Border Battle Continues in Orono (Fri., 2 P.M. | Sat., 2 P.M.)

WEEKEND SCHEDULE:
NEW HAMPSHIRE (13-11-2, 10-9-1 Hockey East) vs. MAINE (10-12-5, 6-10-4 Hockey East)
Friday, Jan. 24 – 2 P.M. | Saturday, Jan. 25 – 2 P.M. – Alfond Arena – Orono, Maine – CBS Digital
LIVE STATS |VIDEO (FRIDAY) | VIDEO (SATURDAY) | GAME NOTES

DURHAM, N.H. - The University of New Hampshire women's ice hockey team embarks on the long journey up I95 to Orono, Maine for the finale of the season series between the Wildcats and the UMaine Black Bears this Friday and Saturday, January 31 and February 1.

The storied rivalry dates back to 1998 in women's hockey, and will be the final two matchups in the season series between the two programs, with Maine taking game one in October at the Whittemore Center.

The Wildcats return home to Durham and have a quick turnaround the following Tuesday, February 4 to face intra-state rival Dartmouth College at 7 P.M. The first fans through the door will get a special Granite State t-shirt celebrating 'Embrace New Hampshire' night. For tickets, visit UNHWildcats.com/tickets or call (603) 862-4000.

THE BORDER BATTLE
The rivalry of New Hampshire and Maine is celebrated this season as the Border Battle series presented by Buffalo Wild Wings, tallying up every victory between Maine and New Hampshire in head to head competition in the 2019-20 academic year. So far, the Wildcats hold the advantage with an 8-5 record against Maine this season across all sports.

TIGHT PLAYOFF RACE
The Wildcats find themselves in sixth place entering the weekend; positions 4-6, which consist of UConn, Providence, and UNH are all separated by one point each. Boston College sits in third with 26 points, followed by UConn (23), Providence (22), and UNH (21). Maine sits in seventh with 16. The weekend's results will be impactful on all these teams in terms of playoff seeding as March approaches.

LAST TIME OUT

The Wildcats swept the Holy Cross Crusaders in their weekend home-and-home series, and in the overall season series 3-0-0.
Game one of the series came at the Whittemore Center by way of a 3-0 shutout victory. Senior captain Taylor Wenczkowski (Rochester, N.H.) found her way back into the goal-scoring column, tallying the game-winning and opening goal of the contest. Fellow senior linemate Meghara McManus (Milton, Mass.) also notched a tally in the contest, and freshman winger Tamara Thiérus (Saint Jérôme, Quebec) had a highlight-reel, extra effort, end to end empty-net bid assisted by the goaltender, rookie of the week Nikki Harnett (Plymouth, Minn.) with her first collegiate point and second career shutout.
The Wildcats opened up the scoring in game two with a 5-2 victory; Wenczkowski once again found the back of the net, McManus tallied her third three-point game of the season (2g, 1a), and both players were assisted by their new center, freshman Annie Berry (Milton, Mass.) who stepped up to the top line due to illness. It was Berry's first career multi-point game.
Thiérus notched another goal in game two to keep her point streak alive, and junior Grace Middleton (Midland, Mich.) tallied her second of the season.

DOWN BUT NOT OUT
The Wildcats have faced 108 opponent power play opportunities, allowing only nine goals; that's good for a .917 penalty kill percentage, ranked #4 in the country.

ABOUT MAINE

The Black Bears (Orono, Maine) sit seventh in the conference at the start of the weekend's slate.
Maine is 2-3-3 in the month of January, with conference wins over Holy cross and Merrimack, ties to Holy Cross, Merrimack, and BU, and losses to UConn and BU.
The Black Bears are up 1-0-0 in the season series thusfar with a 3-0 victory in Durham this past October. Maine tallied the eventual game-winner in the second period, and two in the third, and a total of 15 penalties were called in the contest.
The Wildcats pit their 6-4-1 road record against Maine's 3-6-3 home record.
UNH's last victory in Alfond Arena came in the 2015-16 season, when UNH swept the weekend series.
The Black Bears are led by senior forward Tereza Vanisova with a team-high 26 points and 15 assists, along with 11 goals.

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