Leah Craig

DURHAM, N.H. – Sam Faber (Mt. Sinai, N.Y.) recorded a career-high five points with two goals and three assists to propel the top-ranked University of New Hampshire women’s ice hockey team to Saturday afternoon’s 8-2 Hockey East victory against eighth-ranked University of Connecticut at the Whittemore Center.

UNH won its eighth consecutive game to improve to 9-1-0 overall and 7-0-0 in Hockey East. UConn, which entered the game with a national-best nine-game winning streak, is now 9-2-0, 2-1-0.

In addition to Faber, four Wildcats recorded multiple-point efforts as Leah Craig (Seaforth, Ontario), Jennifer Hitchcock (LaSalle, Ontario), Kelly Paton (Woodstock, Ontario) and Sadie Wright-Ward (Durham, N.H.) each tallied a goal and two assists. Maggie Joyce (Hudson, Ohio) and Steph Holmes (Rye, N.Y.) scored the Wildcats’ other two goals.

UNH goaltender Kayley Herman (Weyburn, Saskatchewan) was credited with nine saves. UConn starting netminder Brittany Wilson surrendered eight goals and made 34 saves before being pulled with 10:01 remaining in the game. Jennie Bellonio stopped the only two shots on goal she faced in 9:59 of action.

The Wildcats roared out to a 3-0 lead midway through the opening stanza with tallies at 5:50, 6:57 and 10:23. Paton struck first with a power-play goal when Hitchcock’s initial shot from the top of the crease was stopped by Wilson but Paton, at the right post, deposited the puck into the open near side.

Craig scored 67 seconds later off another rebound from Hitchcock’s close-range shot. Wright-Ward was also credited with an assist on the play. Joyce, with the assistance of Faber and Paton, then recorded her first point of the season when her shot from the left point sailed through traffic into the net.

Jennifer Chaisson lifted the Huskies within 3-1 at 15:02 when she scored off her own rebound at the right post.

The ‘Cats extended their advantage to 5-1 in the second period on tallies by Holmes and Wright-Ward. Holmes struck on the power play at 2:27 of the stanza on a wrist shot from the slot into the upper-right corner, then Wright-Ward netted an even-strength goal at 7:59.

Faber extended UNH’s lead to 6-1 at 3:13 of the third when she scored off a rebound from the initial shot by Courtney Birchard (Mississauga, Ontario). Hitchcock then increased her goal-scoring streak to five games with a power-play tally at 6:32. Faber and Wright-Ward were credited with assists. Faber, with the assistance of Paton and Julia Marty (Nussbaumen, Switzerland), struck again at 9:59.

Amy Hollstein scored on a rush down the left wing with a shot high to the near side to make the score 8-2 at 10:35.

UNH went 3-for-6 on the power play to mark the fifth consecutive game with multiple power-play goals. The ‘Cats are 13-for-29 in that span.

New Hampshire continues its eight-game homestand Nov. 11 (2 p.m.) against Princeton University. Tickets for the game are available online at www.unhwildcats.com or by calling 866-WILDCAT. Video for the game will be available online at UNHwildcats.tv.