UNH Faces #7 BU in Home-and-Home Weekend Series

DURHAM, N.H. - The University of New Hampshire women's ice hockey team faces off with Hockey East foes#7 Boston University in a home-and-home series this Saturday, February 16 and Sunday, February 17.

New Hampshire comes into the weekend on a tough two-game skid, dropping both games last weekend to #7 Boston College and Merrimack. The Wildcats can improve playoff positioning with points this weekend, currently sitting in a two-way tie in sixth with UConn. UNH has clinched a playoff spot at 21 points.

The Wildcats have a 3 P.M. puck-drop at Agganis Arena on Saturday, and host the Terriers for a 2 P.M. puck drop on Sunday at the Whittemore Center. Sunday's game will be Senior Day, honoring UNH's graduating seniors, and Alumni Day, welcoming back former Wildcats. For tickets to Sunday's game, visit UNHWildcats.com or call (603) 862-4000.

The Series: New Hampshire vs. Boston U.
   This will be the 51st meeting of the Terriers and the Wildcats in women's hockey, a series that dates all the way back to 1977. The Wildcats dropped the first meeting of the two teams this season, 3-2 in Boston back in October. The Terriers have the advantage in the last five games, with a 4-0-1 record. UNH's last victory came in the 2016-17 Hockey East quarterfinals when the Wildcats took game one of the three-game series, 4-2.

Last Time Out:
   The Wildcats rode a five-game winning streak into Chestnut Hill, Mass. this past weekend, facing the #7-ranked Boston College Eagles on Friday night. Despite a second-period goal by Abby Chapman (Beverly Hills, Mass.) to cut BC's lead to 2-1, the Eagles responded with second period goal of their own and four third-period goals to seal a 7-1 victory over UNH.
   In the second game of the weekend the Wildcats attempted to bounce back against Merrimack at home; UNH found itself down by two goals entering the final eight minutes of play, but a late third-period extra-attacker goal by Tori Howran (Bancroft, Ontario) gave the 'Cats new life, cutting the defecit to one goal. New Hampshire once again pulled the goaltender for an extra attacker but were unable to get the equalizer.

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.
- From that Holy Cross victory, the Wildcats then went on a nine game unbeaten streak (7-0-2) with wins over conference foes Merrimack and Boston College, and ECAC foes Dartmouth, Rensselaer and Yale.
- The unbeaten streak included two straight come-from-behind third period rallies, trailing 2-1 against Boston College (won 3-2) and trailing 3-2 at Yale (won 4-3).
- The Wildcats had their unbeaten streak snapped in mid-January by the UConn Huskies, who took the season series 2-1-0 with a weekend sweep.
- After dropping the first game of the Providence series by a score of 4-0, the 'Cats bounced back and snapped their losing streak with a 5-0 victory over the #9-ranked Friars. Riding that performance, the 'Cats swept Holy Cross and Maine in consecutive weekends to secure the team's first five-game win streak since 2010 and move up two spots in the conference standings.
- UNH had its winning streak snapped at #7 BC, and fell to Merrimack the following afternoon at home. The Wildcats fell back down two conference spots to a tie with UConn. The Wildcats come into the final three games of the regular season needing a point or some help to clinch a playoff berth.

Players to Watch
- Junior forward Taylor Wenczkowski (Rochester, N.H.) now leads the team in points and goals, with 16 goals and 22 points. Wenczkowski has tallied four power play goals, five game-winning goals, and a short-handed goal. Wenczkowski's longest point streak of the year (four games) is tied for the team high; she tallied seven points in those four games.
- Fellow junior Meghara McManus (Milton, Mass.) is now second on the team in points with 17 after tallying her fifth multi-point game of the season against Maine on Saturday. She leads the team with 12 career multi-point games.
- Senior Devan Taylor (North Billerica, Mass.) is now tied for third on the team in points with 15 after a two-goal, one assist performance against Maine. Taylor has three power play goals on the year, with two game-winners and a team-high +4.
- Tied with Taylor is freshman Lauren Martin (Cambridge, Ontario). Martin now leads the team with 12 assists, and leads all UNH freshmen with 15 points. In Hockey East, Martin is the eighth-highest scoring freshman.
- Juniors Carlee Turner (Scottsdale, Ariz.), Nicole Dunbar (Coto de Caza, Calif.) and senior captain Marie-Jo Pelletier (Dalhousie, New Brunswick) round out the top scorers; Turner and Dunbar sit at 14 points while Pelletier sits at 13. Turner has seven goals and assists each on the year, while Dunbar has six goals, and eight assists, including three power play goals. Pelletier is second on the team with 10 assists, along with three goals on the year.

Mind the Net
   Senior captain Kyra Smith (Littleton, Colo.) has been the go-to starter in net for UNH and has a 12-7-2 record since taking the starting job. Overall this season she has a .938 save% and a 1.81 GAA for a 12-9-2 record. Her save% is good for 11th-best in the nation, third-best in the conference.
   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 year. Boutilier held a 1-5-2 record this season, with a .924 save% and a 2.23 GAA, before her season was cut short due to injury.

Super Juniors
Redshirt junior Taylor Wenczkowski, and true juniors Meghara McManus, Nicole Dunbar, and Carlee Turner, have tallied a total of 39 of UNH's 68 goals (57% of team total), and 66 of the teams 172 points (38% of team total).

The entire junior class has tallied 44 goals (65%) and 83 points (48%).

Rheault Goes to the Pride
Senior defender Jenna Rheault (Deering, N.H.) was selected 25th overall by the Boston Pride in the 2018 NWHL draft on Thursday, December 20, 2018. She becomes the third active Wildcat to be drafted to an NWHL team.

For the 2017-18 season, Rheault was awarded the team's Sue Merz 7th Player award for her clutch defensive play in key situations and on the penalty kill. Rheault was a crucial member of the Wildcats' penalty kill that only allowed 23 power-play goals in the 2017-18 season.

"I am very proud of Jenna," says head coach Hilary Witt. "She is a great person, teammate and hockey player. Her work ethic and commitment to excellence on the ice, in the weight room and in the classroom has propelled her to this achievement."

Wenczkowski Wins Weekly Honors
For her two-goal performance against #10 Boston College on January 5, and her four-point weekend against Maine, Taylor Wenczkowski was named the Hockey East Player of the Week on two occasions this season (January 7th | February 4). The accolades are the first two weekly awards for Wenczkowski in her career.

Smith Stops Them All
For her 41-save shutout over #9 Providence, along with her 22-save performance in Friday's loss, Kyra Smith was named Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week on Monday, January 21. It was Smith's fifth career weekly accolade from the Hockey East conference, and UNH's second of the year. Smith has tallied two shut outs on the season, four in her career.

Down (A Player) But Not Out
When playing on the penalty kill this season, the Wildcats have stopped 87.3% of opponent's power play attempts, which ranks seventh-best in the nation. The Wildcats have allowed just 13 power play goals this season, on 102 attempts.

Goalies Are Skaters, Too
Kyra Smith is the first UNH goaltender to record a point since Lindsey Minton in the 2010-11 season. Smith assisted on the game-winning goal at Yale, as she sent her save to Taylor Wenczkowski, who passed up-ice to Lauren Martin, who then sent a drop-pass back to Wenczkowski for the goal.

Lindsey Minton's assist came in a 4-1 victory over Union on October 16, 2010. She was the lone assist on an empty-net goal.

Historic Streak
The Wildcats were unbeaten through a nine game stretch, having not lost from November 10, 2018 at #6 Northeastern up until January 11th at UConn. They had a 7-0-2 record in that stretch, which was the longest unbeaten streak for the team since the 2007-08 season, when they went unbeaten through 19 games on their way to the women's Frozen Four.

In the streak, the Wildcats outscored opponents 27-15, led by Taylor Wenczkowski who had seven goals and four assists in the streak. Meghara McManus had five goals, two assists in the streak, and was one of four Wildcats with seven points in the streak. Tori Howran (Bancroft, Ontario) had a team-high six assists during the run.

In net, Kyra Smith made 220 saves and allowed just 15 goals, for a .936 save% and 1.64 GAA.

Scouting #7 BU
• The Terriers (Boston, Mass.) welcome UNH to Agganis Arena on Saturday, February 16th. The Terriers have won their last two games, and are 8-0-2 over their last 10.
• The Terriers are coming off thier first Beanpot Championship as a varsity program, and their first since 1981, with a 3-2 overtime victory over Harvard on Tuesday evening.
• UNH has lost three straight games to BU, their last victory coming on Feb 24th of 2017, in the first round of the Hockey East Tournament, with a score of 4-2.
• Boston University averages 3.3 goals a game, helped significantly by a power play that scores 23.8% of the time.
• On defense, the Terriers allow only 1.86 goals a game, while their penalty kill is successful at a76.2% rate.
• BU is led by Jesse Compher on offense, totaling 16 goals and 35 assists on the season, for a team high 51 points. She has registered at least one point over their last 11 games.
• Sammy Davis leads all Terriers in goal scoring, totaling 22 goals in 30 games, scoring in her last seven games.
• Corinne Schroeder minds the net for BU, playing in 26 of 30 games, boasting a 1.91 GAA and .930 save percentage.

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Ava Boutilier

Abby Chapman

Nicole Dunbar

Tori Howran

Lauren Martin

Meghara McManus

Marie-Jo Pelletier

Jenna Rheault

Kyra Smith

Devan Taylor

Carlee Turner

Taylor Wenczkowski

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