‘Cats Close Out 2018 with Harvard Matchup

Saturday, December 8

Durham, N.H.

2 PM

University of New Hampshire

Harvard

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Lauren Martin (Photo by Helene Bartsch)

Photo by: Helene Bartsch

12/7/2018 10:14:00 AM | Women's Ice Hockey

The Wildcats play their last game before the winter break at the Whittemore Center Saturday.

DURHAM, N.H. - The University of New Hampshire women's ice hockey team plays its final game of 2018 as they host the Harvard Crimson on Satutrday, December 8 at 2 P.M.

The Wildcats, riding a six-game unbeaten streak and a four game winning streak, look to close out the fall semester strong, facing their second straight ECAC opponent.

After the winter break, the Wildcats return to action with a Hockey East matchup with the Boston College Eagles on January 5, 2019 at the Whittemore Center.Tickets are available at UNHWildcats.com or by calling (603) 862-4000.

The Series: New Hampshire vs. Harvard
   The Wildcats and Crimson have met 52 times in their storied histories including several postseason matchups in the ECAC playoffs and the NCAA tournament. The Crimson took last year's meeting in Cambridge by a score of 5-3; the last time these two teams faced off in the Whittemore Center, it was a 3-2 overtime victory for the 'Cats.

Last Time Out:
   UNH faced ECAC foe and intra-state rival Dartmouth on Tuesday evening and defeated the Big Green by a score of 2-0.
   Both goals came in relation to a power play, with Nicole Dunbar (Coto de Caza, Calif.) scoring just four seconds into a power play off a faceoff win from Carlee Turner (Scottsdale, Ariz.) for the opening goal and the eventual game-winner. Later in that period, Meghara McManus (Milton, Mass.) was brought down from behind on a hooking call, but was able to get the puck to Taylor Wenczkowski (Rochester, N.H.) on the ensuing delayed penalty as she buried UNH's second goal, her third in as many games.
   Senior captain Kyra Smith (Littleton, Colo.) notched UNH's first shutout of the season and the third of her career, stopping all 31 Dartmouth shots.

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 5-0-1, their longest unbeaten streak since last season.

Players to Watch
- Juniors Nicole Dunbar and Taylor Wenczkowski now lead the team in points with 11. Wenczkowski has a team-high seven goals, while Dunbar has six assists, the second-highest tally on the team. Both had goals in UNH's most previous game at Dartmouth.
- Fellow junior Carlee Turner is now at 10 points on the year. Turner tallied UNH's first game-winning goal of the year, and tallied the game-winning assist at Dartmouth off a faceoff win.
- Junior Tori Howran (Bancroft, Ontario) nine points with two goals and leads the team in assists with seven. Howran has scored one power play goal this season.
- Howran's defensive partner, Marie-Jo Pelletier (Dalhousie, New Brusnwick) is a +3 on the year, which leads the team, 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.), junior Meghara McManus and freshman Lauren Martin (Cambridge, Ontario) are all 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. McManus is tied for the second-highest amount of goals on the team (5) and has added two assists.

Mind the Net
   Senior captain Kyra Smith (Littleton, Colo.) has been the go-to starter in net in the last eight games for UNH and has a 5-2-1 record in those games. Overall this season she has a .942 save% and a 1.80 GAA for a 5-4-1 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 Harvard
- The Crimson (Cambridge, Mass.) come into the weekend with an overall record of 4-5-1. They start the weekend by playing Maine on Friday night.
- Harvard defeated Union 4-0 on Saturday and Rensselaer 2-0 on Friday at the Bright-Landry Hockey Center.
- The Crimson are 0-5-1 when playing away from Cambridge this season.
- Harvard is led by freshman forward Kristi Della Rovere, who has a team high four goals. She also has four assists and eight points.
- Senior forward Lexie Laing has three goals and six assists, and is tied for the team lead in points with nine.
- Lindsay Reed has played the majority of the season between the pipes, starting 9 of the 10 games. She has a 4-4-1 record and has a 1.42 goals against average and a .958 save percentage.