Feb. 24, 2004

On Sunday, February 22 the Providence College women's ice hockey program became the second Division I women's ice hockey program to reach the 500 win plateau with a 5-2 victory over Boston College.

Women's ice hockey started at Providence College during the 1974-75 season under the leadership of head coach Tom Palamara, a sophomore at the College. The Friars were winless that first season going, 0-8-0. The team turned things around quickly and posted their first winning season in 1976-77 going, 9-4-0. In Coach Palamara's last season, just six years after the team's inception, Providence posted its first 20 win campaign at 20-2-0.

John Marchetti was named the second head coach of the program at the start of the 1980-81 season. Coach Marchetti would lead the Friars to unprecedented success over the next 14 seasons. Under his supervision Providence won five ECAC championships while posting an impressive record of 262-69-15. It was during this era that several of the biggest names in women's ice hockey wore the black and white including; Susan Duffy '82, Mary Ellen Riordan '82, Jackie Barto '84, Cindy Curley '85, Heather Linstad '89, Kelly O'Leary '90 and Stephanie O'Sullivan '95. He also coached five future Olympians; Chris Bailey '94, Alana Blahoski '96, Cammi Granato '93, Lisa Brown-Miller '88 and Vicki Movsesian-Lamoriello '94.

Jackie Barto, a 1984 graduate of Providence College, became the third head coach of the program during the 1994-95 season and lead the team to that season's ECAC championship. She coached at Providence for four seasons and posted a 70-53-10 record. She coached Olympians Laurie Baker '00, for two seasons, and Sara DeCosta '00 for one. Barto left Providence after the 1998 season to become the first head coach of women's ice hockey at Ohio State.

Tom Sheehan was named the fourth coach of the Friars at the start of the 1998-99 season. Under his supervision the team posted a 19-12-2 record. Sheehan coached Olympian DeCosta '00 for one season.

Bob Deraney,the Friars' current head coach, took over the program at the beginning of the 1999-2000 season. Under his tutelage the Friars have posted a 97-54-18 record while winning back-to-back league championships. In 2001-02 the Friars won their seventh and final ECAC title as they defeated Northeastern, 1-0. Providence became a founding memeber of the women's HOCKEY EAST Association in 2002-03 and won the inaugural championship, the program's eighth conference title overall.