Game Notes: Women's Hockey Concludes Series at Rensselaer (Nov. 28)

Friday, November 27

Troy, N.Y.

7 PM

University of New Hampshire

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Game Notes: Women's Hockey Concludes Series at Rensselaer (Nov. 28)

11/27/2015 2:15:00 AM | Women's Ice Hockey

UNH Wildcats (3-13-1, 3-8-0 Hockey East) vs, Rensselaer Engineers (4-7-2, 2-3-1 ECAC)
Saturday, November 28 (4 p.m.) – Houston Field House – Troy, N.Y.

The Game
The University of New Hampshire women's ice hockey team travels to Troy, N.Y. on Thanksgiving for a two-game weekend series at Rensselaer. The Wildcats and Engineers face off Friday, Nov. 27 (7 p.m.) and Saturday, Nov. 28 (4 p.m.) at Houston Field House.

The Matchup
UNH has won all three lifetime matchups against Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and that includes a 2-1 victory last October at the Whittemore Center.
Prior to last year, these programs had not faced off since the 2010-11 season, when the Wildcats prevailed 4-3 at Houston Field House. New Hampshire also recorded a 4-3 victory the previous year at the Whitt.

The Most Recent Matchup
On Oct. 17, 2014, Haley Breedlove recorded a career-high two points, including scoring the game-winning goal, to lift New Hampshire to a 2-1 victory against Rensselaer at the Whittemore Center.
The Engineers struck first on Alex Gruschow's goal at 5:05 of the first period. UNH leveled the score, 1-1, at 8:34 of the opening stanza when Breedlove's shot was redirected into the net by Heather Kashman. The Wildcats took a 2-1 lead less than five minutes later at 13:16 on Breedlove's goal.
RPI had a 5-on-3 power play for 86 seconds in the third period but could not score the equalizing goal. The Engineers pulled their goalie in favor of an extra skater with 76 seconds to play, but UNH allowed just one shot the rest of the way to secure the 2-1 win.
UNH goaltender Vilma Vaattovaara and RPI goalie Brianna Piper were both credited with 20 saves.
New Hampshire's penalty kill was a perfect 5-for-5 and the 'Cats were 0-for-1 on the power play.

The State of New Hampshire
UNH has a 3-13-0 overall record with a 0-5-0 record in non-conference games, 2-7-0 on the road and 0-3-0 in non-conference road game. 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 2-6-0 record in November following last weekend's split at the Whitt against Providence College. The Wildcats prevailed 3-2 in Saturday's opener, but PC responded with a 4-1 win Sunday.
UNH scored a season-high three power-play goals in last Saturday's 3-1 victory against PC. The 'Cats were a perfect 3-for-3 on the power play.
The Wildcats have scored more than one goal in one of the last five games.
Overall, the 'Cats are averaging 1.81 goals per game while allowing 3.69 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 59-29 with a breakdown of 16-9 in the first, 21-12 in the second and 22-8 in the third.
UNH is minus-30 in scoring but is plus-eight in shots, including a 138-124 advantage in the third period.

'Cat Nips
Sophomore Kate Haslett scored her second goal of the season last Sunday against Providence College. Classmate Carlee Toews recorded her first assist of the season and Margo Lund tallied her second assist on the tally.
Freshman goaltender Kyra Smith has started each of the last six games. She earned her second career victory last Saturday with a 24-save effort against Providence at the Whittemore Center. She made 11 of those saves in the first period of the 3-2 win.
Sophomore forward Amy Boucher matched her career high of two goals to propel the Wildcats to last Saturday's victory; she netted both goals on the power play.
Boucher is now tied for the team lead in goals with six. She also leads UNH in power-play goals (three) and shooting percentage (.140). Boucher has climbed into a tie for third in points (seven).
Senior defenseman and captain Sara Carlson matched her personal bests in both assist and points with two helpers last Saturday.
Senior forward Nicoline Jensen scored her first goal of the season last Saturday when she gave the Wildcats a 3-0 lead; her tally proved to be the game-winning goal.
Junior forward Jonna Curtis recorded her team-leading ninth assist of the season last Saturday. It also increased her team-leading point total to 15.
Curtis also leads the team in goals (six) and shots (68).

Conference Call
In 11 Hockey East league games, Jonna Curtis has tallied two goals and seven assists for nine points. Amy Boucher is next with six points on five goals and an assist. Sara Carlson and Julia Fedeski are tied for third with four points.
In goal, Kyra Smith is 2-3-0 with a 3.01 GAA and .889 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
Five of UNH's 16 games have been decided by one goal and the Wildcats have a 2-3 record in those contests. Most recently, the 'Cats edged Providence College, 3-2, at the Whitt on Nov. 21.
New Hampshire opened the month of November with back-to-back one-goal games – 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 in mid-November, 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.
In last weekend's two-game series against Providence College, the Wildcats' power play was 3 of 3 on Saturday followed by 0-for-4 on Sunday. The Friars potted a power-play goal both games (1x3 and 1x4).
The opposition has scored a power-play goal each of the last five games.
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.
Overall, UNH is 8-for-51 (15.7%) on the power play and 37 of 51 (72.5%) on the penalty kill.

First Strike
UNH has scored the game's first goal seven times, including three consecutive games Nov. 1-8 against Boston University, Providence College and UConn. The Wildcats have a 3-4-0 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.
Last weekend, UNH took a 3-0 lead against PC and this time the Wildcats held on for the 3-2 victory.

What Just Happened
UNH and Providence College split a two-game series at the Whittemore Center. The Wildcats skated to a 3-2 victory on Nov. 21, then the Friars won 4-1.
In the first game, Amy Boucher scored power-play goals in the first and second periods and Nicoline Jensen netted another power-play tally to give the 'Cats a 3-0 lead. Brooke Boquist responded with a power-play tally for Providence with two seconds left in the middle stanza and she struck again in the third period. PC pulled goalie Madison Myers with 90 seconds remaining but could not complete the comeback.
UNH recorded a 34-26 shot advantage, including 13-7 in the second period. Kyra Smith made 22 saves.
One day later, the Friars took a 2-0 lead into the third period. Kate Haslett lifted New Hampshire within a goal at 6:31, but the visitors reestablished a two-goal lead 2:23 later and Boquist potted an empty-net goal with 3:07 remaining to secure the victory.
The teams combined for three goals on just five shots in the third period.

What's Next
New Hampshire wraps up the season series against Merrimack College next weekend. The teams face off Dec. 4 (7 p.m.) at the Whittemore Center and go to Lawler Rink for a Dec. 5 (4 p.m.) matchup.

'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 16 games. Carlson ranks second on the team in assists (six) and points (eight), as well as blocked shots (34).
Last Saturday, she matched her personal best in both assists (two) and points (two) with two helpers against Providence College. She also had a two-assist game Oct. 10 vs. Syracuse.
She tallied a point three consecutive games with a goal (Oct. 23) and assist (Oct. 24) at Clarkson followed by a goal at UVM.
In 120 career games, Carlson has compiled 13 goals and 31 assists for 44 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 16 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 (nine), points (15) and shots (68).
Curtis was held off the scoresheet Nov. 13 by second-ranked 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 9 of 16 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 (46) and taken (98) with a .469 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 11 faceoffs the past six games.
Jensen, who scored her first goal of the season last Saturday vs. PC, centered the top line the first three games this season and has centered the second line the past 13 games. Jensen 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 108 of 206 (.524 win percentage); she won 9 of 14 each of the first two games and was 20 of 29 in two games last weekend vs. Providence, including 9 of 11 last Sunday.
Lund has skated as the right wing on UNH's third line all 16 games this season. She tallied her first assist as a Wildcat – and ninth of her career – at Vermont (Oct. 30). Lund recorded her second point of the season with an assist last Sunday.
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 third on the team in goals (four) and is tied for third in points (eight); she is third in shots (39). 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 16 games.
Sophomore Julia Fedeski is tied with Carlson for second on the team in assists (five), including one last Saturday; Fedeski also has two goals for a total of seven 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 13 of 16 games – she has dressed each of the last 13. Forster recorded her first career point with a goal Oct. 30 at Vermont and tallied her first assist Nov. 8 at UConn. Forster increased her season point total to three with another assist Nov. 21 against Providence College.
Freshman Marie-Jo Pelletier enters the weekend ranked second on the team with 33 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 16 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 (166) and taken (325), and she is second in win percentage (.511); 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 the mid-November two-game series against second-ranked Boston College. She is at 50% or better in 10 of 16 games.
Nicoline Jensen jumped to the top of the team leaderboard in faceoff win percentage at .524 following last weekend's stellar 20 of 29 effort in the two-game home series vs. Providence. She is .500 or better in 10 of 16 games, including five of the last six games. Jensen ranks second in faceoffs won (108) and taken (206).
UNH has recorded the faceoff advantage in 6 of 16 games, including both games vs. PC last weekend, and 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%) Nov. 13 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 six 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 2-5-0 with a 3.16 GAA and team-best .882 save percentage in seven 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 mid-November 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.
Smith stopped 33 shots with double-digit saves all three periods (10-10-13) in a Nov. 18 game at No. 9 Harvard University.
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 Rensselaer with seven points on six goals and an assist; she is tied for the team lead in goals (six) and is atop the leaderboard in both power-play goals (three) and shooting percentage (.140); she is also tied for third in points (seven) and is second in shots (43). Boucher recorded her first career multiple-goal game with two tallies at Providence College on Nov. 7, and she potted another two goals last Saturday vs. PC. Boucher is the top UNH center in the faceoff circle with 166 wins, 325 faceoffs and a .511 win percentage.
Carlee Toews has been in the lineup as the left winger on the third line all 16 games this season; she scored her first career goal at UVM (Oct. 30) and tallied her second point of the season Nov. 22 vs. PC.
Brooke Avery has skated in 8 of 16 games, six of them on the fourth line. She has not recorded a point and has been a DNP the past seven games.
Ali Praus has skated in 14 of 16 games, including each of the last 11; 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. Jonna Curtis also has an even split with 23 goals and 23 assists in 67 games. Cassandra Vilgrain is nearly an equal finisher and distributor with 15 goals and 16 assists in 82 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 five points, all on assists – vs. Lindenwood (Oct. 9), at Merrimack (Oct. 17), at fourth-ranked Clarkson (Oct. 23), vs. Boston U. (Nov. 1) and vs. Providence (Nov. 21). 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 nine 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 14 of 16 games this season, including each of the last seven. 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 Engineers
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Troy, N.Y.) comes into this matchup with a record of 4-7-1, having lost two straight, and is 1-5-0 on home ice. Last weekend, the Engineers traveled up to Montreal to take on McGill, which shut out RPI, 4-0 in an exhibition game.
One week earlier, the Engineers took on Ivy League foes Harvard and Dartmouth, losing 2-1 and 4-0 respectively. RPI upended nationally-ranked Clarkson University, 2-1, on Nov. 7.
Rensselaer has a higher winning percentage when giving up the first goal (3-4-1) as opposed to scoring it (1-3-0). The Engineers average 1.83 goals per game while surrendering 2.42. Their power play is 6-for-58 (10.3%) and penalty kill is 29 of 35 (82.9%).
Senior forward Mari Mankey is the team's leader in points (eight), as well as tied for the lead in assists (five). She has recorded three goals and five assists for eight points. Alexa Gruschow and Katie Rooney are leading the team with four goals each. Jenn Godin is tied with Mankey atop the assist leaderboard. Freshman Lovisa Selander has started 10 of the 12 games this season, posting a 3-6-1 record with a 2.26 GAA and .929 save percentage.