Regular Season Closes With Two Games At UConn (Feb. 17-18)

Friday, February 17

Storrs, CT

7 PM

University of New Hampshire

Connecticut

2/14/2017 12:50:00 PM | Women's Ice Hockey

Playoff Positioning On The Line In Storrs

UNH (11-17-2, 9-11-2 WHEA) at UConn (14-14-4, 9-11-2 Hockey East)
Friday, Feb. 17 • 7 p.m. • Freitas Ice Fourm • Storrs, Conn.
Video • Stats
Saturday, Feb. 18 • 2 p.m. • Freitas Ice Fourm • Storrs, Conn.
Video • Stats

The Series : UNH vs. UConn

New Hampshire has a 41-11-5 lifetime record, including 19-6-2 on the road, against UConn. The Huskies have won four consecutive meetings, including a 2-1 overtime victory at the Whittemore Center back on Nov. 6.
This is the second consecutive year UNH closes the regular season with a two-game series against UConn. Last year at the Whittemore Center, UNH prevailed 2-1 on the front end but the Huskies were 2-1 overtime victors in the finale to gain home ice advantage for the Hockey East quarterfinal series between New Hampshire and UConn.
In that postseason matchup, UNH recorded a 46-25 shot advantage in Game 1, but the Huskies scored the first three goals of the game and held on for a 3-2 victory. The next day, in the second longest game in program history, UConn outlasted the 'Cats to record a 4-3 victory at 3:17 of the third overtime session; the Huskies scored at 7:31 and 19:19 of the third period to force OT.
Three of the last four games have gone into OT. UNH recorded a program-record 72 shots (in comparison to UConn's 39).
Not much has separated these teams the past three seasons. Seven of the nine meetings have been decided by one goal, and one of the other two ended in a tie. And in the past nine games, the series is even at 4-4-1.
Prior to last year's Hockey East quarterfinals, UNH had won three straight and 5 of 6 at Freitas Ice Forum.
November 6: UConn 2, UNH 1 (OT) • Recap • Box

The State of New Hampshire

UNH enters the weekend with an 11-17-2 overall record that includes 9-11-2 in Hockey East and 4-8-2 on the road; the Wildcats are 3-5-2 on the road in league action.
New Hampshire is 0-4-1 the past five games and 3-6-1 the past 10.
UNH has lost three straight – the Wildcats were swept last weekend in a home-and-home series against Boston University. BU rallied for a 4-3 win at the Whittemore Center (Feb. 10) and scored two late goals to pull away for a 5-2 home win (Feb. 11).
The 'Cats went 4-for-9 on the power play in last weekend's series vs. BU. UNH scored two power-play goals both games.
The Wildcats are 2-1-2 in OT this season; the 'Cats a 2-0-2 the past four games decided beyond regulation; the only loss was to UConn.
UNH's 11 wins matches last season's total.
Nine wins in Hockey East are the most by the Wildcats since the 2012-13 team went 10-8-3.
New Hampshire is averaging 2.40 goals and 27.6 shots per game while yielding 3.10 goals and 29.6 shots per game. On special teams, the 'Cats are 17-for-123 (13.8%) on the power play and 110 of 128 (85.9%) on the penalty kill.

Senior Day

The UNH women's ice hokey program honored the lone senior on its roster, captain Jonna Curtis (Elk River, Minn.), prior to the start of last Friday night's game vs. Boston University.
Curtis leads the team in goals (17), assists (16), points (33), shots (138), game-winning goals, shorthanded goals, faceoffs won (226) and total faceoffs (497).
Curtis has factored in 33 of the team's 72 goals – that's 46%.

'Cat Nips

Junior defenseman Julia Fedeski (Algonquin Highlands, Ontario) has the team's longest active point streak of four games with an assist every game (0-5-5). She tallied two assists last Friday vs. BU to match her career highs in both assists and points. Fedeski is tied for second in both assists (11) and points (17).
Amy Schlagel (Blaine, Minn.), another junior defenseman, had a four-point weekend against the Terriers with a goal and an assist both games; all four points came on the power play. Schlagel is tied for second on the squad in both goals (eight) and points (17); she ranks second in power-play goals (four).
Sophomore defenseman and captain Marie-Jo Pelletier (Dalhousie, New Brunswick) scored a goal both games last weekend and matched her personal best of two points last Friday by also tallying an assist that game. Pelletier is tied for fifth on the team in goals (five), assists (eight) and points (13).
Freshman forward Meghara McManus (Milton, Mass.) netted her eighth goal of the season last Friday at home vs. Boston U. McManus leads all UNH rookies in goals and points (15).
Senior forward and captain Jonna Curtis has recorded a point three of the last four games and 5 of 7 with 5-7-12 in that span.

Milestone Watch

Jonna Curtis enters the weekend with 97 career points (50 goals, 47 assists) in 117 games.
Curtis scored her 50^th career goal Feb. 3 at Vermont; prior to that, the most recent Wildcat to score 50 career goals was Kristina Lavoie (57; 2010-13).
Lavoie (51) and Kristine Horn (2010-13; 55) are the most recent 'Cats to tally 50 career assists.
Lavoie is also the most recent UNH skater to reach the 100-point milestone with 108.

Developing the Playoff Picture

With just this weekend remaining in the regular season, UNH is tied for sixth – with this weekend's opponent, UConn – in the Hockey East standings; just one week ago, the Wildcats were in a three-way tie for fourth place.
Boston University is third with 24 points.
Providence College and the University of Vermont are tied for fourth (23 points).
UNH and UConn have 20 points. The Wildcats can finish anywhere from fourth to seventh in the final standings.
UNH loses a tiebreaker to BU (0-3-0), wins against PC (2-1-0) and is tied vs. UVM (1-1-1). The Wildcats currently trail the series vs. UConn (0-1-0).
The top four seeds host a best-of-three quarterfinal series the weekend of Feb. 24-26.
Boston College has secured the tournament's top seed for the fourth consecutive year.
Northeastern University is locked into second place.
Maine (13) is one point ahead of Merrimack (12) for the eighth and final playoff spot.

Single-Season Highs

Jonna Curtis has recorded a single-season high of 17 goals, and the 33 points matches her total of last year. Her 16 assists is one short of last year's personal best.
Julia Fedeski has tallied single-season highs in goals (six), assists (11) and points (17); last year, she finished with 3-8-11.
Carlee Toews (Grand Prairie, Alberta) also has single-season bests in goals (five), assists (eight) and points (13); those numbers surpass last year's 3-5-8.

League Leaders

Jonna Curtis is tied for sixth in Hockey East in goals (17) and is seventh in points (33). She is tied for fourth in power-play points (11) and ranks second in shots (138).
Julia Fedeski is tied for fourth in power-play goals with five and is also tied for eighth in power-play points with 10.
Amy Schlagel is tied for 10^th in power-play goals (four) and tied for eighth in power—play points (10).
On the list of defensemen scoring, Fedeski and Schlagel are tied for fifth (17).
Marie-Jo Pelletier ranks eighth in blocked shots (55) and Fedeski follows immediately in ninth place with 54.

Conference Call

Jonna Curtis has tallied 26 points (14g, 12a) in 21 Hockey East games.
Also in league-only games, Meghara McManus ranks second on the team in goals (seven), Amy Schlagel ranks second in points (15) and Schlagel is tied with Julia Fedeski for second in assists with nine.
Hilary Cashin has an 8-5-1 league record with a 2.72 GAA and .893 save percentage.

Cashin In Her Chance to Start

Sophomore goaltenders Hilary Cashin and Kyra Smith alternated starts through the first half of the season, but Cashin has started 13 of the last 15 games, including seven consecutive games spanning Nov. 20 to Jan. 7.
The streak ended Jan. 10 at Dartmouth College, which marked the Wildcats' third game in five days, and Smith started between the pipes.
Cashin, who saw limited action in three games last season, has a 2.69 GAA and .901 save percentage with a 10-8-1 record in 22 games (20 starts).
Cashin recorded her first career shutout Jan. 21 with a 22-save effort against Maine at the Whittemore Center (7-0 win).
In addition to her career-high 41 saves Oct. 23 vs. Clarkson, Cashin made 32 saves (on 35 shots) in her first game of the season, a 3-1 loss at eighth-ranked Colgate (Oct. 2). Cashin recorded her second 40+ save effort in the 3-2 overtime win vs. Harvard on Nov. 16.
Cashin stopped 21 shots vs. Merrimack to earn her first career win Oct. 15.
Smith made 32 or more saves each of her first five games, and that included 38 saves in the season-opening 4-2 loss at No 8 Colgate and 36 saves at No. 9 Boston University.
Smith made a personal-best 39 saves Nov. 19 at PC (6-3 loss) with 15 saves in the first period, 14 in the second and 10 in the third.
In 11 games (10 starts), Smith has a 3.55 GAA and .897 save percentage with a 1-9-1 record; she is 1-6-1 in Hockey East with a 3.91 GAA and .886 save percentage.

First Blood

New Hampshire has a 7-4-0 record when scoring the game's first goal, and the 'Cats are 4-13-2 in the 19 games they have fallen behind 1-0.
The opponent has scored first each of the last five games and in eight of the past 10 games (since Jan. 1).

Race to Three

UNH has a 10-2-1 record when scoring three or more goals.
The Wildcats are 2-15-1 when allowing three or more goals.

Scouting UConn

The University of Connecticut (Storrs, Conn.) enters the weekend with a 14-14-4 overall record that includes 9-11-2 in Hockey East and 5-7-1 at home.
Last weekend, the Huskies split a two-game series at Maine with a 2-1 win followed by a 1-0 loss.
UConn is 3-1-1 the past five games and 3-6-1 the past 10.
The Huskies have dressed just 15 skaters the past four games.
Junior forward Leah Lum (18-10-28) and freshman forward Briana Colangelo (8-16-24) are the team's top point producers. Lum leads the team in goals and is tied for second in assists while Colangelo is atop the assist leaderboard and is tied for second in goals.
Junior goaltender Annie Belanger has played in 28 of 32 games with 27 starts. She has an 11-12-4 record with a 2.13 GAA, .934 save percentage and one shutout. In 20 Hockey East games, Belanger is 9-9-2 with a 2.34 GAA and .926 save percentage.
UConn is averaging 2.16 goals and 25.3 shots per game while allowing 2.31 goals and 31.9 shots per game.
On special teams, the Huskies are 19 of 125 (15.2%) on the power play and 114-for-130 (87.7%) on the penalty kill.
UConn is 11-1-1 when scoring first and 3-13-2 when falling behind 1-0.