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, November 22
North Andover, Mass.
6:00 P.M.
Providence College
at
Merrimack
Women's Hockey Game Notes vs. Merrimack
11/21/2019 1:29:00 PM | Women's Ice Hockey
Puck Drop
The Friars will continue conference play in a home-and-home series against Merrimack. The Warriors will entertain the Friars in game one on Friday, Nov. 22 at 6:00 p.m. while Providence hosts the finale on Saturday, Nov. 23 at 2:00 p.m.
Weekend Split
Providence is coming off a 1-1 weekend after falling to Maine (Nov. 15) on the road, 5-4, before defeating Vermont at home on Sunday, Nov. 17, 3-2.
The Friars took a 4-3 lead on Kathleen McHugh's (Billerica, Mass.) first goal of the season at Maine, 2:18 into the third period. The Black Bears scored in the final minute to and prevailed with one minute left in overtime. Whitney Dove (Port Moody, British Columbia) and Meaghan Rickard (Coventry, R.I.) led the team with one goal and one assist apiece.
Sara Hjalmarsson (Bankeryd, Sweden) sealed Providence's 3-2 win over Vermont with her fifth goal of the season. Hjalmarsson's game-winner came with 15.1 seconds remaining in the third period after firing a wrister off the right pipe and in.
Scouting the Friars
The Friars are currently 5-6-2 overall and 3-4-0 in Hockey East play. Providence earned a 1-0 shutout victory over No. 3 Northeastern to open league action (Oct. 25). Hayley Lunny (Bedford, N.Y.) scored the game's lone goal 3:18 into the second period and Clare Minnerath (Sartell, Minn.) posted a career-high 33 saves to fuel the win. It marked her first shutout of the season and second of her career.
Maureen Murphy (Buffalo, N.Y.) and Dove lead the Friars in points with eleven each. Murphy has a team-high seven goals with four assists compared to Dove's two goals and team-high nine assists. Hjalmarsson and Bailey Burton (Bloomington, Minn.) have six points apiece, each tallying three goals and three assists.
Minnerath and Abstreiter have both seen time in net for the Friars, with Abstreiter getting her first action against Holy Cross (Nov. 1). Minnerath has ten starts, a 2.61 goals against average and a .895 save percentage. Abstreiter posted her first shutout of the season against the Crusaders with 26 saves. She has four appearances on the season with a 1.98 goals against average and .922 save percentage.
Spreading The Wealth
Fourteen Friars have tallied a point this season with eleven players recording a goal. Two players have reached double digits in Murphy and Dove (11).
Murphy's Point Streak
Maureen Murphy's nine-game point streak came to an end against No. 10 Boston University on Nov. 9. Murphy tallied a point in nine straight games following the season opener. The nine-game point streak ties a career-high as she accomplished the same feat last season from October 28, 2018 to November 30, 2018.
Minnerath Earns Defensive Player of the Week Honors
Minnerath was named Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 28. It marked her first league honor as a Friar. The senior netminder made a career-high 33 saves en route to her first shutout of the season against No. 3 Northeastern (Oct. 25). She posted a 1-1-0 record last week and made a total of 53 saves in two starts.
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 seven 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.
The Eagles rank seventh nationally in scoring offense (4.25 goals per game) and sixth in scoring defense (1.25 goals against per game).
Scouting Merrimack
Merrimack is 3-9-2 overall and 1-7-2 in Hockey East play. The Warriors are coming off back-to-back losses against the Holy Cross Crusaders in a home-and-home series on Nov. 15 (2-1) and Nov. 16 (4-3).
As a team, Merrimack averages 2.21 goals per game while giving up 3.43. The Warriors convert on 23.7% of power play chances and kill off 78.4% of penalties.
Who to Watch
Senior Mikyla Grant-Mentis has lead the Merrimack attack, registering 12 goals and seven assists for a team-high 19 points. She ranks tied for third nationally with her ten goals. Keisha Dicaire has tallied one goal and 10 assists while Dominika Laskova has posted eight points on one goal and seven assists.
Lea-kristine Demers has handled most of the work between the pipes, starting 11 of the Warriors' 14 games. She has posted a .894 save percentage and 3.24 goals against average. Emma Gorski has seen action in three games, starting all three. She has tallied 70 saves for a 897 save percentage and 3.40 goals against average. Gorski posts a 1-1-0 record compared to Demers' 2-8-2 record.
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