Wildcats Face Dartmouth Tuesday Night (7 P.M., ESPN+)

Tuesday, December 4

Hanover, N.H.

7 PM

University of New Hampshire

Dartmouth

Tickets

Kyra Smith (Photo by Helene Bartsch)

Photo by: Helene Bartsch

12/3/2018 4:40:00 PM | Women's Ice Hockey

GAME INFORMATION
New Hampshire (5-6-1, 1-5-0 Hockey East) at Dartmouth (1-4-2, 1-4-0 ECAC)
Location: Thompson Arena - Hanover, N.H.
LINKS: WATCH - ESPN+ LIVE STATS

DURHAM, N.H. - Riding a five-game unbeaten streak, the University of New Hampshire women's ice hockey team closes out the month of December facing a pair of ECAC opponents.

The Wildcats will head to Hanover, N.H. to face intra-state rival the Dartmouth Big Green on Tuesday evening. The game, which will be streamed on ESPN+, is slated for a 7 P.M. start.

New Hampshire plays their final game of the fall semester this Saturday, December 8 at the Whittemore Center against Harvard. Tickets are available at UNHWildcats.com or by calling (603) 862-4000.

The Series: New Hampshire vs. Dartmouth

New Hampshire and Dartmouth will meet for the 58th time in women's ice hockey, with UNH holding the all-time advantage with a 37-12-4 record. In the last five meetings, Dartmouth holds the slight advtange with a 3-2-0 record. In last season's matchup, the Wildcats took down the Big Green by a final score of 6-1.

Last Time Out:

The Wildcats, coming off a 1-0-1 weekend against RPI, faced the Merrimack Warriors in a home-and-home series. For the first time all season, the Wildcats won a game by a single-goal margin, sweeping the Warriors with a 3-2 score on Friday, and a 4-3 overtime victory on Saturday.

Taylor Wenczkowski (Rochester, N.H.) led the way for the Wildcats, accumulating four points with a goal and an assist in each game, extending her points streak to three games. In game two, she scored the game-winner in overtime. Senior captain Marie-Jo Pelletier (Dalhousie, New Brunswick) tallied three assists on the weekend, including on Wenczkowski's overtime game-winner.

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. Since that game, they are 4-0-1, their longest unbeaten streak since last season.

Players to Watch

- Juniors Nicole Dunbar (Coto de Caza, Calif.) and Taylor Wenczkowski now lead the team in points with 10. Wenczkowski has a team-high six goals, while Dunbar has six assists, the second-highest tally on the team.

- Fellow junior Carlee Turner (Scottsdale, Ariz.) is one of two Wildcats with nine points on the year. Turner tallied UNH's first game-winning goal of the year, with three others and four helpers on the season. Tori Howran (Bancroft, Ontario) is also at seven points with two goals and leads the team in assists with seven. Howran has scored one power play goal this season and is a +2 on the year, which leads the team.

- Howran's defensive partner, Marie-Jo Pelletier is also a +2 on the year, and has eight points with two goals and six assists. One of her goals was the game-winner against RPI.

- Senior Devan Taylor (North Billerica, Mass.) and Lauren Martin (Cambridge, Ontario) are both tied with seven points on the year. Taylor tallied the first game-winner against Merrimack, and has three goals, four assists on the year. Two of her goals came on the power play. Martin tallied her first two career goals two games in a row, adding in five assists.

Mind the Net

Senior captain Kyra Smith (Littleton, Colo.) has been the go-to starter in net in the last seven games for UNH and has a 4-2-1 record in those games. Overall this season she has a .935 save% and a 2.00 GAA for a 4-4-1 record.

Sophomore Ava Boutilier (Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island) returned 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 Dartmouth

- The Big Green (Hanover, N.H.) come into the week with a overall record of 3-8-1, coming off a 1-1-0 weekend against ECAC opponents Union and Rensselaer.

- Dartmouth defeated Union 4-2 on Friday, but fell to Rensselaer 2-1 on Saturday, to put their ECAC record at 2-5-0.

- Dartmouth is 2-2-1 when playing at Thomspon Arena this season.

- The Big Green are led by senior Tess Bracken, who has a team-high four goals, along with three assists for seven points.

- Freshman Sara McClanahan also has seven points on three goals and four assists.

- In net, senior Christine Honor has started 10 of Dartmouth's 12 games this season. She has a 3-6-1 record with a 3.03 GAA and .898 save%.