Game Notes: Women's Hockey Travels to UConn for Hockey East Quarterfinal

Friday, February 26

Storrs, CT

7 PM

University of New Hampshire

University of Connecticut

Game Notes: Women's Hockey Travels to UConn for Hockey East Quarterfinal

2/25/2016 10:55:00 AM | Women's Ice Hockey

UNH Wildcats (11-22-1, 8-16-0 Hockey East) at UConn Huskies (15-14-5, 11-10-3 Hockey East)
Friday, Feb. 26 (7 p.m.) – Freitas Ice Forum – Storrs, Conn. – Video – Live Stats
Saturday, Feb. 27 (3 p.m.) – Freitas Ice Forum – Storrs, Conn.
Sunday, Feb. 28 (3 p.m.) – Freitas Ice Forum – Storrs, Conn.

The Postseason Begins Now
The University of New Hampshire women's ice hockey team enters the Hockey East Championship tournament as the No. 5 seed and travels to play fourth-seeded University of Connecticut in a best-of-3 quarterfinal series Feb. 26-28 at Freitas Ice Forum. Friday's game has a 7 p.m. start time. Game 2 and Game 3, if necessary, begin at 3 p.m.

The Matchup
UNH has a 41-8-5 lifetime record, including 19-4-2 on the road, against UConn. The Wildcats extended their unbeaten streak vs. the Huskies to five games (4-0-1) with a 2-1 victory last Saturday at the Whittemore Center, but UConn left Durham following a 2-1 overtime victory Sunday.
Including a 2-1 win at Freitas Ice Forum last November, the Wildcats have won three consecutive road games – and five of the last six meetings (5-1-0) in Storrs – in this series. UConn's only home win the past four years was a 3-1 victory Jan. 18, 2014.
In this year's series, UNH outscored UConn 5-4 with a 82-65 shot advantage. The Wildcats went 2-for-6 on the power play; UConn was 0-11.
Last weekend at the Whittemore Center, the team that scored first lost both games. In the opener (Saturday, Feb. 20), UConn took a 1-0 lead at 11:01 of the first period and held that one-goal advantage until Jonna Curtis finished a one-timer from in front at 14:39 of the second stanza. It looked like the game could go into overtime, but UNH went on its second power play at 15:33 and Carlee Toews scored with 15 seconds remaining on the skater advantage to give the 'Cats a 2-1 lead at 17:18. The Huskies were whistled for checking at 18:54 and that prevented UConn from pulling goaltender Elaine Chuli in favor of an extra skater the rest of the way. UNH finished with a 31-19 shot advantage as Kyra Smith finished with 18 saves. Chuli made 13 of her 29 saves in the first period.
In the regular-season finale, this time is was the UConn Huskies that prevailed by a 2-1 score, albeit this time in overtime. New Hampshire took a 1-0 lead on a goal by Nicoline Jensen at 8:50 of the first period. The score remained that way until early in the final frame, when Theresa Knutson scored 36 seconds after the opening faceoff to tie the score. UNH would go on to outshoot the visitors 15-8 in the third period, but Chuli stopped all 15 shots to keep the score deadlocked through regulation. UConn, which had been outshot 29-22 through 60 minutes, recorded a 3-1 shot advantage in OT and that included Knutson's game-winning goal at 1:25 of the extra session. Chuli finished with 29 saves for the second consecutive day as UNH recorded a 30-25 shot advantage.
In the November matchup at Freitas Ice Forum, Smith stopped 21 of 22 shots in her second career start to earn her first career win. Cassandra Vilgrain gave UNH a 1-0 lead midway through the first period. UConn's Marisa Maccario tied the score in the second stanza, but Amy Schlagel scored a power-play goal seven minutes later to give the Wildcats a 2-1 lead, and that proved to be the final score as Smith stopped all six UConn shots in the third period to preserve the win. Huskies' goalie Annie Belanger made 19 saves. UNH went 1-for-2 on the power play and the Wildcats' penalty kill was a perfect 5-for-5.

UNH vs. UConn: Postseason history
New Hampshire and Connecticut have met twice before in postseason play with both teams winning once. This will be the first time that UConn is the higher seed.
In 2005, third-seeded UConn upset No. 2 UNH, 5-4 in overtime of a semifinal game at Boston University's Walter Brown Arena. In the 2007 semifinals at UNH's Whittemore Center, the top-seeded Wildcats prevailed 2-0.

The State of New Hampshire
UNH enters the Hockey East quarterfinals with an 11-22-1 overall record that includes 8-16-0 in league play and 6-11-1 on the road (5-7-0 in league road games).
New Hampshire ended a four-game losing streak last Saturday by rallying for a 2-1 victory against UConn at the Whittemore Center. The teams faced off again one day later in the regular-season finale with the Huskies surging to a 2-1 win in overtime.
UNH has lost its last two road games and has a 2-3-0 road record in the 2016 calendar year.
The Wildcats scored less than three goals each of the last three games of the regular season and topped the three-goal threshold once the last seven games of the season (6-4 loss at Boston University; Feb. 13).
Overall, the 'Cats are averaging 2.18 goals per game while allowing 3.24 gpg. The Wildcats have been outscored 110-74 with a breakdown of 29-21 in the first, 33-31 in the second and 47-21 in the third.
UNH is minus -36 in scoring but plus-123 in shots at 1,011-888 with the shot advantage all three periods at 321-286 (+35), 356-293 (+53) and 329-293 (+36).

'Cat Nips
Freshman goaltender Kyra Smith stopped 41 of 44 shots in last weekend's two-game series vs. UConn for a 1.50 GAA and .932 save percentage.
Sophomore forward Carlee Toews was the only Wildcat to record a point in the regular-season-ending series vs. the Huskies. She scored the game-winning goal Saturday on the power play with 2:42 remaining. Then on Sunday, she recorded an assist on the team's only goal.
Senior forward Nicoline Jensen scored a goal – her third of the season – on Senior Day. Classmate Margo Lund was credited with the secondary assist on the tally.
Junior forward Jonna Curtis scored her team-leading 16th goal of the season last Saturday.
Senior defenseman Sara Carlson tallied an assist on Toews' game-winning goal last Saturday. She enters the postseason tied for second on the team in assists with 13.
Junior forward Cassandra Vilgrain factored in nearly half UNH's goals the last four games of the regular season. She recorded four points (3g, 1a) on the team's nine goals.

Hockey East Championship History
UNH has won four Hockey East championship titles (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009) – the second-highest total in league history – and has been the runner-up twice (2003, 2004). The Wildcats' six title game appearances are the most of any Hockey East school.
New Hampshire has an overall record of 11-9 in 12 Hockey East postseason appearances. The Wildcats have been the No. 1 seed five times (9-1 record), No. 2 seed three times (1-3), No. 4 seed once (0-1), No. 6 seed twice (1-3) and No. 8 seed once (0-1).
For the first time in the 14-year history of the Hockey East tournament, UNH is the No. 5 seed. UConn has an 0-3 record as the No. 4 seed, including 0-1 in the quarterfinals.
The Wildcats have not advanced out of the quarterfinals in four previous appearances, all of which came the previous four years. The last time the 'Cats advanced out of any round was in 2009, when they won the title by defeating Providence, 3-1, in the semifinals and BC, 2-1, in the championship game.
Hockey East implemented a best-of-three quarterfinal series last season and that format continues in the 2016 tourney. Last year, fifth-seeded UConn traveled to Maine and swept the fourth-seeded Black Bears.
Since the quarterfinals were introduced in 2009, the No. 5 seed has advanced four times (in comparison to three times for the No. 4 seed). UConn will be in a 4-5 matchup for the fifth time when the Huskies face off against UNH this weekend.
Boston U. has won four consecutive Hockey East tournament titles and five of the last six. BC captured the title in 2011.

Deja Vu
This is the second consecutive year that UNH plays the same team in the quarterfinals that it played the last weekend of the regular season. Last season, Northeastern swept a home-and-home series to end the regular season. The Wildcats took a 1-0 series lead with a 2-1 victory in Game 1 at Matthews Arena, but NU won the next two games (3-2, 4-3) –also at Matthews Arena – to advance to the semifinals and end UNH's season.

How the Playoff Picture Developed
UNH entered last weekend tied for fifth place in the Hockey East league standings with both Vermont and Providence – and both teams held the tiebreaker advantage against the Wildcats.
New Hampshire was idle last Friday while both UVM and PC lost. Then on Saturday, UNH upended UConn while PC lost and UVM skated to a tie. The combination of those three results secured the No. 5 seed for the 'Cats regardless of the outcome of last Sunday's regular-season finale.
UConn was already locked into the No. 4 seed before the start of last weekend's action.

February Recap
UNH has a 1-5-0 record in February and the Wildcats lost their only road game of the month, 6-4, at Boston University on Feb. 13. New Hampshire has been outscored 20-12 (including three empty-net goals against) despite recording a 187-243 shot advantage, which calculates to 31.2 to 23.8 shots per game. The opponents recorded a 12-3 scoring edge in the third period; at the other end of the spectrum, UNH has a 4-2 edge in the first period.

Working Overtime
New Hampshire is 1-1-1 in overtime games this season. Last Sunday's 2-1 loss to UConn was the first in OT during head coach Hilary Witt's tenure; the Wildcats have a 2-1-4 overtime record in her two seasons.
Earlier this season, the Wildcats played beyond 60 minutes of regulation in a 2-1 win Dec. 5 at Merrimack and a 3-3 tie Nov. 27 at Rensselaer.

The Top Line
New Hampshire's top line of Amy Boucher centering Jonna Curtis and Cassandra Vilgrain has produced 25 goals and 23 assists for 48 points in 18 games together. After being held off the score sheet in the two-game series against Vermont (Feb. 5-6), the trio combined to score all four goals in the 6-4 loss at Boston University on Feb. 13 and netted another goal in the Feb. 14 game vs. BU. They also tallied four assists for a total of nine points in two games.

Let Me Assist You
Senior defenseman/forward Haley Breedlove recorded her sixth assist of the season last Saturday vs. UConn; all six of her points this season are on assists. Also of note, all seven points recorded by freshman defenseman Marie-Jo Pelletier have been on assists.

Special Teams
New Hampshire excelled on both the power play and penalty kill the last eight games of the regular season. The Wildcats did not cash in on their only power play opportunity in Sunday's regular-season finale vs. UConn, but prior to that the 'Cats had scored a power-play goal three consecutive games and went 3-for-13 (23.1%) in that span.
The Wildcats scored a power-play goal six of the last eight games and had a 25.0% success rate (7 of 28). Overall in 32 games, UNH is 19 of 108 (17.6%) and that includes 14-for-81 (17.3%) in Hockey East.
The Wildcats' penalty kill was also strong the last eight games with just one power-play goal allowed in 23 shorthanded situations for a 95.8% success rate. For the season, UNH's PK is 77-for-96 (80.2%) with an 83.1% success rate (59 of 71) in Hockey East.

First Strike
UNH has scored the game's first goal in half of its 34 games and has a 9-8-0 record when taking a 1-0 lead. But scoring first has not boded well for the 'Cats in February – they have lost each of the last four games in which they led 1-0.
New Hampshire has a 2-14-1 record when surrendering the game's first goal. The Wildcats picked up their second win last weekend vs. UConn, when they trailed 1-0 midway through the game but netted a goal in the second and third periods to record a 2-1 win. UNH 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.

Conference Call
UNH boasts two of the top skaters in Hockey East in blocked shots with three in the top seven overall. Sara Carlson is No. 2 with 67 – she trails leader Dominique Kremer of Merrimack by one – and Marie-Jo Pelletier is No. 4 at 62. Also of note, Jenna Rheault is No. 7 (49).
Jonna Curtis is among the Hockey East league leaders in a couple of stats. The junior forward is tied for eighth in goals (16) and ranks fourth in shots (148).
Amy Boucher ranks fourth in power-play goals (six).
Amy Schlagel is tied for sixth in defenseman scoring with 20 points and she ranks eighth in power-play points with 11.

Another Conference Call
In 24 Hockey East league games, Jonna Curtis tallied 10 goals and 13 assists for 23 points. Amy Boucher was next with 17 points on nine goals and eight assists, and she was followed by Amy Schlagel at 5-7-12. Cassandra Vilgrain (7-4-11) and Sara Carlson (3-7-10) also reached double digit points in Hockey East action.
In goal, Kyra Smith went 7-10-0 with a 2.60 GAA and .901 save percentage in 17 games (all starts).

'Cat Captain
Senior defenseman Sara Carlson has reprised 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 on the blue line and was paired with sophomore defenseman Amy Schlagel every game this season – until the last four games, when freshman Jenna Rheault was her D-partner. Carlson is tied for second on the team in assists (13) and is fourth in points (17); she tallied an assist two of the last three games of the regular season. Carlson is atop the team leaderboard in blocked shots (67).
She recorded a season-best four-game point streak spanning Jan. 23 to Feb. 5 in which she tallied four points on two goals and two assists.
Carlson has matched her career high of two assists – and two points –three times this season, most recently Nov. 27 at Rensselaer. She also tallied two assists Nov. 21 vs. Providence as well as Oct. 10 against Syracuse.

The Alternates
Senior forward Heather Kashman and junior forward Cassandra Vilgrain are designated team leaders by their distinction as alternate captains. Kashman was also an alternate captain last year.
Vilgrain has recorded 15 points (10g, 5a) in 34 games this season and ended the regular season with point three of the last four games. She scored a goal both games in the Feb. 13-14 series vs. Boston University and that included matching her career high of two goals Feb. 13. Last weekend, Vilgrain had an assist in Saturday's 2-1 win vs. UConn.
Vilgrain 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 (18 games total) with 12 points (9g, 3a) in that span.
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.
Kashman was sidelined by injury the entire 2015 calendar year before making her season debut Jan. 9 at nationally-ranked Northeastern. She has not missed a game since returning to the lineup; she has not recorded a point in 11 games.

Top Of The List
Junior forward Jonna Curtis leads the team in goals (16), assists (17), points (33), shots (156) and plus/minus (+1). Curtis tallied a point three consecutive games before being held off the score sheet in the regular-season finale vs. UConn. She scored the game-tying goal en route to a 2-1 victory against the Huskies last Saturday and, one week earlier, Curtis recorded an assist in both games against Boston University; she also scored a goal to finish that weekend with three points.
Curtis has tallied a point eight of the last 12 games (7g, 5a) and in 11 of 16 (9g, 7a). Overall, she has a point in 21 of 34 games with nine multiple-point efforts; she has scored a goal in 12 games and tallied an assist in 13 games.
Curtis matched her season high of three points by scoring a goal and equalling a personal best of two assists Jan. 23 at Maine.
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).
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 point streak, which is tied for the longest by a Wildcat this season.

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 six points, all on assists, in 34 games and that included one in last Saturday's 2-1 win vs. UConn. 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). Breedlove has split time as a forward and defenseman with the majority of games at forward (23 of 34); she has skated as a defenseman each of the last nine games, however.
Jensen has seven points with three goals and four assists; she scored a goal in the Senior Day game last Sunday vs. UConn (2-1 loss). In the Feb. 6 game vs. Vermont, she scored a second-period power-play goal to give the Wildcats a 2-1 lead. Jensen has been one of the top centers in the faceoff circle at 212 of 425 (.499 win percentage) – all three of those numbers rank second on the team. She was exactly .500 both games last weekend vs. UConn. In the last week before break, Jensen won 19 of 32 (59.4%) faceoffs in three games.
Lund has 11 points with four goals and seven assists, and she recorded a point five of the last nine regular-season games. Lund tallied a point both games of the Feb. 5-6 series against Vermont with an assist Friday and a goal Saturday; prior to that, in the Jan. 23-24 weekend at Maine, she scored a goal in Saturday's 5-1 win and tallied an assist in Sunday's 3-0 win. Most recently, Lund had an assist in Sunday's regular-season finale.
Lund 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 have returned to the second line.
Lund tallied her first assist as a Wildcat – and ninth of her career – at Vermont (Oct. 30).
Vaattovaara returned to action Feb. 14 against Boston University – she had not played a stretch of 21 consecutive games since her last start Nov. 7 at Providence College. In this month's game vs. BU, she stopped 17 of 21 shots and that included all seven in a scoreless first period (UNH lost 6-2 with the Terriers scoring a pair of empty-net goals).
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.
She has eight starts overall and that included a stretch of six consecutive starts, three of which were against a Top 4 team (one at #2 BC, two at #4 Clarkson).
Vaattovaara is 1-7-0 with a 4.15 GAA and .860 save percentage; in five Hockey East games, she is 1-4-0 with a 3.94 GAA and .862 save percentage.

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 in the PC / UConn in early November. As of late – the last nine games – senior Haley Breedlove has joined the defensive unit.
Sophomore Amy Schlagel is fourth on the team in goals (eight), second in power-play goals (three) and third in points (20); she is also fourth in both assists (12) and shots (79); she leads all UNH defensemen in goals, assists and points. She has a point in 17 of 34 games overall.
Schlagel recorded a point six of the last nine regular-season games with a pair of three-game point streaks; she tallied eight points (2g, 6a) in that time frame. Schlagel recorded her first career multiple-assist game Jan. 29 at Northeastern and matched that Feb. 6 vs. Vermont.
Sophomore Julia Fedeski, who did not play the Nov. 27-28 weekend series at Rensselaer, is fifth on the team in assists (eight); she also has two goals for a total of 10 points. Fedeski 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 30 of 34 games – she dressed 24 consecutive games before a DNP on Jan. 29 at NU, and has skated all six games since then. Forster has tallied three points (1g, 2a). She 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 62 blocked shots – and she stands in at 4-foot-11. She has recorded seven points, all on assists, with the most recent one Feb. 13 against the Terriers of Boston University. Pelletier recorded her first career point 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, as well as back-to-back games vs. Northeastern (Jan. 10) and at Maine (Jan. 23).
Freshman Jenna Rheault has also skated in all 34 games and, like Pelletier, recorded her first career point with a goal in that Oct. 24 game at fourth-ranked Clarkson; she has a total of three points (2g, 1a). In the Feb. 13-14 reshuffling of the D-pairs, Rheault was on the ice with Sara Carlson; the two remained a unit last weekend vs. UConn. Rheault netted her second goal – and point – of the season with a power-play tally Dec. 13 vs. Yale. She tallied her first career assist Feb. 6 vs. Vermont.

Facing Off
Amy Boucher leads New Hampshire in faceoffs won (386), taken (723) and win percentage (.534). She is at 50% or better in 23 of 34 games and that included a stretch of five consecutive games before not recording that mark in the regular-season finale. In the home-and-home series vs. BU (Feb. 13-14), Boucher won 31 of 47 faceoffs (66.0%) and that included 17 of 22 (77.3%) on Feb. 14; the 17 wins marked the second highest total of the season. She has won 10+ faceoffs a total of 23 times.
Boucher had a very impressive 10-for-13 performance (76.9%) vs. No. 8 Northeastern on Jan. 10, and she 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.
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 212 wins, 425 total and a .499 win percentage. She is .500 or better in 20 of 34 games and finished at exactly .500 both games last weekend vs. UConn.
In the Jan. 23-24 series at Maine, she won 6 of 9 in the series opener and 6 of 12 the next day; in the last week before holiday 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 14 of 34 games 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 started a stretch of 21 consecutive games spanning Nov. 8 (2-1 win at UConn) to Feb. 13 (6-4 loss at BU); it marked the longest streak of consecutive starts by a UNH goaltender since Kayley Herman's mark of 20 (Oct. 8, 2008 to Jan. 16, 2009).
Smith is 10-13-1 with a 2.72 GAA and team-best .896 save percentage in 24 games (all starts). In 17 Hockey East conference games, Smith is 7-10-0 with a 2.60 GAA and .901 save percentage. Last weekend, Smith stopped 41 of 44 shots in last weekend's two-game series vs. UConn for a 1.50 GAA and .932 save percentage. And back on Feb. 13 at Boston University, Smith made 18 third-period saves as part of a 32-save effort (in a 6-2 loss).
She has garnered four 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 received that award again Jan. 25 after her performance at Maine; she stopped 53 of 54 shots for a 0.50 GAA and .981 save percentage, and recorded her first career shutout. Smith was named Defensive Player of the Week on Nov. 9 following a 21-save effort in the aforementioned win at UConn.
Smith has made 30+ saves five times this season, including 32 to record her first career shutout in the Wildcats' 3-0 win at Maine on Jan. 24. She 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.
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 the postseason with 25 points on 12 goals and 13 assists to rank second on the team in all three stats. Boucher is also second in shots (95), has a team-best .126 shooting percentage and is the leader with six power-play goals. She has a point in 17 of 34 games, including eight multiple-point performances. Boucher's six-game point streak that spanned Dec. 13 to Jan. 29 is tied for the longest by a 'Cat this season; she tallied 3-6-9 during that 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).
She has continued the trend of being the Wildcats' top point producer in the 2016 calendar year with 4-6-10 in 11 games.
Boucher is the top UNH center in the faceoff circle with 386 faceoffs won, 723 taken and a .534 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 now skated 25 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 seven points this season with three goals and four assists in 34 games. Last weekend vs. UConn, Toews scored the game-winning goal when she broke a 1-1 tie with 2:42 left in regulation; she also tallied an assist Sunday.
Toews had a breakout weekend at Maine with her first career multiple-point game (1g, 1a) Jan. 24; she also tallied a point in the Jan. 23 game vs. the Black Bears. 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 second line for 16 games of 34 games; she was on the second line five consecutive games spanning Nov. 27 to Dec. 8, as well as all 11 games in the 2016 calendar year.
Ali Praus has skated in 30 of 34 games, including each of the last nine and a stretch of 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 January's two-game series vs. Northeastern. Praus returned to the lineup Jan. 23-24 at Maine.
Brooke Avery has skated in 8 of 34 games. She has been sidelined by injury the past 25 games and has not recorded a point.

One For Me, One For You
In her career, Jonna Curtis is nearly an equal finisher and distributor with 33 goals and 31 assists in 85 games. Amy Boucher has a career split of 22 goals and 20 assists in 69 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 nine points on two goals and seven assists. Wenczkowski tallied her first career goal – and multiple-goal game – Dec. 4 vs. Merrimack at the Whittemore Center.
She has skated in 33 of 34 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 of the 2015 calendar year. That line was once again shifted to third on the line chart all 11 games in the 2016 calendar year.
Taylor, who skates on the wing opposite Wenczkowski, has four goals and three assists for a total of seven points. Taylor 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 21 of 34 games this season, including the last 14 of the 2015 calendar year. In 2016, her only game action came Jan. 29 at Northeastern. Radatovich has not recorded a point this season.

January Recap
UNH went 2-3-0 in January with a 2-2-0 road record and a loss in its only home game. Amy Boucher recorded a point every game with totals of three goals and four assists for seven points; she led the team in assists and tied for the lead in points. Jonna Curtis scored a team-best four goals and tied Boucher with seven points. Kyra Smith was the only goaltender to see playing time in January. She went 2-3-0 with a 2.82 GAA and .907 save percentage.
The team stats were relatively even with the opponents holding a 15-14 scoring edge and the 'Cats with the 159-152 shot advantage. Special teams were also nearly even with UNH at 15.8% (3-for-19) and the opponents at 15.4% (2 of 13).

Scouting the Huskies
The University of Connecticut (Storrs, Conn.) enter the Hockey East tournament as the fourth seed at 15-14-5 overall and 11-10-3 in Hockey East. UConn is 7-5-4 at home and that included 6-4-2 vs. league opponents.
UConn and UNH had two hard-fought battles last weekend at the Whittemore Center and they each came out with a 2-1 win. The big difference in this coming weekend's matchup is that the losing team in the best of three quarterfinal series will hang up the skates for the 2015-16 season.
Sophomore Theresa Knutson leads the Huskies with 26 points in 35 games played; her 17 goals and 90 shots also rank first on the team. Right behind her are sophomores Justine Fredette (7-17-24) and Leah Lum (9-11-20); Fredette is atop the assist leaderboard, whereas Lum is second in both goals and assists.
UConn is averaging 2.15 goals per game while the opponents average 2.47 gpg. The Huskies have been outshot frequently this season, with opponents tallying 35.5 shots per game against UConn's 21.4, resulting in a 14.1 average shot difference.
On special teams, UConn's power play stands at 20-for-111 (.180) overall on the season and 12-74 (.162) in Hockey East. The penalty kill has amounted to 92 of 114 (.807) stops overall and 61-77 (.792) in the league.
Senior goaltender Elaine Chuli started 23 games and went 10-11-2 with a 2.25 GAA, .941 save percentage and three shutouts. Sophomore Annie Belanger compiled a 5-3-3 record, 2.76 GAA and .906 save percentage in 11 games.