Game Notes: Women's Hockey Welcomes Vermont to The Whitt (Feb. 5-6)

Friday, February 5

Durham, N.H.

7 PM

University of New Hampshire

University of Vermont

Tickets

Game Notes: Women's Hockey Welcomes Vermont to The Whitt (Feb. 5-6)

2/4/2016 4:26:00 PM | Women's Ice Hockey

Annual Alumni Day is Saturday, Feb. 6

UNH Wildcats (10-17-1, 7-11-0 Hockey East) vs. Vermont Catamounts (6-21-2, 4-13-2 Hockey East)
Friday, Feb. 5 (7 p.m.) – Whittemore Center – Durham, N.H.
Saturday, Feb. 6 (4 p.m.) – Whittemore Center – Durham, N.H.

Video • Audio (Saturday only) • Stats • Tickets

The Games
The University of New Hampshire women's ice hockey team plays host to the University of Vermont for a two-game series at the Whittemore Center on Feb. 5-6. Friday's opening faceoff is set for 7 p.m. while Saturday's rematch starts at 4 p.m. Saturday's game will be aired on the Wildcat Sports Radio Network.

Welcome back, Alums
The UNH women's hockey program has its annual Alumni Day this Saturday, Feb. 6. Come to the Whittemore Center to watch the current Wildcats battle the Catamounts and also pay tribute to approximately 35 alums in attendance who will be honored during the first intermission.

Skating Strides Against Breast Cancer
Entering its 10th year of existence, the Hockey East Skating Strides program has raised nearly $300,000 toward the fight against breast cancer. All 12 member schools, both men's and women's programs, will participate in the 2015-16 campaign with specialty nights at each campus.
UNH's fund raising games have been set for Feb. 12 (men's 7 p.m. game vs. Vermont) and Feb. 14 (women's 2 p.m. game vs. Boston U.). The women's team will also be involved in a Skating Strides game Feb. 13 at BU.

The Matchup
UNH has a 30-8-2 lifetime record against Vermont, and that includes 17-4-0 at home. The Wildcats won the first matchup of the 2015-16 season with a 4-0 victory at UVM's Gutterson Fieldhouse on Oct. 30 to extend the unbeaten streak against the Catamounts to four games (3-0-1).
In the most recent matchup at the Whittemore Center, UNH prevailed 5-1 on Nov. 8, 2014. UVM's most recent win was Feb. 16, 2014 in Durham by a score of 5-1.
Back in October, the Wildcats recorded their first win of the season with the aforementioned 4-0 triumph. Kaylee Forster broke the scoreless tie at 11:35 of the second period and Carlee Toews scored 3:08 later to give New Hampshire a 2-0 advantage heading into intermission. Sara Carlson and Devan Taylor potted goals 39 seconds apart – at 12:48 and 13:27 of the third period – to quickly double the lead. UNH recorded a 13-4 shot advantage in the final frame with an overall edge of 32-18. Vilma Vaattovaara made 18 saves for the shutout. UVM's Molly Depew stopped 23 of 27 shots in 53:27 of action; Madison Litchfield made five saves the final 6:33 of the game.

The State of New Hampshire
UNH has a 10-17-1 overall record with a 7-11-0 mark in Hockey East league games and a 4-7-0 ledger at home (2-5-0 in league home games).
The Wildcats had a quiet January with a total of five games, four of which were on the road. UNH faced off against nationally-ranked Northeastern University three times (one home, two away) and played a two-game series at Maine.
New Hampshire is home for 5 of 6 February games with a two-game set this weekend vs. Vermont and a two-game series against UConn to end the season. In between, the Wildcats play a home-and-home series vs. Boston University.
UNH has a 10-7-1 record against unranked teams.
The Wildcats matched their season high of two power-play goals Friday at No. 6/5 Northeastern. The 'Cats finished the game 2-for-7 on the power play. New Hampshire's penalty kill was a perfect 3-for-3.
UNH recorded a season-high 12 points in the 5-1 victory Jan. 23 at Maine by matching season highs in both goals (five) and assists (seven), and the 53 shots marked the second highest total. The Wildcats recorded 23 shots in the second period to mark the highest single-period total this season.
New Hampshire recorded its second shutout of the season Jan. 24 behind Kyra Smith's 32-save effort in the 3-0 win at Maine. The Wildcats also blanked Vermont, 4-0, on Oct. 30. Both shutouts have been on the road.
Overall, the 'Cats are averaging 2.22 goals per game while allowing 3.15 gpg. The Wildcats have been outscored 85-60 with a breakdown of 25-16 in the first, 27-25 in the second and 33-18 in the third.
UNH is minus-25 in scoring but plus-92 in shots at 803-711 with the shot advantage all three periods at 247-240 (+7), 293-248 (+45) and 259-220 (+39).

'Cat Nips
Sophomore forward Amy Boucher carries a career-best six-game point-scoring streak into Friday's game to match the longest point streak by a Wildcat this season (established by Jonna Curtis). Boucher extended the streak to six and recorded her seventh multiple point game of the season with a goal and an assist last Friday at nationally-ranked Northeastern; she has nine points (3g, 6a) during the streak. The past 14 games, Boucher has totals of 7-10-17 with six multiple-point efforts.
Curtis scored her team-leading 14th goal of the season at NU. She is averaging more than one point per game both overall (1.04) and in Hockey East (1.06). Curtis has recorded a point in five of the last six games (5-3-8).
UNH boasts three of the top six players in the league in blocked shots. Sara Carlson is No. 2 (60), followed by Marie-Jo Pelletier at No. 3 (54) and Jenna Rheault tied for sixth with 44.
Both members of the defensive pairing of Carlson and Amy Schlagel have active three-game point streaks. Carlson extended her streak with an assist at Northeastern while Schlagel tallied a career-high two assists vs. the Huskies.
Freshman goaltender Kyra Smith has started 18 consecutive games dating back to a Nov. 8 start at UConn. It is the longest streak by a UNH goalie since Kayley Herman's streak of 20 consecutive starts spanning Oct. 8, 2008 to Jan. 16, 2009. 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.

Eyeing Home Ice
The top four teams in the final Hockey East standings will host a best-of-three quarterfinal series at the end of the month. Boston College, Northeastern and Boston University have already secured home ice, but UNH is in contention for fourth place.
UConn enters the weekend at No. 4 with 17 points, followed by UNH (14 points), Providence College (11), Vermont (10) and Maine (9). UConn plays host to BC and PC this weekend, then has two home games vs. Maine before traveling to Durham for two games to end the season.

Home Sweet Home
UNH has won three of its last four home games dating back to Dec. 4, when the Wildcats defeated Merrimack College, 4-1. UNH then upended Dartmouth College, 3-2, and Yale University, 5-2, in December before falling by that score to nationally-ranked Northeastern in January.

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 12 games, the trio has recorded 19 of the team's 33 goals, 18 of 50 assists and 37 of 83 points.

50 Points
Two UNH Wildcats have reached 50 career points this season. Senior defenseman and captain Sara Carlson recorded her 50th career point with an assist Jan. 29 at nationally-ranked Northeastern University. Carlson has 14 goals and 36 assists in 132 games.
Earlier this season, 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 series against Vermont with 60 points (31g, 29a) in 79 games.

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-beest 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).

Special Teams
New Hampshire's power play went 3-for-19 (15.8%) in five January games. On the positive side, the Wildcats have scored a power-play each of the last two games with a 2-for-7 effort Jan. 29 at No. 6/5 Northeastern; one game earlier, the 'Cats scored on 1 of 3 power plays at Maine.
UNH's penalty kill has been perfect each of the last two games with three PKs against both NU and Maine. In five January games, the Wildcats' penalty kill had a 84.6% success rate (11 of 13).
Of note, the 'Cats closed the 2015 calendar year strong on the power-play with a PPG four of the last seven games (4-20; 20.0%). Overall, UNH has netted a power-play goal 11 of 28 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.
Overall, UNH is 15-for-90 (16.7%) on the power play and 61 of 79 (77.2%) on the penalty kill.

First Strike
UNH has scored the game's first goal 13 times, and that included both games Jan. 23-24 at Maine as well as every game during the four-game win streak (late November to early December). The Wildcats have a 9-4-0 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 1-13-1 when the opponent scores first.

Most Recently
New Hampshire erased a pair of one-goal deficits (1-0 and 2-1) but Northeastern scored the last three goals of the game, including the only two tallies in the third period, for a 5-2 victory at Matthews Arena last Friday.
NU recorded the shot advantage all three periods, including 12-5 in the third. UNH went 2-for-7 on the power play while NU was scoreless on three power plays.
Amy Schlagel recorded her first career multiple-assist game with two helpers; the two points matched her personal best. Amy Boucher also factored in both UNH goals with a goal and an assist. Kyra Smith recorded 10 saves in the first and third periods as part of a 29-save effort.
NU goalie Brittany Bugalski was credited with 19 saves.

What's Next
After playing host to Vermont for a two-game series, the Wildcats battle Boston University in a home-and-home series next weekend. The teams face off Feb. 13 (3 p.m.) at BU and Feb. 14 (2 p.m.) at UNH. Both games are part of Hockey East's Skating Strides Against Breast Cancer campaign.

Conference Call
Jonna Curtis is among the Hockey East league leaders in a couple of stats. The junior forward is tied for seventh in goals (14) and ranks fourth in shots (133).
Amy Boucher is tied for second in power-play goals (five).
Amy Schlagel is ninth in defenseman scoring with 16 points.

Another Conference Call
In 18 Hockey East league games, Jonna Curtis has tallied eight goals and 11 assists for 19 points. Amy Boucher is next with 14 points on eight goals and six assists, and she is followed by Amy Schlagel at 4-4-8.
In goal, Kyra Smith is 6-6-0 with a 2.59 GAA and .905 save percentage in 12 games.

Rapid Fire
Margo Lund and Amy Boucher scored goals 38 seconds apart – at 8:05 and 8:43, respectively – in the third period at Maine on Jan. 23 to mark the fastest consecutive goals scored by UNH this season.

'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, who boasts a three-game point streak with a goal and two assists, has been paired with sophomore defenseman Amy Schlagel every game this season. Carlson is tied for second on the team in assists (11) and is fourth in points (14). She is atop the team leaderboard in blocked shots (60).
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 also recorded a three-game point streak earlier this season 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 11 points (7g, 4a) in 28 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 (12 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 a point 8 of the last 12 games with 6-2-8 in that span. She scored a goal both games at Maine (Jan. 23-24) and also potted a goal consecutive games at Merrimack (Dec. 4) and vs. Dartmouth (Dec. 8).
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; that was the case all five January games.

Top Of The List
Junior forward Jonna Curtis leads the team in goals (14), assists (15), points (29), shots (133) and plus/minus (+3). Curtis matched her season high of three points by scoring a goal and equalling a personal best of two assists Jan. 23 at Maine.
She has tallied a point five of the last six games (5g, 3a) and in 8 of 10 (6g, 4a) as well as 9 of 12 (8-5-13) and 10 of 13 (7-6-13). Overall, she has a point in 18 of 28 games with eight multiple-point efforts; she has scored a goal in 10 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 28 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 five points with a goal and four assists; she recorded her most recent point with an assist Jan. 23 at Maine. 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 179 of 350 (.511 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 eight points with three goals and five assists; 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. 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 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). She has not seen action since Nov. 7 at Providence College (5-4 loss).
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.

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.
Sophomore Amy Schlagel is tied for third on the team in goals (seven), is tied for second in power-play goals (two), and is third in points (16); she is also fourth in assists (nine) and ranks sixth in shots (61); she leads all UNH defensemen in goals, assist and points.
Schlagel extended her point streak to three games with her first career multiple-assist game last Friday at nationally-ranked Northeastern, and the two points matched her personal best. She has a goal and three assists in the three-game streak. Schlagel tallied a point in both games of the Jan. 23-24 series at Maine with a goal on Saturday and assist Sunday.
She 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. Overall, Schlagel has a point in 14 of 28 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 fifth 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 24 of 28 games – she dressed 24 consecutive games before a DNP on Jan. 29 at NU – 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 54 blocked shots – and she stands in at 4-foot-11. She has recorded four of her six points – all assists – the past nine games and that includes a helper in the January series (home/home vs. Northeastern and at Maine). 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 28 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 (318), taken (598) and win percentage (.532); she is at 50% or better in 18 of 28 games and that included a 10-for-13 performance (76.9%) 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 179 wins, 350 total and a .511 win percentage. She is .500 or better in 17 of 28 games, including 12 of the last 17 games; 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 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 eight of the last 13 games and 12 of 28 overall. The 'Cats had the 32-28 faceoff edge last Friday at Northeastern.

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 18 games dating back to a 2-1 win at UConn on Nov. 8. Smith is 9-8-1 with a 2.61 GAA and team-best .900 save percentage in 18 games (all starts).
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 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 Friday's game vs. Vermont with 22 points on 11 goals and 11 assists to rank second on the team in both goals and points, as well as tied for second in assists. Boucher is also second in shots (82) and has a team-best .134 shooting percentage and is the leader with five power-play goals. She has a point in 15 of 28 games, including seven multiple-point performances, and has an active six-game point streak (3-6-9).
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 3-4-7 in five games.
Boucher is the top UNH center in the faceoff circle with 318 faceoffs won, 598 taken and a .532 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 19 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 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. Toews has five points this season with two goals and three assists in 27 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 27 games; she was on the second line five consecutive games spanning Nov. 27 to Dec. 8, as well as all five January games.
Ali Praus has skated in 24 of 28 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. Praus returned to the lineup Jan. 23-24 at Maine.
Brooke Avery has skated in 8 of 28 games, six of them on the fourth line. She has not recorded a point and has been sidelined by injury the past 19 games.

One For Me, One For You
In her career, Jonna Curtis is nearly an equal finisher and distributor with 31 goals and 29 assists in 79 games. Cassandra Vilgrain is close to an even split with 21 goals and 18 assists in 94 games. Also of note, Amy Boucher has a career split of 21 goals and 18 assists in 63 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 27 of 28 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 in all five January games.
Taylor, who skates on the wing opposite Wenczkowski, has four goals and three assists for a total of seven points and that includes a goal two of the last eight 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 21 of 28 games this season, including the last 14 of the 2015 calendar year. She was a DNP the initial four January games before returning to action Jan. 29 at Northeastern. Earlier in the season, Radatovich 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.

Scouting the Catamounts
The University of Vermont (Burlington, Vt.) women's hockey team will make the voyage to the Whittemore Center to take on the Wildcats this weekend in a back-to-back duel. UVM enters the weekend with an overall record of 6-21-2 and a Hockey East conference record of 4-13-2. The Catamounts are coming off a five-game losing streak consisting of two tough losses to the University of Connecticut last weekend (2-1, 3-1) and have not won a game since Jan. 10 against Maine.
Senior Dayna Colang leads the team in both goals (11) and assists (13) for 24 points. Colang has accumulated 93 total points in her college career as a Catamount. Taylor Willard will also be a player to keep an eye on as she falls immediately behind Colang with 14 points (7g, 7a). Following Willard, junior Bridget Baker (6g, 5a) and freshman Daria O'Neill (2g, 9a) have each racked up 11 points.
Catamount goaltenders Madison Litchfield and Molly Depew have nearly split playing time in half throughout the season. Litchfield has 19 starts with a 2.93 GAA and .893 save percentage, and Depew has 12 starts with a 4.07 GAA and .871 save percentage. Of late, Litchfield has started 8 of the last 10 games for the Catamounts.
UVM is being outscored nearly 2 to 1 with 99 goals against and 50 goals for throughout the season for game averages of 1.72 gpg for and 3.41 gpg against. The goals against have piled up in the second period, as the Catamounts have a difference of -27 in that period alone.
The special teams consist of 15-for-89 (16.9%) on the power play and 70 of 87 (80.5%) on the penalty kill.