelly led Providence to the Hockey East Semifinals for the first time since 2013 and coached three Friars to Hockey East honors at the conclusion of the season.
Prior to Providence, Kelly 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. During his time with USA Hockey, Kelly won a total of eleven gold medals. He recently captured a gold medal with the Women's National Team at the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang. Additionally, he helped the U18 team win four-consecutive gold medals (2015-2018). This marked the first time any U18 team won four World Championships in a row.
Kelly hired Jake Anderson, Ali Domenico and Doug Ferry to round out his staff. Anderson focused mainly on the Friars' defensive unit during his first season. Providence gave up just 1.89 goals per game in 2018-19, which ranked seventh nationally. The Friars' penalty kill also ranked seventh, killing off 87.4 percent of opponents' opportunities. Domenico guided the Friars' offensive unit in her first season. Providence finished 13th nationally in goals per game, averaging 2.81 per game. The power play unit also finished 13th nationally, converting at on 19.1 percent of chances.
Fresh Friar Faces
Providence welcomes eight new players to the roster for the 2019-20 season. Isabelle Hardy (Oakville, Ontario) comes from Canada as the remaining six enter Providence from the United States; Lauren DeBlois (Lewiston, Maine), Bailey Burton (Bloomington, Minn.), Delaney Couture (Shrewsbury, Mass.), Sonja Bjornson (Philadelphia, Pa.), Jamie Comeau (Wakefield, R.I.) and Katrina Broccoli (North Haven, Conn.).
Hjalmarsson with Team Sweden
During the off-season, Sara Hjalmarsson had several chances to compete for Team Sweden. She was named to Sweden's National Team roster for the 2019 IIHF Ice Hockey Women's World Championship. She played four games for Team Sweden without tallying a point.
2018-19 Award Winners
The team had four players pick up Hockey East post-season honors. Murphy earned Second Team All-Star status for the second-consecutive season. Myers and Fransoo were named All-Star Honorable Mentions, marking each of their first-career league honors. Additionally, Sara Hjalmarsson was named to the All-Rookie Team.
Five different Friars earned Hockey East Weekly honors over the course of the season. Myers was named Defensive Player of the Week twice (Nov. 12, Mar. 4). Christina Putigna (Nov. 5), Maureen Murphy (Nov. 19) and Hayley Lunny (Nov. 26) each earned Player of the Week honors. Sara Hjalmarsson was named Rookie of the Week on Oct. 16.
Murphy and Myers were also recognized with monthly awards from the league. Myers was Hockey East Goaltender of the Month in November and February. Murphy was Hockey East Player of the Month in November.
Scouting the Huskies
Northeastern is currently ranked No. 3 in both polls. The Huskies are 5-0 overall and 2-0 in league play. Northeastern is third in the nation in scoring margin (3.40), seventh in the nation on the power play (25.0%) and second nationally in penalty kill (95.8%). Northeastern is one of four teams in women's hockey that is still undefeated.
Who to Watch
Sophomore Alina Mueller leads Northeastern in assists (11) and points (15). She ranks second nationally in points per game (3.00) and is first in assists per game (2.20). Chloe Aurard leads the Huskies in goals (five) and has nine total points. 13 different Huskies have multiple points through five games.
Junior Aerin Frankel has started all five games in net. She holds a 1.23 goals against average and a .947 save percentage with one shutout on the year.
Scouting the Wildcats
UNH enters the weekend 3-2-2 overall and 2-1-1 in Hockey East. The Wildcats average 3.1 goals per game and 2.6 goals against per game. As a team, UNH posts 33.9 shots per game, converts on 18.4% of power play chances and kills 87.5% of power play chances for opponents.
Who to Watch
Senior Carlee Turner leads UNH in points, with eight. She has three goals and five assists. Meghara McManus leads the team in goals (four) and has seven total points. Freshman Tamara Thierus leads the Wildcats in assists, as she has six.
Redshirt sophomore Ava Boutilier has started all seven games in net. She holds a 2.53 goals against average and a .914 save percentage.
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/ Women's Ice HockeyWomen's Ice Hockey vs. Northeastern
Saturday, February 16
Women's Ice Hockey vs. UConn
Saturday, February 02
Women's Ice Hockey vs. Boston College
Saturday, January 26
Women's Ice Hockey vs. New Hampshire
Saturday, January 19
