Game Notes: Women's Hockey Travels to Maine for Weekend Series (Jan. 23-24)

Saturday, January 23

Orono, Maine

2 PM

University of New Hampshire

University of Maine

Game Notes: Women's Hockey Travels to Maine for Weekend Series (Jan. 23-24)

1/20/2016 11:11:00 AM | Women's Ice Hockey

UNH Wildcats (8-16-1, 5-10-0 Hockey East) at Maine (7-16-2, 3-12-1 Hockey East)
Saturday, January 23 (2 p.m.) – Alfond Arena – Orono, Maine
Sunday, January 24 (2 p.m.) – Alfond Arena – Orono, Maine

Video – Live Stats

The Games
The University of New Hampshire women's ice hockey team travels northeast for a two-game series against the University of Maine at Alfond Arena on Jan. 23-24. Both games begin at 2 p.m.

The Matchup
UNH has a 37-11-5 lifetime record against Maine but the Black Bears have won five of the last six matchups, including a 4-0 victory in this year's season opener Oct. 2 at the Whittemore Center.
In that game, Audra Richards scored at 11:38 and 17:38 of the first period to give Maine a 2-0 lead at the first intermission despite UNH's 9-6 shot advantage. The Black Bears recorded a 12-5 shot advantage in the scoreless second period, then Brooke Stacey extended the advantage to 3-0 at 10:43 of the third. The Wildcats pulled goaltender Hilary Cashin in favor of an extra skater with 3:20 remaining but Richards completed her hat trick by shooting the puck the length of the ice into the empty net at 18:13.
New Hampshire recorded a 15-3 shot advantage in the third period and finished with the 29-21 edge overall. Cashin stopped 17 of 20 shots faced while Maine's Meghann Treacy recorded 29 saves for the shutout.
Since the start of the 2010-11 season, Maine holds a 10-4-2 edge in the series and that includes 5-1-0 on home ice. In last year's only meeting at Alfond Arena, the Black Bears skated to a 2-1 victory in the season opener. Maine has won three consecutive home games vs. the Wildcats. UNH's most recent road win against Maine was Nov. 17, 2012 (2-1). New Hampshire was victorious in the last of three meetings last season – 4-2 on Feb. 1.
These programs first met in the 1998-99 season and the 'Cats outscored their guests 19-1 in a two-game series at the Whitt. UNH won the initial eight matchups and posted a 28-game unbeaten streak of 25-0-3 spanning the 2002-03 through 2009-10 seasons.

The State of New Hampshire
UNH has an 8-16-1 overall record with a 4-9-1 road record as well as 5-10-0 in Hockey East league games (3-5-0 in league road games).
The Wildcats have had a quiet start to the new year with just two games thus far in January. The 'Cats were swept by eighth-ranked Northeastern University in a home-and-home series Jan. 9 (4-2 at Matthews Arena) and Jan. 10 (5-2 at the Whitt).
All of New Hampshire's nine remaining regular-season games are Hockey East league games. UNH closes the month with three road games. The 'Cats are home for 5 of 6 February games.
The Wildcats' four-game win streak and five-game unbeaten streak ended Friday, Dec. 11 with a 6-0 loss at fourth-ranked Quinnipiac University. Both the win and unbeaten streaks were the team's longest since a seven-game win streak in the 2010-11 season.
New Hampshire has an 8-7-1 record against unranked teams.
Overall, the 'Cats are averaging 2.08 goals per game while allowing 3.36 gpg. The Wildcats have been outscored 84-52 with a breakdown of 25-15 in the first, 27-21 in the second and 32-15 in the third.
UNH is minus-32 in scoring but plus-60 in shots at 717-657 with the shot advantage all three periods at 226-225 (+1), 253-234 (+19) and 234-195 (+39).

On the Road
New Hampshire has close to a .500 record (4-5-1) the past 10 road games (Oct. 30 through December) and that includes 3-3-0 against Hockey East foes.

'Cat Nips
Junior forward Jonna Curtis carries a three-game point streak into the weekend series at Maine. She has a total of four points on three goals and an assist in those three games. Most recently, Curtis tallied three points in the two-game series against eighth-ranked Northeastern. She matched her personal best of two goals Jan. 9 at Matthews Arena and then tallied an assist one day later on home ice.
Curtis has a point 8 of the last 11 games with three multiple-point efforts in that span. She has six goals and five assists for 11 points spanning Nov. 21 to Jan. 10.
Sophomore forward Amy Boucher also has a three-game point-scoring streak and a point in 8 of 11. She scored a goal in UNH's most recent game (Jan. 10) and tallied an assist one day earlier at NU. The three-game streak started Dec. 13 when Boucher matched her career high of two assists. Boucher has 1-3-4 the past three games and has four multiple-point performances the last 11 games with totals of 5-7-12.
Freshman goaltender Kyra Smith has started 15 consecutive games dating back to a Nov. 8 start at UConn. Overall, she has played in 16 games (all starts) and has a 7-8-1 record with a 2.89 GAA and .889 save percentage. In nine Hockey East league games, Smith is 4-5-0 with a 2.78 GAA and .895 save percentage.
The last goaltender other than Smith to start between the pipes for UNH was Vilma Vaattovaara, who got the starting nod six consecutive games spanning Oct. 18 to Nov. 7.
Sophomore forward Kate Haslett has recorded a point every other game spanning the last seven games with one goal and three assists for four points. In the alternating pattern, Haslett tallied an assist the last game out.
Junior forward and alternate captain Cassandra Vilgrain has a point six of the last nine games with

The Top Line
New Hampshire's top line of Amy Boucher centering Jonna Curtis and Cassandra Vilgrain has been very productive since being put together Nov. 27 at Rensselaer. In nine games, the trio has recorded 13 of the team's 23 goals, 13 of 35 assists and 26 of 58 points.

50 Points
Junior forward Jonna Curtis recorded her 50th career point with the second of her two goals Dec. 4 against Merrimack College. She enters the weekend with 56 points (29g, 27a) in 76 games.
Senior defenseman and captain Sara Carlson is approaching 50 career points. Carlson has 47 points with 13 goals and 34 assists in 129 games.

Balanced Attack
Six 'Cats recorded one point in UNH's 5-2 loss to eighth-ranked Northeastern University on Jan. 10. Amy Boucher and Devan Taylor scored the goals while Jonna Curtis, Kate Haslett, Marie-Jo Pelletier and Cassandra Vilgrain tallied an assist.
A total of nine Wildcats recorded one point apiece in the 3-2 victory Dec. 8 against Dartmouth College with three goal scorers and six skaters tallying one assist.

Working Overtime
New Hampshire is 1-0-1 in overtime games this season and is unbeaten in OT under head coach Hilary Witt at 2-0-4. The Wildcats played beyond 60 minutes of regulation in a 2-1 win Dec. 5 at Merrimack College and a 3-3 tie Nov. 27 at Rensselaer.

Conference Call
The UNH Wildcats hold three of the top five spots in blocked shots. Senior defenseman and captain Sara Carlson is No. 2 with 51 and is followed by and freshmen Marie-Jo Pelletier (47) at No. 3 and Jenna Rheault (41) at No. 5.
Jonna Curtis is among the league leaders in a number of stats. The junior forward is 10th in points (25), tied for eighth in goals (12) and ranks fourth in shots (116).
Amy Boucher is tied for seventh in power-play goals (four).

Another Conference Call
In 15 Hockey East league games, Jonna Curtis has tallied six goals and nine assists for 15 points. Amy Boucher is next with nine points on six goals and three assists. Four skaters – Julia Fedeski Devan Taylor, Cassandra Vilgrain and Taylor Wenczkowski – are tied for third with five points.
In goal, Kyra Smith is 4-5-0 with a 2.78 GAA and .895 save percentage in nine games.

Special Teams
New Hampshire's power play closed the 2015 calendar year strong on the power-play with a PPG four of the last seven games (4-20; 20.0%). In January, the Wildcats went 0-for-2 on the power play in both games. Overall, UNH has netted a power-play goal 9 of 25 games with a high of three PPG Nov. 21 vs. Providence College.
UNH's penalty kill was near-perfect during the five-game unbeaten streak (Nov. 27 to Dec. 8) with one power-play goal allowed in 12 shorthanded situations for a 91.7 percent kill rate. The PK is 5 of 6 (83.3%) the past three games.
Overall, UNH is 12-for-75 (16.0%) on the power play and 53 of 70 (75.7%) on the penalty kill.

First Strike
UNH has scored the game's first goal 11 times, and that included every game during the four-game win streak (late November to early December). The Wildcats have a 7-4-0 record when taking a 1-0 lead. New Hampshire recorded its first win of the season after falling behind 1-0 in the last game before the holiday break, when Yale struck first but the 'Cats prevailed 5-2. Overall, the 'Cats are 1-12-1 when the opponent scores first.

That Was Close
Eight of UNH's 25 games have been decided by one goal and the Wildcats have a 5-3 record in those contests. UNH has been the victor each of the last five games decided by one goal, including three games in the four-game win streak.

Most Recently
New Hampshire has not faced off in game action since eighth-ranked Northeastern University prevailed 5-2 at the Whittemore Center on Jan. 10. NU led 2-0 at the first intermission, but the Wildcats scored the only goal of the second period – by Amy Boucher – to pull within one goal heading into the final frame. The Huskies reestablished a two-goal lead at 3-1, but Devan Taylor scored midway through the third period to once again trim the deficit to one. NU struck again 80 seconds later, however, and added an empty-net goal with 14 seconds left to secure the win.
The visitors finished with a 29-27 shot advantage and went 1-for-2 on the power play, while UNH did not score on two skater advantages despite recording a total of six power-play shots.
One day earlier, Northeastern skated to a 4-2 victory at Matthews Arena. UNH erased a two-goal, second-period deficit on consecutive goals by Jonna Curtis at 9:25 and 13:48, but the Huskies scored twice more before the second intermission and neither team scored in the third period. NU tallied a 35-25 shot advantage and both teams were 0x2 on the power play.

What's Next
Following the two games at Maine, the Wildcats close the month of January with a single game at Northeastern on Jan. 29. UNH's next home game is Feb. 5, which is the first of a two-game series at the Whittemore Center against Vermont.

'Cat Captain
Senior defenseman Sara Carlson is reprising her role as team captain in the 2015-16 season. Last year as a junior, 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 has been paired with sophomore defenseman Amy Schlagel all 25 games this season. Carlson ranks second on the team in assists (nine) and is fourth in points (11). She is atop the team leaderboard in blocked shots (51).
Carlson matched her career high of two assists – and two points – twice in November, most recently Nov. 27 at Rensselaer. She also tallied two assists Nov. 21 vs. Providence as well as Oct. 10 against Syracuse.
She recorded a point three consecutive games with a goal (Oct. 23) and assist (Oct. 24) at Clarkson followed by a goal at UVM (Oct. 30).

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 recorded nine points (5g, 4a) in 25 games this season; she was a winger on the second line the initial 16 games before shifting to the top line with Jonna Curtis and Amy Boucher for the November series at RPI, and she has remained there since (nine games total).
The move paid immediate dividends for Vilgrain, who recorded a point both games against the Engineers with a goal Nov. 27 and an assist Nov. 28. It marked the first time this season she recorded a point in consecutive games. Vilgrain has scored a goal three of the last six games.
Kashman was sidelined by injury the entire 2015 calendar year before making her season debut Jan. 9 at nationally-ranked Northeastern. She was listed as center on the fourth line that game and saw limited playing time; the lineup did not change the next day at home against those Huskies.

Top Of The List
Junior forward Jonna Curtis leads the team in goals (12), assists (13), points (25), shots (116) and plus/minus (+2). Curtis has tallied a point each of the last three games (3g, 1a) and in 6 of 7 (3g, 2a) as well as 7 of 9 (6-4-10) and 8 of 11 (6-5-11). Overall, she has a point in 16 of 25 games with seven multiple-point efforts; she has scored a goal in nine games and tallied an assist in 11 games.
Curtis has matched her career high of two goals three times – at Clarkson (Oct. 24), vs. Merrimack (Dec. 4) and at Northeastern (Jan. 9) – and she equaled her personal best of two assists consecutive games against Boston U. (Nov. 1) and Providence College (Nov. 7).
She tallied a season high of three points in the aforementioned games at Clarkson and vs. BU.
Curtis recorded a six-game point streak concurrent with a five-game assist streak from Oct. 23 to Nov. 8; she tallied four goals and seven assists for 11 points during the streak.

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, and goaltender Vilma Vaattovaara.
Breedlove enters the weekend with five points, all on assists, in 25 games. She recorded her first career multiple-assist game with two at Rensselaer on Nov. 28, and the two points matched her personal best. Breedlove tallied a single assist Dec. 5 at Merrimack as well against both Syracuse (Oct. 10) and Vermont (Oct. 30).
Jensen has four points with a goal and three assists; in the Dec. 13 game vs. Yale, she quarterbacked the second power-play unit and recorded an assist. Jensen has been one of the top centers in the faceoff circle at 162 of 318 (.509 win percentage) – all three of those numbers rank second on the team. In the last week before break, Jensen won 19 of 32 (59.4%) faceoffs in three games.
Lund has six points with two goals and four assists; she recorded her first career multiple-point game Dec. 13 with a goal and an assist against Yale. She had scored her first goal of the season earlier that week (Dec. 8) against Dartmouth. Lund skated as the right wing on UNH's third line the first 16 games of the season before the lineup changes Nov. 27 at RPI, when she was shifted to the second line and was there five consecutive games; she and her linemates were listed as the third line the last two games of 2015 but in 2016 they returned to the second line. Lund 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 1-6-0 with a 4.15 GAA and .865 save percentage; in four Hockey East games, she is 1-3-0 with a 3.88 GAA and .872 save percentage. She has not seen action since Nov. 7 at Providence College (5-4 loss).

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 (six), is tied for second in power-play goals (two), and is third in points (12); she is also tied for fourth in assists (six) and ranks fifth in shots (53). Schlagel recorded a point five of the last seven games in the 2015 calendar year, including the overtime game-winning goal Dec. 5 at Merrimack College; one week earlier, she recorded a point both games at RPI with a goal Nov. 27 and assist Nov. 28. Schlagel was held off the scoresheet in this month's home-and-home series vs. Northeastern. Overall, Schlagel has a point in 11 of 25 games.
Schlagel 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). She recorded her first career multiple-point game with a goal and an assist Oct. 10 Syracuse as part of a three-game point streak.
Sophomore Julia Fedeski, who did not play the Nov. 27-28 weekend series at Rensselaer, is tied for fourth on the team in assists (six); in her Dec. 4 return to the lineup, she recorded an assist. Fedeski also has two goals for a total of eight points. She matched her career high of two points with a goal and an assist against both Lindenwood (Oct. 9) and BU (Nov. 1).
Sophomore Kaylee Forster has skated in 22 of 25 games – she has dressed each of the last 22 after being a DNP the first three – and has tallied three points (1g, 2a). Forster recorded her first career point with a goal Oct. 30 at Vermont and tallied her first assist Nov. 8 at UConn. Her other assist was Nov. 21 vs. PC.
Freshman Marie-Jo Pelletier enters the weekend ranked second on the team with 47 blocked shots – and she stands in at 4-foot-11. She has recorded three of her five points – all assists – the past six games and that includes a helper Jan. 10 vs. nationally-ranked Northeastern. Pelletier 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); Pelletier also picked up an assist Dec. 5 at Merrimack and Dec. 13 vs. Yale.
Freshman Jenna Rheault has also skated in all 25 games and, like Pelletier, recorded her first career point with a goal in that Oct. 24 game at fourth-ranked Clarkson. Rheault netted her second goal – and point – of the season with a power-play tally Dec. 13 vs. Yale.

Facing Off
Amy Boucher leads New Hampshire in faceoffs won (283), taken (524) and win percentage (.540); she is at 50% or better in 17 of 25 games and that included a 10-for-13 performance (76.9%) in the most recent game vs. No. 8 Northeastern on Jan. 10. Boucher was far above 50% the Dec. 4-5 weekend vs. Merrimack with an 18 of 25 effort (72.0%) on Friday followed by 14 of 23 (60.9%) on Saturday.
Boucher won 28 of 47 draws (59.6%) the previous weekend at RPI and that included a 13-for-20 effort in the 3-3 tie. In early November, she won 18 of 31 (58.0%) against Boston U. and 15 of 28 (53.6%) at Providence in consecutive games. The 18 wins vs. both BU and Merrimack stand as the high by any Wildcat this season.
Nicoline Jensen is next in all three stats with 162 wins, 318 total and a .509 win percentage. She is .500 or better in 15 of 25 games, including 10 of the last 14 games; in the last week before break, Jensen was 10-for-14 (71.4%) against Dartmouth and 6 of 9 vs. Yale; also of note, she won 8 of 11 Nov. 28 at RPI and 9 of 11 one week earlier against Providence. In addition to the game vs. the Big Green, Jensen has reached double digits in wins twice with a season high of 11 (of 18) Nov. 21 vs. PC.
UNH has recorded the faceoff advantage in seven of the last 10 games and 11 of 25 overall.

The Puck Stops Here
In addition to senior goaltender Vilma Vaattovaara, junior Ashley Wilkes returns in net for the Wildcats; freshmen Kyra Smith and Hilary Cashin give the 'Cats four netminders on the roster.
Smith has stepped into the role of New Hampshire's #1 goalie. She has started each of the last 14 games dating back to a 2-1 win at UConn on Nov. 8. Smith is 7-8-1 with a 2.89 GAA and team-best .889 save percentage in 16 games (all starts).
She has garnered three Hockey East accolades this season, including Rookie of the Month for December. Smith was previously honored as Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Week on Dec. 7 after leading the Wildcats to a weekend sweep of Merrimack with a 0.98 GAA and .949 save percentage (37 saves, two GA) in two games. She was named Defensive Player of the Week on Nov. 9 following a 21-save effort in the aforementioned win at UConn.
Smith stopped 30 of 32 shots (.938 save percentage) to backbone UNH to victory vs. Dartmouth on Dec. 8.
Smith finished with a career-high 34 saves, including 16 in the second period, Nov. 13 at second-ranked Boston College. Two games later, she stopped 33 shots at ninth-ranked Harvard University (Nov. 18). On Dec. 5, she stopped 23 of 24 shots in the 2-1 overtime win at Merrimack.
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.
Wilkes made her only appearance this season 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.
Cashin has played a total of 126:23 in three games this season, and she has a 0-1-0 record with a 3.32 GAA and .841 save percentage. She did not play a stretch of 16 consecutive games spanning Oct. 23 to Dec. 8 before making a relief stint of 47 minutes, 56 seconds at fourth-ranked Quinnipiac on Dec. 11. Cashin stopped 15 of 17 shots (88.2%) and shut out the Bobcats in the third period on seven saves.
Prior to Dec. 11, Cashin had not seen action since Oct. 18 at second-ranked Boston College, when she made five saves and allowed two goals in the third period.
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).

No Longer New
In addition to the threesome 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 Saturday's game at Maine with 17 points on nine goals and eight assists to rank second on the team in both goals and points, as well as third in assists. Boucher is also second in shots (67) and has a team-best .134 shooting percentage. She has a point in 12 of 25 games, including five multiple-point performances, and has an active three-game point streak.
Boucher was the team's top point producer the last nine games of the 2015 calendar year with 10 points (4g, 6a). She tallied a point in 6 of 9 with four multiple-point efforts. She matched her career high of two goals against both Providence (Oct. 21) and Rensselaer (Nov. 28), recorded her first career multiple-assist effort Nov. 27 at Rensselaer, and closed the year by tallying another two helpers vs. Yale (Dec. 13).
Boucher is the top UNH center in the faceoff circle with 283 faceoffs won, 524 taken and a .540 win percentage.
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. Her entire line climbed to the second line the final weekend of 2015 in games at fourth-ranked Quinnipiac and home vs. Yale.
Haslett has recorded a point every-other-game the past seven games with a goal and three assists. She tallied an assist in UNH's most recent game (Jan. 10 vs. Northeastern); she closed out the 2015 calendar year with a goal against Yale; she previously tallied an assist vs. Dartmouth and against Merrimack.
Haslett has now skated 16 games as a forward this season in comparison to eight as a defenseman (with one DNP Nov. 1 vs. Boston U.). She has three goals and five assists for a total of eight points overall, with 3-3-6 as a forward and 0-2-2 as a D; the two assists and points Oct. 24 at nationally-ranked Clarkson were a career high.
Carlee Toews has two points this season with a goal and an assist in 25 games. She scored her first career goal at UVM (Oct. 30) and tallied her other point with an assist vs. PC (Nov. 21). Toews has been the left winger on the third line for 18 games of 23 games; she was on the second line five consecutive games spanning Nov. 27 to Dec. 8, as well as in both January games.
Ali Praus has skated in 21 of 25 games, including 18 consecutive games spanning Oct. 23 to Dec. 13; she did not dress the Oct. 17-18 weekend against Merrimack and BC and was also a DNP in this month's two-game series vs. Northeastern.
Brooke Avery has skated in 8 of 25 games, six of them on the fourth line. She has not recorded a point and has been sidelined by injury the past 16 games.

One For Me, One For You
In her career, Jonna Curtis is nearly an equal finisher and distributor with 29 goals and 27 assists in 76 games. Cassandra Vilgrain is close to an even split with 19 goals and 18 assists in 91 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 is UNH's top rookie scorer with eight points on two goals and six assists. She tallied her first career goal – and multiple-goal game – Dec. 4 vs. Merrimack at the Whittemore Center. She has skated in 24 of 25 games with a DNP Oct. 24 at Clarkson. She was the right wing on the top line the first six games of the season, then was shifted to the left wing on the second line when she returned Oct. 30 at UVM. She was there nine consecutive games, then skated on the third line five consecutive games before Wenczkowski and her linemates were promoted to the second line the last two games. That line was once again shifted to third on the line chart in this month's home-and-home series against Northeastern.
Taylor has four goals and three assists for a total of seven points and that includes a goal two of the last five games – Jan. 10 vs. nationally-ranked Northeastern and Dec. 8 vs. Dartmouth. She tallied two assists – both on goals by Wenczkowski – for her first career multiple point game Dec. 4 vs. Merrimack. Taylor recorded her first career point with an assist at fourth-ranked Clarkson (Oct. 24) and scored her first career goal the next game at Vermont (Oct. 30). She also netted a goal Nov. 8 at PC.
Radatovich has skated in 20 of 25 games this season, including each of the last 14. 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 (3-2 win)
Dec. 13 vs. Yale (5-2 win)
Jan. 10 vs. Northeastern (5-2 loss)
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.
Another regular-season game – Nov. 18 at Harvard – was broadcast on NESN Plus.

Smith Receives Rookie of the Month Accolade
Freshman goaltender Kyra Smith was honored by Hockey East as the Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Month for December; the announcement was made Jan. 6. Smith started all five December games and went 4-1-0 with a 2.36 GAA and .905 save percentage. She was honored as Hockey East Rookie of the Week back on Dec. 8 after backboning UNH to a weekend sweep of Merrimack College in which she stopped 37 of 39 shots for a 0.98 GAA and .949 save percentage.
Smith followed that with a 30-save effort, including double digits in both the second (11) and third (10) periods, to lead the Wildcats to a 3-2 home win against intrastate rival Dartmouth College on Dec. 8.
New Hampshire ended the 2015 calendar year with a 5-2 victory on home ice against Yale University on Dec. 13. Smith made 10 of her 21 saves in the third period of that game.

Scouting the Black Bears
The University of Maine (Orono, Maine) enters the weekend with a 7-16-2 overall record that includes 3-12-1 in Hockey East and 4-8-2 at home (1-6-1 in home league games). The Black Bears have lost three consecutive games following last weekend's 8-1 and 5-2 losses at Northeastern; NU recorded a 64-23 shot advantage in the 8-1 win. Maine is winless the last five (0-3-2) and is 1-10-2 since Nov. 14.
Audra Richards and Brooke Stacey are the top point producers. Richards leads the Black Bears in both goals (11) and points (17), and is third in assists (six). Stacey is tied atop the assist leaderboard with seven and ranks second in both goals (eight) and points (15). Mikayla Rogers is tied for the team lead in assists and is tied for fourth with those seven points.
Meghann Treacy is the top goalie with 22 starts in 23 games played. She has a 6-13-2 record with a 2.72 GAA, .919 save percentage and three shutouts. In 16 Hockey East league games, Treacy is 3-10-1 with a 3.15 GAA, .913 save percentage and one shutout.
Maine is averaging 1.80 goals per game while surrendering 3.16 gpg; the scoring discrepancy is higher in Hockey East with an average of 1.69 gpg for and 3.69 gpg against. Overall, the Black Bears have been outscored 79-45 and that includes 30-13 in the third period.
On special teams, the power play has struggled to a 7.6% success rate (7 of 92) while the penalty kill checks in at 78.6% (77-for-98).