Maine
Women’s Hockey Returns To Hockey East Action Against The University Of Maine – Providence College Athletics
OCTOBER 31/NOVEMBER 1 | SCHNEIDER ARENA | PROVIDENCE, R.I. | 2:00 PM /3:00 PM
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PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Providence College women’s hockey team returns to Hockey East play this weekend when they host the University of Maine Black Bears. The weekend series will take place on Friday, Oct. 31 at 2:00 p.m. and Saturday, Nov. 1 at 3:00 p.m.
Scouting the Friars
Providence enters the weekend after splitting last weekend’s series against No. 13/13 University of St. Thomas at Lee & Penny Anderson Arena. On Friday, Oct. 24, the Friars earned a 7-6 overtime victory behind senior Reichen Kirchmair’s (Oakville, Ontario) four goals, including the game-winner. Junior Audrey Knapp (Stevens Point, Wis.) recorded four points on three assists and one goal. The 13 combined goals marked the most in a Providence game since the 2013-14 season, when the Friars fell to Boston College, 8-6. In the rematch on Saturday, Oct. 25, Providence was defeated by the Tommies, 5-1. Freshman defenseman Bella Paolucci (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich.) scored her first collegiate goal in the loss.
The Friars are receiving votes in both the USCHO and USA Today Polls.
Ranked Start
Following last weekend’s matchup against No. 13/13 St. Thomas, the Friars have played seven of their first eight games against ranked opponents. Providence is 2-5-0 this season against ranked foes. Last season, the Friars went 7-5-0, their most ranked wins in a season under Head Coach Matt Kelly and the most since 2009-10. Including the 2025-26 season, Kelly holds a 23-45-6 record against ranked opponents at Providence.
Reichen Kirchmair Named Hockey East Player Of The Week
Senior Reichen Kirchmair (Oakville, Ontario) was named Hockey East Player of the Week on Monday, Oct. 27, marking her first weekly honor of the season. Kirchmair led the Friars with four goals in Friday’s 7-6 overtime victory over No. 13/13 St. Thomas. She recorded a second-period hat trick in just four minutes and 41 seconds before netting the game-winning goal in overtime. The four-goal performance marked Kirchmair’s second collegiate hat trick, seventh career three-point game and second four-point game. It was also her 22nd career multi-point effort and 12th career game-winning goal. Kirchmair is the first Friar to record four goals in a game since Sara Hjalmarsson did so against Maine on Nov. 19, 2022. She is also the first Friar to record multiple hat tricks since Hjalmarsson, who tallied three in her career.
Returning for the Friars
Providence returns senior forward Reichen Kirchmair (Oakville, Ontario), the 2024-25 Cammi Granato Award winner as Hockey East Player of the Year and the league’s scoring champion. She became the first Friar to earn Player of the Year honors since 2004-05 and the first to claim the scoring title since 2002-03. Kirchmair was the only unanimous selection to the Hockey East First Team after leading the league with 15 goals and 15 assists in conference play. The senior paced all league players with 19 goals and 18 assists for 37 points in 34 games.
Junior forward Audrey Knapp (Stevens Point, Wis.) also returns for the Friars after being named a Hockey East First Team All-Star last season. Knapp tied for the conference lead in goals with 15, alongside Kirchmair, making them the only Friars to achieve the feat in the Hockey East era with Sara Hjalmarsson in 2022-23. The junior finished the season with 19 goals and 16 assists for 35 points.
In net, graduate student Hope Walinski (Lincoln, R.I.) returns for Providence. Walinski started 33 games for the Friars, posting a 1.87 goals against average, a .922 save percentage, four shutouts and a 19-11-3 record. Walinski was awarded as a Hockey East Third Team All-Star and named to the “Watch List” for the National Goalie of the Year Award last season.
Audrey Knapp Invited to USA Hockey Women’s National Festival
Junior Audrey Knapp (Stevens Point, Wis.) was invited to the 2025 USA Hockey Women’s National Festival on Aug. 3-9 at the Olympic Center in Lake Placid, N.Y. The group is made up of 76 college and professional players, along with 46 players under the age of 18. The Festival assisted in the evaluation process for the 2026 U.S. Olympic Women’s Ice Hockey Team.
Climbing Up The Second Half
The Friars opened the second half of the 2024-25 season with an 8-1-0 record in January, their most wins in the month since 1998-99. From January through the end of the regular season, Providence earned points in 17 of its final 20 conference games, posting a 13-3-0 record in the second half, the best mark in Hockey East after the new year.
Hats Flying
Providence recorded four hat tricks in 2024-25, its most in a single season since 2004-05. Three of those came from current returners: Reichen Kirchmair, Audrey Knapp and Kiara Kraft.
Hockey East Preseason Poll
The Friars were picked to finish fifth in the Hockey East Preseason Poll, which was released on Monday, Sept. 16. Providence received 61 points and were picked to finish behind UConn (86), Boston University (82), Northeastern University (76) and Boston College (64). The Huskies and Terriers each received five first place votes.
Fresh Friar Faces
Providence welcomes 10 new players (one transfer and nine freshmen) to the roster for the 2025-26 season. Taylor Porthan (Edina, Minn.) is a sophomore from UConn. The nine freshmen are Molly Farace (Otonabee, Ontario), Sophie Harold (Cobourg, Ontario), Mallory Hartl (Askov, Minn.), Izzy King (Bedford, Mass.), Taylor Leemrijse (Toronto, Ontario), Lauren Mack (Excelsior, Minn.), Brenna O’Reilly (Burlington, Mass.), Bella Paolucci (Groose Pointe Woods, Mich.) and Sami Snyder (Waterloo, Ontario).
Friars Under Head Coach Matt Kelly
Including the 2025-26 campaign, Matt Kelly has posted an overall record of 127-93-25 (.569) and 96-66-19 (.583) in Hockey East play. Last season’s 20 wins marked the third time during Kelly’s tenure the Friars have reached the 20-win mark. In his inaugural season, the 2018-19 Friars tied the school-record with 24 wins.
In 2020-21, Kelly led the Friars to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2005, marking the program’s second appearance in school history. The Friars have reached the Hockey East Championship twice under Kelly, in 2020-21 and 2022-23.
Through 40
In the Kelly era, the Friars are 87-8-5 when taking the lead into the third period. They are 26-20-13 when tied after two periods and 14-65-7 when trailing.
Three is the Number
Under Kelly, Providence is 95-7-3 all-time when scoring three or more goals. The Friars were 18-1-0 last season when scoring three or more goals. Providence was a perfect 10-0-0 when scoring four or more goals and 5-0-0 when netting five.
Scouting the Black Bears
The University of Maine enters the weekend 2-5-0, with this matchup marking its opening Hockey East contest. The Black Bears are 2-1-0 at home and 0-4-0 on the road to start the season. In their last series, Maine hosted No. 8 Colgate University. After dropping the opener, 5-2, the Black Bears earned a 2-1 win behind goaltender Kiia Lahtinen’s 40-save performance. The victory marked the team’s 11th ranked win under Head Coach Molly Engstrom.
Who to Watch for Maine
Freshman forward Isabelle Michaud leads the Black Bears with four points on two goals and two assists through eight games. Behind Michaud, three Black Bears have recorded three points this season. Freshman Lulu Rucinski was named Hockey East Defender of the Week on Monday, Oct. 20, after scoring her first career goal and adding an assist for a two-point weekend against Colgate.
In goal, sophomore Kiia Lahtinen has started all seven games for the Black Bears. She has posted a 3.14 goals-against average, .922 save percentage and a 2-5-0 record with one shutout. Lahtinen has made 260 saves this season and was named Hockey East Goaltender of the Week on Monday, Oct. 20.
All-Time Series with the Black Bears
The Friars hold a 54-17-14 all-time record against Maine. Last season, Providence won two of three meetings, with both victories coming in overtime. The teams opened Hockey East play last year with a series in Orono, Maine, where they split the weekend before Providence took the final regular-season matchup on Jan. 31. Maine’s last win at Schneider Arena came in October 2023.
-GO FRIARS!-
PORTLAND (WGME) — Wednesday afternoon, Tassel Top Park officials posted on social media, reporting the beach was temporarily closed to swimming after routine testing found elevated levels of E. coli in the water.
Anna Goodnik, a visitor at the park, says she was disappointed to learn she could not swim.
“It’s a beautiful lake. I feel so sorry, it’s too bad this happened,” Goodnik said.
She says she drove from Portland to visit the park.
“Very sad because I came from Portland, I drove 40 minutes,” Goodnik said.
Goodnik says she has been coming to Tassel Top Park for 15 years and that while the park remained open, she was hoping to get in the water.
“The water is so smooth right now, I would just like to swim in it,” Goodnik said.
Raymond Town Manager Glenn Michalowski said in a statement that the Portland Water District provides weekly test results for 18 locations around Sebago Lake. Tassel Top Beach was closed for swimming because E. coli levels exceeded state water quality standards.
Michalowski said testing indicated the presence of waterfowl in the area, which can contribute to elevated bacterial levels. The statement also noted that high E. coli counts after rain events and in areas with waterfowl activity are a normal occurrence across Maine beaches and recreational water areas.
Ben Peierls, research director at the Lakes Environmental Association, says warmer water can lead to more bacterial growth.
“When water gets warmer, there’s more growth of bacteria,” Peierls said.
Peierls says E. coli can come from animals such as birds, dogs and other wildlife, or from human waste. He says this time of year can bring rain and runoff that carries contaminants into lakes.
“This time of year, there’s lot of rain and runoff materials coming into lakes, and it’s coming from sources where there may have been that fecal material, and it gets washed into lakes and it shows up in places people could be recreating,” Peierls said.
Tassel Top is not the only location reporting elevated bacteria levels. Ferry Beach in Scarborough and East End Beach in Portland also reported results above Maine’s safety threshold for enterococci in marine waters.
Town officials say Tassel Top Beach will reopen once retesting confirms the water has returned to safe levels, and residents will be notified when the closure is lifted. Swimming can resume once weekly testing confirms water quality is back within safe limits.
To check the status of all beaches in the state, click here.
HARPSWELL (WGME) — The Maine State Fire Marshal’s Office says a person was hospitalized after a shed fire Wednesday night.
Firefighters were called to 23 Smokehouse Road in Harpswell for a shed fire around 7 p.m.
Crews quickly put out the fire and kept it from spreading into the woods.
An unhoused person who had been living in the shed suffered burns and smoke inhalation.
They were taken to Maine Medical Center for treatment.
Investigators believe the fire may have been electrical in nature.
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The fire remains under investigation.
Three tornadoes have been confirmed across New England so far in 2026, and remarkably, all of them have occurred in Vermont.
Two of those tornadoes touched down during severe thunderstorms on June 18, when a potent weather system swept across the region.
Vermont tornadoes in 2026 (WGME).
The National Weather Service confirmed an EF-1 tornado in Lincoln with peak winds of 105 mph and another EF-1 tornado in Woodstock with winds reaching 100 mph.
Earlier this spring, an EF-1 tornado struck Williamstown on April 16 with estimated winds of 90 mph.
This week’s Climate Chronicles question comes from Kate:
With severe weather last week, how often do we actually see tornadoes touch down in Maine?
Maine tornado activity (WGME).
Historically, Maine averages about two tornadoes each year, with most occurring between June and August.
Most storms develop during the late afternoon and early evening, typically between 3 and 9 p.m., when hours of sunshine have heated the ground and created the instability needed for thunderstorms to form.
The last confirmed tornado to touch down in Maine was in 2023.
Average amount of tornadoes that touch down in each New England state per year (WGME).
Massachusetts and Connecticut also average about two tornadoes per year, with many occurring across the flatter terrain of western portions of both states.
In Massachusetts, the broad Connecticut River Valley stretching through Springfield has earned the nickname “New England’s Tornado Alley” due to its history of tornado activity.
Vermont, on the other hand, typically averages just one tornado annually. With three confirmed tornadoes already in 2026, the state has already exceeded its yearly average by two, making this an unusually active year for tornadoes in the Green Mountain State.
Maine’s tornado history (GoSanAngelo, WGME).
Since 1950, Maine has recorded 140 tornadoes. None have been rated stronger than an EF2 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, the system used to classify tornado intensity based on the damage they cause.
Unlike hurricanes, tornadoes are not assigned ratings while they are occurring. Instead, National Weather Service survey teams assess damage after the storm has passed, examining impacts to homes, buildings, trees, and other structures.
From that damage, meteorologists estimate the tornado’s wind speeds and assign an EF rating ranging from EF0 to EF5.
While Maine has experienced its share of tornadoes over the decades, the state has never recorded a violent EF4 or EF5 tornado.
Do you have any weather questions? Email our Weather Authority team at weather@wgme.com. We’d love to hear from you!
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