Beavers spend first road trip of 2018-19 at Providence
The Bemidji State University women’s hockey team spends its first road weekend of the 2018-19 season at Providence College and will play a two-game, non-conference series with the Friars (0-0-0, 0-0-0-0 Hockey East) Oct. 5-6. The Beavers (0-2-0, 0-0-0-0 WCHA) travel to face the Friars after dropping both games against No. 1 Clarkson University in their season-opening series.
The Series
The Beavers and Friars will meet for just the fifth and sixth times in the two programs’ histories and first during the Jim Scanlan era. Bemidji State owns the series record at 2-1-1 with the two teams last met in Providence, R.I. where the Friars defeated the Beavers, 5-1, Oct. 6, 2012.
A Look At The Friars
Providence opens its 2018-19 campaign against the Beavers but hosted an exhibition with Concordia University Sept. 28 where the Friars defeated Concordia 6-1 in the game. The Friars finished 2017-18 with a 17-13-7 overall record and a 12-7-5 mark in Hockey East. The second-place regular season finish was the team’s best since 2009-10. Providence’s season came to a close in a quarterfinal series against UConn, where the Friars fell in three games.
Providence returns top scorer, Maureen Murphy, as well as offensive threats Christina Putigna and Cassidy MacPherson. Murphy had 19 goals and nine assists for 28 points in her rookie campaign. She had four short-handed goals, which was good for first in the nation. Putigna only played in 29 games due to injury but was still able to rack up 24 points on 11 goals and 13 assists. MacPherson led the Friars in assists with 17 and finished the year with 22 points as she chipped in five goals.
The Friars return all seven defensemen from last season, including senior Kate Friesen. She had 13 points in just 25 games played, including nine assists. Avery Fransoo led the defense in scoring with 15 points on three goals and 12 assists. In net, Madison Myers returns for her senior season. She finished 2017-18 with 885 saves, which is third-most in a single season at Providence. She ranks fourth all-time in saves, with 2,158. Last season, she posted a 1.98 goals against average and a .927 save percentage with four shutouts.