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
Saturday, November 30
Providence, R.I.
12:00 P.M.
Providence College
vs
Brown
Women's Hockey Hosts Brown In 25th Mayor's Cup
11/29/2019 4:04:00 PM | Women's Ice Hockey
Puck Drop
The Friars will play the Brown Bears in the 25th annual Mayor's Cup on Saturday, Nov. 30 at 12:00 p.m.
Weekend Sweep
Providence is coming off a home-and-home series sweep against Merrimack College after defeating the Warriors on the road on Friday, Nov. 22 (2-1) before prevailing in overtime back in Schneider Arena, 3-2, on Saturday, Nov. 23.
All three goals came in the final nine minutes in Providence's 2-1 victory. Bailey Burton (Bloomington, Minn.) scored her fourth goal of the season to take a 1-0 lead before Merrimack found the equalizer with a little over five minutes remaining. Whitney Dove (Port Moody, British Columbia) scored the game-winner at the 17:36 mark in the third period for her sixth career game-winning goal.
Providence used some late game heroics in game two, after falling behind 2-0 the Friars scored two goals in the final six minutes to force overtime. Neve Van Pelt (Mitchell, Ontario) brought the Friars within one before Hayley Lunny (Bedford, N.Y.) scored the equalizer with 52 seconds remaining. Meaghan Rickard netted her seventh game-winning goal of her career 2:59 into the overtime period.
Scouting the Friars
The Friars are currently 7-6-2 overall and 5-4-0 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.
Whitney Dove leads the Friars in points with twelve. Dove has a team-high nine assists while adding three goals. Maureen Murphy (Buffalo, N.Y.) trails Dove with eleven points on seven goals and four assists. Hjalmarsson and Bailey Burton (Bloomington, Minn.) have nine points apiece.
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 twelve starts, a 2.41 goals against average and a .897 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 Dove (12) and Murphy (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 Brown
Brown is 1-9-0 overall and 1-5-0 in ECAC play. The Bears are have lost four-straight games after picking up their only win of the season on Nov. 8 with a 2-1 victory over Rensselaer.
As a team, Brown averages 1.30 goals per game while giving up 4.50. The Bears convert on 6.9% of power play chances and kill off 62.2% of penalties.
Who to Watch
Sophomore Shay Maloney has scored a team-high four of Brown's 13 total goals on the season. She totals six points, adding two assists to her line. Eleven separate players have tallied a point on the team with seven different goal scorers.
Calla Isaac, Hayley Kliczko and Lauren Rippy have shared time between the pipes. Isaac has a team-high eight appearances while posting a 4.49 goals against average and .903 save percentage. She earned Brown's sole win this season with 31 saves in the matchup against RPI.
-GO FRIARS-
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