‘Cats Face UConn, Yale in Final Weekend of the Semester

Friday, December 8

Storrs, Conn.

7 PM

University of New Hampshire

University of Connecticut

Ali Praus (Photo by Amanda Lee)

Photo by: Amy Lee

12/6/2017 4:36:00 PM | Women's Ice Hockey

Game Notes Watch Live Stats

The Wildcats are coming off a 1-1-0 weekend in conference play.

DURHAM, N.H - After a 1-1-0 weekend with conference foe Northeastern, the Univeristy of New Hampshire women's ice hockey team travels to Storrs, Conn. to face off with the Connecticut Huskies on Friday evening. The Wildcats just snapped a six-game winless skid, while the Huskies are still looking for their first conference win of the season.

The Matchup: Connecticut vs. New Hampshire

This will be the first matchup between the Huskies and the Wildcats this season, after the Wildcats took the series last season 2-1-0, taking both away games last year. Most recently in the Hockey East Playoffs, the two teams met in the 2015-16 quarterfinal round. UConn took the series with two straight wins; 3-2 in game one, and taking the 'Cats to triple overtime in game two, winning 4-3. Overall, the Wildcats lead the series 43-11-5 with a 21-5-2 road record. The Wildcats are 2-4-2 in road games this season, the Huskies are 3-1-6 at home.

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 month of November saw a tougher schedule with three ranked opponents, with the Wildcats only tallying one win on the month with a 1-4-3 overall record.

• The Wildcats are off to a quick 1-1-0 record in the month of December, splitting a series with Northeastern.

• UNH has scored the first goal in 12 of 16 games this season; they are 5-3-4 in those games.

• The Wildcats are 5-2-0 when scoring three or more goals, and 2-4-5 when scoring less than three goals.

• UNH has 17 power play goals on a 19.4% power play efficiency. They have killed 54 of 67 penalties for a 80.6% penalty kill efficiency.

• New Hampshire is 5-1-5 when holding opponents to less than three goals; only five times this season have opponents scored three or more goals (1-4-0 UNH record in those games.)

Last Time Out

This past weekend the Wildcats were riding a six-game winless skid into their Friday night home game with the Northeastern Huskies. The Wildcats got an overtime goal from Nicole Dunbar (Coto De Caza, Calif.) with just under one minute remaining to snap the streak and win their second overtime game of the season. Kyra Smith (Littleton, Colo.) got her first start of the season in the win and stopped 29 saves to earn the second star of the game. On Sunday, the Huskies answered right back with a 5-3 victory. Meghara McManus (Milton, Mass.) had two game-tying goals in the contest, scoring her second and third goals of the weekend, while Carlee Toews (Grand Prairie, Alberta) tallied three assists on the afternoon.

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 two Wildcats with 11 points on the season (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 seven goals and three assists for 10 points on the season.

• Sophomore forward Meghara McManus now has the team lead in goals with nine and points with 15. She had her second mutli-goal game of her career against Northeastern on Sunday.

• Sophomore Carlee Turner (Scottsdale, Ariz.) is at 12 points after tallying an assist in the win over Northeastern; She has five goals and seven assists. She scored her first power play goal of the season against Vermont.

• Sophomore forward Taylor Wenczkowski (Rochester, N.H.) also has 12 points; she has eight assists, and three of her four goals on the season have come on the power play.

• Sophomore Nicole Dunbar is now up to 11 points on the season with five goals and six assists. Dunbar had the game-winning goal against Holy Cross, and most recently in overtime against Northeastern. Other Wildcats with 11 points on the season are sophomore Tori Howran (Bancroft, Ontario) awho has the team lead in assists with 10, and Carlee Toews with two goals, nine assists.

Boutilier Gets the Start

Freshman goaltender Ava Boutilier has gotten the start in 17 of UNH's 18 games this season; she has a 6-6-5 record in her first 17 career starts, stopping 477 shots and allowing 39 goals. She has a .924 save percentage an a 2.32 GAA in her first career season.

Smith Returns to Win Weekly Honors

Junior goaltender Kyra Smith got the start on Friday against Northeastern, and in her first action seen all season, she stopped 29 shots allowing only one goal for a perfect 1-0-0 record on the season. Smith started 10 games in the 2016-17 season, with a 1-10-1 record, .903 save%, and 3.34 GAA. Her efforts in Friday's victory earned her the Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week Award.

Take It To Overtime

The Wildcats have played seven overtime games this season; so far, they are undefeated in games that require an extra period, with a 2-0-5 record. They are outshooting opponents 22-15 in overtime.

Ranked Woes

UNH has a losing record (0-4-0) against ranked opponents this year; they are 7-2-5 against unranked opponents so far this season.

Scouting UConn

The Huskies (Storrs, Conn.) are coming off a loss to #10 Providence, which ended a streak of four straight ties. They are 3-1-6 in home games this season, but are 0-5-4 in conference play. Overall the Huskies are 4-6-7, and despite their record, they have outscored opponents by one goal this season, scoring 37 and allowing 36.

Connecticut is lead by freshman forward Natalie Snodgrass, who leads the team in goals with 10 and points with 18. Of her 10 goals, two were game winners and one came on the power play. Sophomore forward Briana Colangelo leads the team in assists with 10 assists, adding five goals for 15 points on the season.

In net, the Huskies have seen 12 starts from senior Annie Belanger, who has a .927 save% and 2.19 GAA on the season, with a 3-5-4 record with one shutout. The other starts have gone to sophomore Morgan Fisher, who has a .942 save%, 1.54 GAA, and a 1-1-3 record with two shutouts.