Game Notes: Women's Hockey Welcomes Providence For Weekend Series (Nov. 21-22)

Saturday, November 21

Durham, N.H.

2 PM

University of New Hampshire

Providence College

Buy Tickets

Game Notes: Women's Hockey Welcomes Providence For Weekend Series (Nov. 21-22)

11/19/2015 4:02:00 PM | Women's Ice Hockey

UNH Wildcats (2-12-0, 2-7-0 Hockey East) vs, Providence College Friars (2-8-0, 2-4-0 Hockey East)
Saturday, November 21 (2 p.m.) – Whittemore Center – Durham, N.H.
Sunday, November 22 (2 p.m.) – Whittemore Center – Durham, N.H.

Tickets – Video – Live Stats

The Game
The University of New Hampshire women's ice hockey team wraps up the season series against Providence College with two home games this weekend. The teams face off Nov. 21 & 22; both games start at 2 p.m.

"Beat Hunger Games" Wildcat Food Drive
The "Beat Hunger Games" Wildcat Food Drive presented by Service Credit Union and Townsquare Media NH will be held at UNH home events spanning Nov. 21-28. This includes the Nov. 21 & 22 women's hockey games vs. Providence College. Donations benefit the NH Food Bank.

The Matchup
One of the longest rivalries in women's college hockey continues this weekend with the 144th meeting Saturday afternoon between the Wildcats and Friars.
UNH has a 77-52-14 lead in the series, which began in December 1977, but Providence has won three consecutive meetings, including a 5-4 come-from-behind victory at Schneider Arena earlier this month (Nov. 7).
New Hampshire has a 38-14-8 record on home ice vs. the Friars and that includes 19-8-5 at the Whittemore Center. The past three seasons, the teams have split five games in Durham at 2-2-1. Last year at the Whitt, PC skated to a 4-1 victory on Jan. 11, 2015.
UNH's most recent win in this series was Dec. 5, 2014, when the 'Cats were 5-0 victors at Schneider Arena. New Hampshire successfully defended home ice twice in the 2013-14 season with a 4-2 win in November 2013 and a 4-1 triumph Jan. 10.

The Most Recent Matchup
On Nov. 7 at Schneider Arena, Amy Boucher scored a pair of first-period goals to give the Wildcats a 2-0 lead, but PC rallied to tie the score before the first intermission on tallies 74 seconds apart by Christina Putigna (at 18:32) and Brooke Boquist (19:46). UNH reestablished a two-goal lead, 4-2, on second-period strikes by Devan Taylor (15:43) and Kate Haslett (19:31).
The Friars recorded an 18-5 shot advantage in the third period to storm back for the 5-4 win. Brooke Boquist pulled PC within 4-3 at 9:03, then Madison Sansone scored an extra-attacker goal at 18:40 and an even-strength goal 39 seconds later to give Providence its only lead of the game.
UNH goalie Vilma Vaattovaara made 15 of her season-high 32 saves in the third period. PC counterpart Madison Myers stopped 25 shots, including 12 in the second stanza.
It marked Boucher's first career multiple-goal game and Jonna Curtis matched her personal best of two assists. For PC, Putigna tallied a game-high three points (1g, 2a), and both Cassidy Carels and Blair Parent had two assists.

The State of New Hampshire
UNH has a 2-12-0 overall record with a 2-7-0 mark in Hockey East and 0-5-0 at home; the Wildcats are 0-3-0 in league home games. Six losses have been to nationally-ranked teams, including five opponents ranked in the top 4 in the country (three vs. #2 Boston College; two vs. #4 Clarkson).
New Hampshire has a 1-5-0 record in November with losses to nationally-ranked teams each of the past three games. The Wildcats were upended 6-1 (away) and 3-0 (home) by BC last weekend as well as 4-0 at No. 9 Harvard on Wednesday.
UNH has been shut out each of the last two games with a scoreless streak of 146 minutes, 20 seconds dating back to a goal by Amy Boucher at 13:40 of the second period last Friday at BC.
In six games spanning Oct. 23 to Nov. 8, UNH's offense scored 19 goals – between 2-4 goals every game – for an average of 3.16 per game.
Overall, the 'Cats are averaging 1.79 goals per game while allowing 3.79 gpg. The opposition has scored 5+ goals five times, whereas UNH has a season-high four goals three times (but lost two of those games).
The Wildcats have been outscored 53-25 with a breakdown of 15-8 in the first, 19-10 in the second and 19-7 in the third.
UNH is minus-28 in scoring but only minus-one in shots at 382-381; the 'Cats are +14 (127-113) in the third period.

'Cat Nips
Freshman goaltender Kyra Smith made her fourth consecutive start – the last three against nationally-ranked teams – Wednesday at ninth-ranked Harvard University. Smith recorded double-digit saves all three periods with 10 in both the first and second as well as 13 in the third to finish with 33 saves.
Smith made a career-high 34 saves, including 16 in the second period, Nov. 13 at second-ranked Boston College.
Smith made 21 saves at UConn (Nov. 8) to record her first collegiate victory. She stopped all eight shots in the first period and also shut out the Huskies in the final frame on six saves for the 2-1 victory.
Sophomore forward Amy Boucher scored UNH's only goal in last weekend's home-and-home series against BC. It marked her third goal in three games – Boucher recorded her first career multiple-goal game with two at Providence College (Nov. 7) – and fourth goal of the season, which is tied for second on the team.
Junior forward Jonna Curtis' six-game point streak and five-game assist streak ended when she was held off the scoresheet last Friday by BC. She tallied four goals and seven assists for 11 points during the streak, which spanned Oct. 23 to Nov. 8.
Overall, Curtis has a point in 8 of 14 games with four multiple-point efforts. She leads the Wildcats in goals (six), assists (eight) and points (14), as well as shots (62).
Sophomore Kate Haslett made her season debut at forward – as a center on the fourth line – Nov. 7 at Providence College and scored her first goal of the year. She was elevated to center of the third line one day later at UConn. Haslett won 5 of 7 faceoffs at UConn (Nov. 8) and 7 of 9 the next game at BC (Nov. 13).
Three of the top four scorers are defensemen. Curtis is followed by Amy Schlagel (4-3-7), Sara Carlson (2-4-6) and Fedeski (2-4-6). The next forwards are Boucher (4-1-4) and Taylor Wenczkowski at 0-4-4.

Conference Call
In nine Hockey East league games, Jonna Curtis has tallied two goals and six assists for eight points. Amy Boucher is next with four points on three goals and an assist. Three skaters – Julia Fedeski, Amy Schlagel and Cassandra Vilgrain – are tied for third with three points.
In goal, Kyra Smith is 1-2-0 with a 3.34 GAA and .888 save percentage. Ashley Wilkes is 0-1-0 with a 2.03 GAA and .833 save percentage. Vilma Vaattovaara has a 1-3-0 record in four games with a 3.88 GAA and .872 save percentage. Hilary Cashin is 0-1-0 with a 3.82 GAA and .815 save percentage in two games.

That Was Close
Four of UNH's 14 games have been decided by one goal and the Wildcats have a 1-3 record in those contests. New Hampshire opened the month of November with back-to-back one-goal games with a 5-4 loss at Providence and 2-1 win at UConn. Earlier in the season, UNH lost consecutive one-goal games to Syracuse (3-2 on Oct. 10) and at Merrimack College (2-1 on Oct. 17).

Special Teams
New Hampshire's special teams were on an upward trend until facing off against Boston College twice last weekend, when the Eagles were 4 of 7 on the power play and a perfect 3-for-3 on the penalty kill against the Wildcats's power play. In the midweek matchup at Harvard, the Crimson had the special teams edge – 1 of 3 on the power play, 2-for-2 on the penalty kill.
Prior to the BC games, UNH's penalty kill was 14 of 15 (93.3%) in four games spanning Oct. 30 to Nov. 8, and that included three games in which the 'Cats did not surrender a power-play goal.
And in the three games leading up to the BC series, UNH was 3-for-13 on the power play with two tallies vs. Boston U. (Nov. 1) and another at UConn (Nov. 8).
Overall, UNH is 5-for-44 (11.4%) on the power play and 32 of 44 (72.7%) on the penalty kill.

First Strike
UNH has scored the game's first goal six times, including three consecutive games Nov. 1-8 against Boston University, Providence College and UConn. The Wildcats have a 2-4-0 record when taking a 1-0 lead.

Two-Goal Lead
UNH held two-goal leads three consecutive games at Vermont (Oct. 30), vs. Boston U. (Nov. 1) and at Providence (Nov. 7), but the Wildcats won just one of those games. New Hampshire upended UVM, 4-0. The 'Cats held leads of 2-0 and 3-1 against BU but lost 5-3. UNH also had a pair of two-goal leads (2-0 and 4-2) at PC but lost 5-4.

What Just Happened
In a rare mid-week matchup, the Wildcats traveled to the Bay State to battle ninth-ranked Harvard University this past Wednesday and returned to the Granite State following a 4-0 loss.
UNH controlled play the opening 10 minutes of the game and recorded a 12-10 shot advantage in the scoreless first period. Harvard netted goals five minutes apart – at 10:11 and 15:11 – in the second stanza and potted two more goals in the third period to record a 4-0 victory.
The home team finished with a 37-26 shot advantage that included a 15-5 edge in the final frame.

What's Next
New Hampshire closes November with a Thanksgiving weekend road trip to Rensselaer (Troy, N.Y). The teams face off Nov. 27 at 7 p.m. and Nov. 28 at 4 p.m.
Last year at the Whittemore Center, the Engineers struck first at 5:05 of the first period but the Wildcats responded with goals at 8:34 and 13:16 to take a 2-1 lead into the first intermission. And that proved to be the only scoring of the game in UNH's 2-1 victory.

'Cat Captain
Senior defenseman Sara Carlson reprises her role as team captain in the 2015-16 season. Last year, Carlson made her debut as a defenseman for a three-game stretch in late October, then ended the year on the blue line all three games of the Hockey East quarterfinal – that's a total of six games.
Carlson opened the 2015-16 season on the blue line paired with sophomore defenseman Amy Schlagel and has been there all 14 games. Carlson is tied for second on the team in assists (four) and is tied for third in points (six). She is also second in blocked shots (26).
She tallied a point three consecutive games with a goal (Oct. 23) and assist (Oct. 24) at Clarkson followed by a goal at UVM.
Carlson tied her career highs in both assists (two) and points (two) vs. Syracuse on Oct. 10.
In 118 career games, Carlson has compiled 13 goals and 29 assists for 42 points.

The Alternates
Senior forward Heather Kashman and junior forward Cassandra Vilgrain are designated as team leaders by their distinction as alternate captains. Kashman was also an alternate captain last year.
Vilgrain has skated all 14 games as a winger on the second line. She recorded her first points of the season by matching her career high of two assists at Vermont on Oct. 30. She broke into the scoring column with a goal Nov. 8 at UConn.
Kashman has been sidelined by injury the entire 2015-16 season.

Top Of The List
Junior forward Jonna Curtis leads the team in goals (six), assists (eight), points (14) and shots (62).
Curtis was held off the scoresheet last Friday by BC to end her six-game point streak and five-game assist streak. She tallied four goals and seven assists for 11 points during the streak, which spanned Oct. 23 to Nov. 8.
Curtis matched her personal best of two assists for the second consecutive game Nov. 7 at Providence College. She tallied a goal and two assists the previous game vs. Boston University (Nov. 1).
Curtis tallied two goals and an assist Oct. 24 at Clarkson; the two goals match her personal best.
Curtis has a point in 8 of 14 games with four multiple-point efforts. In addition to the aforementioned three-point performances, she tallied two points (1-1-2) against Lindenwood.

Senior Class
The senior class includes the aforementioned captain, Sara Carlson, and alternate captain Heather Kashman as well as forwards Haley Breedlove, Nicoline Jensen and Margo Lund as well as goaltender Vilma Vaattovaara.
Breedlove enters the weekend with two points, both on assists. She tallied an assist at Vermont (Oct. 30) and recorded her first point of the season Oct. 10 vs Syracuse. Breedlove ranks third on the team in faceoffs won (44) and taken (94) with a .468 win percentage, which is also third among UNH's primary centers. Breedlove won 9 of 13 (69.2%) faceoffs vs. BU on Nov. 1 but she has taken only seven faceoffs the past four games with none in the most recent game (Nov. 14 vs. Boston College).
Jensen centered the top line the first three games this season and has centered the second line the past 11 games. Jensen has two points, both on assists. She tallied an assist Nov. 8 at UConn and recorded her first point of the season Oct. 30 at UVM. She has been one of the top centers in the faceoff circle at 88 of 177 (.497 win percentage); she won 9 of 14 each of the first two games and was 14 of 24 in two games last weekend vs. second-ranked BC (8 of 13 Nov. 14 at home).
Lund has skated as the right wing on UNH's third line all 14 games this season. She tallied her first assist as a Wildcat – and ninth of her career – at Vermont (Oct. 30).
Vaattovaara recorded her first shutout of the season and fourth of her career with an 18-save effort at Vermont on Oct. 30; the Wildcats won 4-0.
Vaattovaara has seven starts overall and her streak of six consecutive starts ended Nov. 8 at UConn; three of those six consecutive starts were against a Top 4 team (one at #2 BC, two at #4 Clarkson).
Vaattovaara is 1-5-0 with a 3.99 GAA and .865 save percentage; in three Hockey East games, she is 1-2-0 with a 3.44 GAA and .875 save percentage. She made 30 saves and allowed nine goals in the two-game series at fourth-ranked Clarkson on Oct. 23-24.

D-D-D, D-Fense
New Hampshire has a young defensive unit comprised of one senior (Sara Carlson, who entered the season with six games played on the blue line), three sophomores and two freshmen – the count was four sophomores at the start of the season, but Kate Haslett was transitioned to center at PC and UConn in early November.
Sophomore Amy Schlagel ranks second on the team in goals (four) and points (seven); she is tied for second in shots (37). She scored the game-winning goal Nov. 8 at UConn when she netted a power-play goal to break a 1-1 tie late in the second period (UNH won by that 2-1 margin). Schlagel recorded her first career multiple-point game with a goal and an assist Oct. 10 Syracuse as part of a three-game point streak. Overall, Schlagel has a point in 6 of 14 games.
Sophomore Julia Fedeski is tied with Carlson for second on the team in assists (four); Fedeski also has two goals for a total of six points, which is tied for third. She matched her career high of two points with a goal and an assist against both Lindenwood (Oct. 9) and Boston U. (Nov. 1). Fedeski also tallied an assist at No. 4 Clarkson (Oct. 24) and at Providence College (Nov. 7).
Sophomore Kaylee Forster has skated in 11 of 14 games – she has dressed each of the last 11. Forster recorded her first career point with a goal Oct. 30 at Vermont and tallied her first assist Nov. 8 at UConn.
Freshman Marie-Jo Pelletier enters the weekend with a team-high 30 blocked shots – and she stands in at 4-foot-11. She recorded her first career point with an assist Oct. 24 at fourth-ranked Clarkson and tallied another helper the next game at UVM (Oct. 30).
Freshman Jenna Rheault has also skated in all 14 games and also recorded her first career point with a goal in that Oct. 24 game at fourth-ranked Clarkson.

Facing Off
Amy Boucher leads New Hampshire in faceoffs won (140), taken (276) and win percentage (.507); in consecutive games, she won 18 of 31 (58.0%) against Boston U. and 15 of 28 (53.6%) at Providence. Boucher was 17-for-32 (53.1%) in last weekend's two-game series against second-ranked Boston College. She is at 50% or better in 8 of 14 games.
Nicoline Jensen is next in all three stats with 88 wins, 177 total and a .497 win percentage. She is .500 or better in 8 of 14 games, including three of the last four games – 6 of 10 at UConn, 6 of 11 at BC and 8 of 13 vs. BC.
UNH has recorded the faceoff advantage in 4 of 14 games, including twice in one weekend –23 of 40 (57.5%) at UVM and 37 of 70 (52.9%) vs. BU. The Wildcats won 26 of 45 faceoffs (57.8%) last Friday at Boston College.

Goaltending Carousel
UNH opened the season by starting four goaltenders in as many games. Freshman Hilary Cashin received the starting nod in the season opener vs. Maine (Oct. 2), followed by Vilma Vaattovaara against Lindenwood (Oct. 9), Kyra Smith vs. Syracuse (Oct. 10) and Ashley Wilkes at Merrimack (Oct. 17).
Since then, there has been more consistency in net. Vaattovaara started six consecutive games spanning Oct. 18 at Boston College to Nov. 7 at Providence College and Smith has started each of the past four games.

The Puck Stops Here
In addition to senior goaltender Vilma Vaattovaara, junior Ashley Wilkes returns in net for the Wildcats. Wilkes made her season debut Oct. 17 at Merrimack College. She stopped 10 of 12 shots in a 2-1 loss to the Warriors at Lawler Rink. Those numbers calculate to a 2.03 GAA and .833 save percentage.
Freshman Kyra Smith is 1-4-0 with a 3.41 GAA and team-best .879 save percentage in five games (all starts). She was named Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week on Nov. 9 following a 21-save effort in UNH's 2-1 win at UConn. Smith made her collegiate debut Oct. 10 at home against Syracuse – a 3-2 loss – and recorded half of her 12 saves in the first period.
Smith also got the starting nod in both of last week's games against second-ranked BC. She faced 18 shots – in just the second period – and finished with a season-high 34 saves, including 16 stops in the middle stanza, in a 6-1 loss at Conte Forum. Smith was credited with 24 saves in the 3-0 home loss to the Eagles on Nov. 14.
This past Wednesday, Smith stopped 33 shots with double-digit saves all three periods (10-10-13).
Freshman Hilary Cashin has seen 78:27 of action in two games this season, and she has a 0-1-0 record with a 3.82 GAA and .815 save percentage; Cashin has not seen action since Oct. 18.
Cashin got the starting nod in the season opener Oct. 2 vs. Maine – she is the first freshman to start a season opener in goal since current senior Vaattovaara in the 2012-13 season. She shut out the Black Bears in the second period with 12 saves and she finished with 17 overall in the 4-0 loss; she surrendered three goals (Maine also netted an empty-net goal). Cashin came off the bench Oct. 18 at second-ranked Boston College to play the third period; she made five saves and allowed two goals.

No Longer New
In addition to the quartet of aforementioned sophomore defensemen, there are four sophomore forwards –and a defenseman who has transitioned to center – on this year's roster.
Amy Boucher enters the series against Providence College with five points on four goals and an assist; she ranks second on the team in both goals and shots (37), and her .108 shooting percentage is second among multiple-goal scorers. Boucher recorded her first career multiple-goal game with two tallies at Providence College on Nov. 7. She accounted for UNH's only goal in last weekend's two-game series vs. BC. Boucher is the top UNH center in the faceoff circle with 140 wins, 276 faceoffs and a .507 win percentage.
Carlee Toews has been in the lineup as the left winger on the third line all 14 games this season; she scored her first career goal at UVM (Oct. 30) for her only point of the season.
Brooke Avery has skated in 8 of 14 games, six of them on the fourth line. She has not recorded a point and has been a DNP the past five games.
Ali Praus has skated in 12 of 14 games, including each of the last nine; she did not dress the Oct. 17-18 weekend against Merrimack and BC.
Kate Haslett joined the group of forwards Nov. 7 at Providence by centering the fourth line, and she made an immediate impact by scoring her first goal of the season. She was elevated to center of the third line one day later at UConn. Haslett skated as a defenseman the first eight games of the season, then did not dress Nov. 1 vs. BU.

One For Me, One For You
A couple of Wildcats have almost even career totals in goals and assists. Cassandra Vilgrain is nearly an equal finisher and distributor with 15 goals and 16 assists in 80 games. Jonna Curtis also has an almost even split with 23 goals and 22 assists in 65 games.

The New 'Cats In Town
The freshman class of Wildcats is comprised of forwards Caitlyn Radatovich, Devan Taylor and Taylor Wenczkowski (in addition to the aforementioned defensemen Marie-Jo Pelletier and Jenna Rheault and goalies Hilary Cashin and Kyra Smith.
Wenczkowski has four points, all on assists – vs. Lindenwood (Oct. 9), at Merrimack (Oct. 17), at fourth-ranked Clarkson (Oct. 23) and vs. Boston U. (Nov. 1). She was a DNP Oct. 24 at Clarkson. She was the right wing on the top line the first six games of the season, then was moved to the second line when she returned Oct. 30 at UVM and has remained there since.
Taylor has three points with two goals and an assist – all three points were recorded the past seven games, after she was shifted to the top line. Taylor recorded her first career point with an assist at fourth-ranked Clarkson (Oct. 24) and score her first career goal the next game at Vermont (Oct. 30). She also netted a goal last Nov. 8 at PC.
Radatovich has skated in 12 of 14 games this season, including each of the last five. She was a DNP consecutive games at BC (Oct. 18) and Clarkson (Oct. 23), as well as Oct. 30 at Vermont.

On The Air
A total of seven regular-season games will be broadcast on the Wildcats Sports Radio Network. Tune in to WGIR-610 AM (Manchester) or WPKX-930 AM (Rochester) to listen to the action; you can also listen online at www.unhwildcats.com. Here is the list of games:
Oct. 10 vs. Syracuse (3-2 loss)
Nov. 1 vs. Boston U. (5-3 loss)
Dec. 8 vs. Dartmouth (7 p.m.)
Dec. 13 vs. Yale (2 p.m.)
Jan. 10 vs. Northeastern (2 p.m.)
Feb. 6 vs. Vermont (4 p.m.)
Feb. 21 vs. UConn (2 p.m.)

On the Tube
Two regular-season games will be broadcast on Fox College Sports television. They are Jan. 10 vs. Northeastern and Feb. 21 vs. UConn. Both games begin at 2 p.m.
One regular-season game – Nov. 18 at Harvard – will be broadcast on NESN Plus.

Scouting the Friars
Providence College enters the weekend with a 2-8-0 overall record that includes 2-4-0 in Hockey East and 1-3-0 on the road (1-3-0 in conference road games).
PC opened the season with seven consecutive losses before rallying to defeat UNH, 5-4, on Nov. 7. The Friars made it back-to-back wins with a 4-1 victory at Vermont on Nov. 13, but the Catamounts were 4-3 victors the next day.
Providence has scored 12 goals the past three games; in comparison, PC scored a total of six goals in the seven-game losing streak. Overall, the Friars average 1.80 goals per game.
The opposition, meanwhile, is averaging 4.10 goals per game and has scored 4+ goals in seven of 10 games.
Madison Sansone leads the team in goals (seven) and is one of four Friars with seven points. Brooke Boquist has five goals and two assists, whereas both Cassidy Carels and Christina Putigna have a goal and six assists.
Four goalies have starts this season. Madison Myers, who got the win vs. UNH, is 1-3-0 with a 3.11 GAA and .885 save percentage in five games (four starts). Alanna Serviss is 1-1-0 with a 2.41 GAA and .915 save percentage in four games (two starts). Sarah Bryant is 0-3-0 with a 6.80 GAA and .835 save percentage in three games. Allie Morse played just 15:08 and allowed four goals in her only action.