Notes - Road Trip to Colgate to Open Season (Oct. 1-2) - University of New Hampshire Athletics

Saturday, October 1

Hamilton, NY

3 PM

University of New Hampshire

Colgate University

Notes - Road Trip to Colgate to Open Season (Oct. 1-2)

9/30/2016 12:37:00 PM | Women's Ice Hockey

UNH (0-0-0, 0-0-0 WHEA) at Colgate (0-0-0, 0-0-0 ECAC)
Saturday, Oct. 1 • 3 p.m. • Sunday, Oct. 2 • 3 p.m.
Class of 1965 Arena • Hamilton, N.Y.
Saturday: Video • Live Stats
Sunday: Video • Live Stats

The Matchup
The University of New Hampshire women's ice hockey team has a 6-3-0 lifetime record against Colgate University. In the most recent meeting, UNH prevailed 4-1 on the road in October 2012; that capped a stretch of nine consecutive seasons in which the programs faced off against one another. The series began January 2005 with a 5-1 Wildcats' win at the Whittemore Center. Colgate shut out the 'Cats in back-to-back years with a 1-0 overtime home win in October 2010 followed by a 3-0 win in Durham one year later.

Season Opener
UNH opens the 2016-17 season with a road trip to Colgate University for a two-game series Oct. 1 & 2; both games start at 3 p.m. The Wildcats have a 31-6-2 record in season openers, but they have lost each of the last three. The last time UNH started a season 1-0-0 was in 2012-13, when the 'Cats were 4-2 victors at Syracuse. If you're wondering when the last time New Hampshire skated to a tie in the season opener, that happened in October 2008 (2-2 vs. Boston College).

Home Opener
The Wildcats play three consecutive road games before facing off against Quinnipiac University in the Oct. 8 home opener. Game time at the Whittemore Center is 2 p.m.

Buy Tickets
UNH women's ice hockey season and single-game tickets are on sale now online at www.unhwildcats.com, by calling (603) 862-4000 or in person at the Whittemore Center box office.

'Cats Shut Out Whitby in Exhibition Game
Amy Schlagel recorded a goal and an assist and the goaltending duo of Hilary Cashin and Kyra Smith combined for a shutout to lead the UNH women's ice hockey team to a 2-0 victory in a Sept. 23 exhibition game against the Whitby Jr. Wolves at the Whittemore Center.
UNH recorded the shot advantage all three periods for a final margin of 33-13.
Schlagel gave the 'Cats a 1-0 lead at 17:48 of the first period. Carlee Toews tipped in a slapshot by Jenna Rheault for a power-play goal at 2:49 of the third period.
Cashin was the starter between the pipes and made nine saves in 29:28. Smith played the final 30:32 and made four saves.

Hockey East Preseason Poll
UNH received 45 points to tie the University of Vermont in the Women's Hockey East Coaches' Poll that was released Sept. 20. Defending champion Boston College received six first-place votes and 78 points. Boston U. (72; two), Northeastern (66; one) and UConn (56) also placed ahead of the two 'Cats in the poll. Providence (42), Maine (38) and Merrimack (26) complete the poll.

The Captains
Senior forward Jonna Curtis, junior forward Kate Haslett and sophomore defensemen Marie-Jo Pelletier are the captains of the 2016-17 UNH Wildcats.
Curtis led last year's squad in goals (16), assists (17) and points (33), as well as shots (171); in 24 Hockey East league games, the 5-foot-4 forward tallied 23 points on 10 goals and 13 assists. Curtis has received Hockey East Honorable Mention recognition each of the last two years (2015, 2016).
Haslett made the transition from defenseman to forward in the ninth game of the 2015-16 season; she scored a goal in her first career game as a center and went on to finish with four goals and five assists for nine points.
Pelletier skated in all 36 games last year as a freshman. She ranked second on the team in blocked shots with 67, and that number ranked third in all of Hockey East. Pelletier tied for second among UNH defensemen in assists with eight; all of her points were recorded on assists.

Offensive Defensemen
Junior defensemen Amy Schlagel and Julia Fedeski were two of the Wildcats' top point producers a year ago. Schlagel led all UNH blue liners and ranked third overall in points with 21; she tallied nine goals and 12 assists. Fedeski tallied 11 points on three goals and eight assists.

Behind the Bench
Hilary Witt enters her third season as head coach of the UNH Wildcats and she has a 21-27-4 record at the helm of the program. She directed the 'Cats to an 11-24-1 overall record last season after guiding UNH to a 10-23-3 mark in 2014-15.
Associate head coach Stephanie Jones enters her 11^th season with the program and Bill Bowes is a third-year assistant coach at UNH.

The Puck Stops Here
The goaltending duo is comprised of sophomores Kyra Smith and Hilary Cashin. Smith emerged as New Hampshire's starting goaltender last year; she started all 25 games in which she played, and that included a stretch of 21 consecutive games spanning Nov. 8 to Feb. 13. Smith compiled a 10-14-1 record with a 2.78 GAA, .894 save percentage and one shutout; her stats were slightly better in 17 Hockey East league games, where she went 7-10-0 with a 2.60 GAA and .901 save percentage. Cashin played in three games (one start) and had a 0-1-0 record with a 3.32 GAA and .841 save percentage.

Young 'Cats
The 2016-17 roster is comprised of 14 letterwinners and seven freshmen with captain Jonna Curtis as the only senior.

Forward Thinking
In addition to aforementioned captains Jonna Curtis and Kate Haslett, five forwards return from last year's team; they are juniors Ali Praus and Carlee Toews as well as sophomores Caitlyn Radatovich, Devan Taylor and Taylor Wenczkowski.
Toews played in all 36 games a year ago, when she tallied eight points (3g, 5a). Praus skated in 32 of 36 games and saw limited action.
Wenczkowski is one of the four returning 'Cats who reached double-digit points a year ago; she recorded 12 points on four goals and eight assists. Taylor finished with four goals and three assists for seven points in 36 games. Radatovich dressed in 22 games before being sidelined by injury the latter part of the season.

Patrolling the Blue Line
Junior Kaylee Forster and sophomore Jenna Rheault are UNH's two other returning defensemen, and both tallied three points a year ago. Forster had a goal and two assists in 32 games, whereas Rheault had two goals and an assist.

The New 'Cats in Town
Seven freshmen join the UNH women's ice hockey program this season with a breakdown of five forwards and two defensemen. Abby Chapman, Nicole Dunbar, Meghara McManus, Carlee Turner and Hannah Touzos will be relied on to produce points as forwards. Tori Howran and Lexie Revkin join the corps of defensemen.

Looking Back at 2015-16
UNH finished the 2015-16 season with a 11-24-1 record that included 8-16-0 in Hockey East (fifth place) as well as a breakdown of 5-11-0 at home and 6-13-1 on the road. New Hampshire was no stranger to close games, as the 'Cats went 6-8 in one-goal games, including 1-2 in overtime. The Wildcats boasted a four-game win streak as part of a five-game unbeaten streak that overlapped November and December.

Scouting the Raiders
Colgate University (Hamilton, N.Y.) is coming off last weekend's 11-2 exhibition win against the Toronto Aeros in which the Raiders took advantage of 5 of 9 power play opportunities. Jessie Eldridge led the Raiders with four goals and Megan Sullivan followed with two. Sophomore Olivia Zafuto led the team in assists (four).
Sophomore goaltender Julia Vandyk recorded five saves while in net for 29:36. Vandyk racked up a .917 save percentage and 2.16 GAA with an 11-2-3 record in 17 games in the 2015-2016 season. Freshman goaltender Liz Auby saw 29:47 minutes in the net during the exhibition and recorded on save.
Last season, Annika Zalewski and Megan Sullivan were the top scorers with 16 goals. Bailey Larson recorded a team-high 32 points from 10 goals and 22 assists. Colgate finished with a 22-9-7 record last season.