NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The Merrimack College women's ice hockey team will play a home-and-home series with No. 10/10 Providence College in Hockey East action, beginning at Lawler Rink on Friday night at 7 p.m. Saturday's puck drop is also scheduled for 7 p.m. from Schneider Arena.
Last Time Out:
- The Warriors went 0-1-1 against Northeastern this past weekend, falling 2-0 in Friday's opener, before rallying in Saturday's game to force a 1-1 tie. Junior goalie Samantha Ridgewell (Outlook, Saskatchewan) made 29 saves in the first contest.
- In Saturday's game, the Huskies took a 1-0 lead heading into the final period of play. Merrimack was able to find the equalizer at the 5:29 mark of the third period on a goal by sophomore Mikyla Grant-Mentis (Brampton, Ontario). Initially the goal was disallowed, but upon further review, the call on the ice was reversed and the tally stood for the tying goal. Juniors Katelyn Rae (Courtice, Ontario) and Paige Voight (St. Michael's, Minn.) picked up assists on the play. Sophomore net-minder Lea-Kristine Demers (Repentigny, Quebec) had 33 saves in the period, including six in the overtime period.
- Rae leads the team with eight points on five goals and three assists, while Voight has a team-high five assists, along with a goal.
- In league play, Merrimack has allowed a league best just 1.86 goals per game, while the Warriors have killed off 79.2% of the penalties, good for fifth in conference action.
Inside the Series/Last Season vs. Providence
- Providence has a 5-0-1 record against Merrimack in the all-time series. The Warriors skated to a 2-2 tie back on Feb. 14, 2016.
- Last season the Friars swept the season series, however two of the contests were one-goal games. The final game last season was decided in overtime. Overall, three of the six matchups have been decided by one goal.
- Rae, Voight, and juniors Annie Boeckers (Ostego, Minn.), Jessica Bonfe (Woodbury, Minn.) and Paige Sorensen (Plymouth, Minn.) each had two points last season against Providence. Grant-Mentis, junior Jessica Kuhlman (Severna Park, Md.) and sophomore Chloe Cook (Summerland, British Columbia) all registered a point against the Friar's during the 2016-17 season. Demers made 38 saves on Feb. 12, 2017 and 25 on Dec. 9, 2016, while Ridgewell made 31 saves in her lone start against Providence on Oct. 29, 2016.
The Friars:
- The Friars enter this weekend with a 6-3-3 overall record, and are 3-1-1 in Hockey East play. Providence is also ranked 10th in both the USCHO poll and the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll.
- The last time out for Providence was a 2-2 tie against Maine on the road.
- Christina Putigna leads the team with 15 points on six goals and nine assists. Brooke Boquist (6g, 4a) and Cassidy MacPherson (2g, 8a) each have 10 points for the Friars.
- Madison Myers has started all 12 contests in net, posting a .913 save percentage.
- Providence limits opponents to 2.4 goals per game, while scoring 3.2 per game, but have allowed 10 power-play goals in 12 games.
Up Next
Merrimack wraps up the month of November with a pair of home non-conference games against Princeton on Friday, Nov. 24
th and Saturday, Nov. 25
th. Puck drop for both games are scheduled for 4 p.m. at Lawler Rink.
