Boutilier Shuts Out Vermont, 2-0, With 30 Saves

Sunday, December 20

Burlington, VT

6 PM

University of New Hampshire

2-6-0

Vermont

1-1-0

Team	1	2	3	F
New Hampshire	0	0	2	2
Vermont	0	0	0	0

12/20/2020 9:35:00 PM | Women's Ice Hockey

Box Score

BURLINGTON, Vt. – Ava Boutilier (Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island) recorded her eighth career shutout with a 30-save effort to backbone the University of New Hampshire women's hockey team to Sunday night's 2-0 victory against the University of Vermont at Gutterson Fieldhouse.

Boutilier stopped 11 shots in the third period, including four in a 30-second span when UVM had a 5-on-3 power play with less than four minutes remaining.

Emily Rickwood (Brantford, Ontario) and Lauren Martin (Cambridge, Ontario) scored goals one minute apart early in the third period to give UNH a 2-0 lead.

UVM goalie Natalie Ferenc was credited with 26 saves.UNH (2-6-0 overall, 2-6-0 Hockey East) and UVM (1-1-0, 1-1-0) split the two-game weekend series.

The Wildcats' next home game is scheduled for Dec. 23 (3 p.m.) versus Holy Cross.

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FIRST PERIOD SUMMARY

Shots were even, 10-10, in the scoreless first period as both teams went 0-for-1 on the power play.
UVM's Olivia Kilberg corralled a lead pass at the blue line and advanced alone down the slot, but Boutilier's blocker save kept the game scoreless at 4:10.
The Catamounts generated a quick 2-on-2 counterattack nine minutes into the game, but Theresa Schafzahl's shot from the hashmarks in the slot was kicked aside by Boutilier.
Vermont went on the first power play of the game at 11:06 and Boutilier stopped the only shot she faced to backbone UNH's penalty kill.
With 6:30 on the clock, UNH's Nicole Kelly (Brantford, Ontario) collected a loose puck in the slot and her screened wrister was stopped by Ferenc.
The Wildcats began a power play at 17:20, and Kelly was once again denied on a dangerous wrist shot from the slot. One minute later, Maddie Truax (Gardner, Mass.) skated off the left half-boards and fires a low shot gloved by Ferenc.

SECOND PERIOD SUMMARY

Both teams once again went 0-for-1 on the power play with the Catamounts recording a 9-6 shot advantage in the middle stanza.
UVM had a skater advantage just 57 seconds into the period and generated two shots in the next two minutes.
UNH went on its second power play of the game midway through the frame. At 11:30, Rickwood blasted a shot from the right point that was stopped by Ferenc, who also denied Martin off the rebound at the right doorstep.
In the 15^th minute, Chavonne Truter (Uxbridge, Ontario) advanced with speed through the right circle and drove a shot that was blocked away by Ferenc.
With 3:30 on the clock, UVM won a series of three consecutive faceoffs in a 15-second span that produced an immediate shot on goal, but Boutilier denied all three chances.
One minute later, Tamara Thiérus (Saint-Jerome, Quebec) fired a shot on goal from the blue line. Kelly skated onto the rebound at the right doorstep and her shot was blocked by a defender positioned in front of Ferenc.
In the final minute, Annie Berry (Milton, Mass.) led a rush down the slot and slipped a pass to the left wing. Rae Breton (Brighton, Ontario) then snapped the puck across to Truter, whose one-timer from deep on the right side was sailed just wide of the near post.

THIRD PERIOD SUMMARY

New Hampshire scored two goals one minute apart early in the final frame to quickly transform a scoreless game into a 2-0 lead.
Berry initiated the scoring sequence on the opening goal by winning the battle for the puck in the right corner along the boards to Breton. Her pass back to the point found Rickwood, who blasted a shot into the upper-right corner at 2:24.
Kelly dumped the puck into the attack zone and Martin gained possession behind the net. She slipped a pass to Kyla Bent (Halifax, Nova Scotia) in the high slot and her slapshot ricocheted off a UVM defender in front, and the puck went off Kelly's stick to the right side of the net. Martin swept the puck across the goalmouth inside the far post for a 2-0 lead at 3:24.
UNH was whistled for two penalties at 16:58 to give Vermont a 5-on-3 power play for two minutes. In the next 30 seconds, Boutilier made three acrobatic saves to deny Corinne McCool three times.
The Catamounts were penalized for too many skaters at 17:54, but then pulled Ferenc for an extra skater with 1:45 left to once again have a two-skater advantage.
Boutilier made two more saves before both Wildcats returned from the penalty box to give UNH a power play with 62 seconds to play; UVM continued to play with an empty net, however, making it 5-on-5.
The Wildcats did not allow a shot the rest of the way, however, to preserve the victory.

UNH NOTEBOOK

It was the first shutout of the season for Boutilier, who had six last year.
Martin scored in both games of the weekend series vs. UVM. She is now tied for second on the team with three goals this season.
Rickwood scored her first goal of the season and eighth career. She had a two-point weekend following an assist in Saturday's game.
Rickwood is UNH's top point-producing defensemen with four points (one goal, three assists).
Berry also had a two-point weekend; she scored her first career goal Saturday and tallied an assist Sunday.
Kelly recorded an assist in both games at Vermont to increase her team-leading total to six. Her six points ranks second.
Bent recorded her second assist (and point) of the season.
Breton has two points (1g, 1a) in three games as a forward.
Boutilier stopped 67 of 71 shots for a .944 save percentage in the series.
UNH's penalty kill was a perfect 4-for-4 in this game and 10 of 10 this weekend.

SERIES NOTEBOOK

UNH has a 36-14-6 lifetime record against Vermont. The teams split the 2020-21 (1-1-0) and 2019-20 (1-1-1) series.
UVM has a 2-1-2 edge the past five meetings at Gutterson Fieldhouse.
This was UNH's first shutout victory against Vermont since Oct. 30, 2015 (4-0, also at Gutterson Fieldhouse).

GOALS
UNH (2) – Lauren Martin, Emily Rickwood
UVM (0)

ASSISTS
UNH (4) – Kyla Bent, Annie Berry, Rae Breton, Tamara Thiérus
UVM (0)

GOALTENDERS
UNH – Ava Boutilier 10-9-11—30 (0 GA) [60:00] {W}
UVM – Natalie Ferenc 10-6-10—26 (2 GA) [58:08] {L}

PENALTIES
UNH 4-8 UVM 4-8

POWER PLAYS
UNH 0-4 UVM 0-4