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University of New Hampshire Athletics
University of New Hampshire
Rensselaer
New Hampshire Hosts Rensselaer for Two at the Whitt (Sat., Sun. – 2 P.M.)
11/23/2018 4:45:00 PM | Women's Ice Hockey
Wildcats host the Engineers after two ties in New York last season.
DURHAM, N.H. - After snapping a losing skid, the University of New Hampshire women's ice hockey team welcomes non-conference foes, the Rensselaer Engineers to the Whittemore Center for a two game series. The games will take place Saturday, November 24 and Sunday, November 25, both at 2 P.M.
After a short non-conference break, the 'Cats are back at it as the season rolls into December with a home-and-home series with Merrimack. The Wildcats' home game of that series is on Friday, November 30 at 7 P.M. For tickets, visit UNHWildcats.com or call (603) 861-4000.
The Series: New Hampshire vs. Rensselaer
The Wildcats and the Engineers have met seven times since 2009, with the Wildcats holding the all-time advantage with a 4-0-3 record. Last season the teams played to 1-1 draws in both games of their two-game series at RPI.
Last Time Out:
New Hampshire played the first game of their three-game season series with Hockey East newcomers, Holy Cross. The Wildcats found themselves down by a goal at the first intermission, but scored four straight to take down the Crusaders by a score of 4-1, snapping a nine-game winless streak.
The Wildcats outshot the Crusaders 58-20, which is the most ever taken by a UNH team in a game that ended in regulation. The last time the Wildcats had tallied 55-60 shots was in 2015 against Merrimack (57 shots).
Goals came by way of Devan Taylor (North Billerica, Mass.) on a power play, and Marie-Jo Pelletier (Dalhousie, New Brunswick) in the second. Pelletier's go-ahead goal ended up being the game-winner. In the third, the 'Cats tacked on two more from Taylor Wenczkowski (Rochester, N.H.) on the power play for her team-leading fourth goal of the season, and Carlee Turner (Scottsdale, Ariz.) just over a minute later.
The State Of New Hampshire
- New Hampshire was picked seventh in the Hockey East preseason poll released on September 20th. The Wildcats finished fifth in Hockey East in the 2017-18 regular season.
- From last year's roster, the Wildcats return 20 players with six newcomers.
- The 'Cats started off the season with an even 1-1-1 record after their home opener, losing and tying to #10 St. Lawrence to open the season, then beating UConn 5-3 to open up Hockey East play 1-0 for the first time since 2010-11.
- The Wildcats then faced a nine-game winless streak, facing ranked foe Northeastern in their three-game season series, and going 0-2-1 against Vermont.
- UNH snapped their winless drought with a 4-1 victory over Holy Cross just before Thanksgiving break.
Players to Watch
- Junior Carlee Turner now leads the team in points with seven, after her two-point performance against Holy Cross. Turner is tied for a team-high four assists and has tallied three goals on the year. Turner scored the team's first game-winning goal of the season in the win over UConn.
- Fellow junior Nicole Dunbar (Coto De Caza, Calif.) is one of three Wildcats with six points on the year. Dunbar has notched three goals and assists each on the season so far, including one power play goal.
- The other two Wildcats with six points are senior Devan Taylor and junior Tori Howran, both of whom had multi-point games at Holy Cross. They both have tallied two goals and four assists on the year.
- Five other Wildcats have tallied four points on the season:
- Junior Taylor Wenczkowski has gotten all four of her points by way of goals this season; two have come on the power play.
- Senior captain Marie-Jo Pelletier has now accumulated two goals and assists on the year; Pelletier notched the game-winning tally at Holy Cross.
- Freshman Emily Rickwood (Brantford, Ontario) now is tied for the team-lead in assists with four after assisting on Devan Taylor's game-tying goal at Holy Cross.
- Freshman Lauren Martin (Cambridge, Ontario) also has four helpers on the season, two of which came in the home opener against UConn.
- Sophomore Grace Middleton (Midland, Mich.) has tallied one goal and three assists on the season. Her lone goal came on the power play.
Mind the Net
Senior captain Kyra Smith (Littleton, Colo.) made her season debut against #9 Northeastern back in October, and ended up playing in all three games against Northeastern this season; Smith leads the team in save percentage with .932, but has an 1-4-0 record on the year. Smith has started the last three games for the Wildcats.
Sophomore Ava Boutilier (Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island) returns for her second season after setting a new record for saves in a single season (886) in her rookie season. Boutilier holds a 1-5-2 record so far in the 2018-19 season, with a .924 save% and a 2.23 GAA.
Scouting Rensselaer
- The Engineers (Troy, N.Y.) come out of Thanksgiving with a 4-6-3 overall record, 2-2-0 in the ECAC.
- RPI has posted an impressive 3-1-3 home record, but have won just one game on the road with a 1-5-0 away record.
- Rensselaer's four conference games were wins against Brown and Yale and losses to Clarkson and St. Lawrence.
- Last weekend, the Engineers went 0-1-1 against Penn State, losing game one 4-0 but tying game two 1-1.
- Rensselaer is led by junior forward Blake Orosz who has a team-high four goals, along with four assists for eight points. The team leader in assists is junior forward Sabrina Repaci, with six. Her two goals tie her for the team lead in points with eight.
- In net, RPI has started a pair of senior goaltenders; Lovisa Selander has started 11 of RPI's 13 contests - she has a .943 save% and a 2.02 GAA. Her record on the season is 2-6-3.
- In their two conference wins, the Engineers started Kira Bombay, who has a 2-0-0 record on the year. She has posted a .974 save% and a 0.73 GAA.
