Thanksgiving Week Wraps Up at Harvard Saturday (4 p.m.)

Saturday, November 25

Cambridge, Mass.

4 PM

University of New Hampshire

Harvard University

(Photo by Greg Greene)

Photo by: Greg Greene

11/24/2017 5:26:00 PM | Women's Ice Hockey

Game Notes Watch - NESN Live Stats

The Wildcats and the Crimson will face off on NESN on Saturday afternoon.

DURHAM, N.H. – The University of New Hampshire women's ice hockey team wraps up Thanksgiving week with a Saturday afternoon matchup at Harvard. Both teams are coming off losses to ranked opponents, UNH to #10 Providence, 3-0, and Harvard to #3 Boston College, 8-1.

The Matchup: Harvard vs. UNH

The Wildcats and the Crimson have met at least once every season since the 1982-83 season; Harvard has held a recent advantage, winning five of the last seven meetings, while UNH holds the all-time series lead at 29-17-5. The two teams last on November 15, 2016, with the Wildcats hosting the Crimson and taking a 3-2 overtime victory.

The State of New Hampshire

• The Wildcats finished the month of October with a 5-1-2 record through eight games; it's their best start through eight games since 2010-11, when the Wildcats were 6-2-0.

• The Wildcats have four losses on the season, all three of which coming against opponents ranked in the top 10. They are so far 1-3-3 in the month of November.

• UNH has scored the first goal in 11 of 14 games this season; they are 5-2-4 in those games.

• The Wildcats are 5-0-0 when scoring three or more goals, and 1-4-5 when scoring less than three goals. They are 6-2-3 when scoring at least once on the power play, 0-2-2 when scoring zero.

• New Hampshire is 5-1-5 when holding opponents to less than three goals; only four times this season have opponents scored three or more goals (1-3-0 UNH record in those games.)

'Cats in the Polls

For the sixth straight week, the Wildcats are receiving votes in the USCHO women's hockey poll. On Nov. 4, they received their highest amount of votes with 13, and for the third week in a row they find themselves just outside the poll looking in, this week receiving one vote.

The Wildcats are 0-4-0 so far this season against ranked opponents (6-0-5 against non-ranked opponents), losing to #7 Northeastern on Oct. 25 to #4 Colgate earlier in November, and most recently #10 Providence College.

Last Time Out

After an 0-0-2 weekend against Rensselaer last weekend, the Wildcats had a mid-week matchup with the #10 Providence College Friars, who defeated the Wildcats 3-0 on Wednesday evening. Freshman goaltender Ava Boutilier (Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island) made 35 saves in the contest, while the Friars held New Hampshire to just 26 shots on net. It was the first time UNH had been shut out all year.

Players to Watch

• Senior defensemen Amy Schlagel (Blaine, Minn.) and Julia Fedeski (Algonquin Highlands, Ontario) were both drafted to NWHL teams this offseason, Schlagel going 18th overall to the Buffalo Beauts, and Fedeski going 20th overall to the Boston Pride.

• Fedeski is one of four Wildcats with 11 points on the seaoson (5g, 6a). All five of her goals have come on the power play. Most recently, Fedeski assisted on Sasaki's first career goal against Vermont.

• Schlagel has now tallied at least one point in four of the last seven games. She now has eight points on the season on five goals, three assists.

• Sophomore forward Meghara McManus (Milton, Mass.) is another Wildcat with 11 points on five goals, six assists; she had her first career five-point game against Dartmouth with one goal and four assists.

• Sophomore Carlee Turner (Scottsdale, Ariz.) is at 11 points after tallying an assist at RPI; She has five goals, tied for the team lead, and six assists. She scored her first power play goal of the season against Vermont.

• Sophomore forward Taylor Wenczkowski (Rochester, N.H.) also has 11 points, adding a goal at RPI to put her total to four, with seven assists.

• Sophomore Nicole Dunbar (Coto de Caza, Calif.) is now up to nine points on the season with four goals and five assists after her two-point weekend against Colgate and an assist at RPI.

• Sophomore Tori Howran (Bancroft, Ontario) also has nine points and leads the team in assists with eight. She scored her first career goal against Holy Cross.

• Senior captain Carlee Toews (Grand Prairie, Alberta) has tallied eight points on two goals, six assists this season. She had the game-winning goal against Dartmouth on Oct. 22.

Boutilier Gets the Start

Freshman goaltender Ava Boutilier has gotten the start in every UNH game so far this season; she has a 6-4-5 record in her first 15 career starts, stopping 416 shots and allowing 30 goals. She has a .933 save percentage an a 2.02 GAA in her first career season.

Scouting Harvard

The Crimson (Cambridge, Mass.) come into the matchup with a 4-3-1 record coming in off a loss from #3 Boston College on Wednesday evening. Harvard has a 3-1-1 home record and scores 3.12 goals per game, allowing 2.88 goals per game. Harvard has outshot opponents this year 279-204, with a +40 shot differential in the first period alone.

Harvard is led by freshman forward Becca Gilmore, who leads the team in assists with six and points with nine. Fellow freshman forward Brooke Jovanovich is tied for the team-high in goals with four, adding four assists for eight points. She is tied with another freshman forward, Keely Moy with four goals, two assists for six points.

The Crimson have started sophomore Beth Larcom in net for a majority of their games; she has a 4-2-1 record with a .884 save% and a 2.98 GAA on the season. Freshman Becky Dutton has seen action in two games with one start, accumulating a 0-1-0 record with a .906 save% and 2.33 GAA.