PATON AND MINTON RECEIVE WEEKLY ACCOLADE FROM WOMEN'S HOCKEY EAST

KELLY PATON

LINDSEY MINTON

WAKEFIELD, Mass. – Kelly Paton (Woodstock, Ontario) and Lindsey Minton (Richardson, Texas) of the University of New Hampshire women’s ice hockey team were honored as Pure Hockey Player of the Week and Defensive Player of the Week, respectively, by Hockey East on Monday.

Paton received the same distinction Nov. 2 and was also honored as Hockey East Player of the Month for October.

The duo helped the Wildcats extend their unbeaten streak to seven games (4-0-3) with a 1-1 tie at Harvard University (Nov. 18) and a 4-3 victory at home against Rensselaer (Nov. 21).

Paton, a senior forward and captain, recorded her second career hat trick and also matched her career high in points (four) to spearhead the team’s comeback victory against RPI. Her first goal of the game gave the ‘Cats a 1-0 lead and her next goal pulled the team within 3-2 in the second stanza. Paton set up the game-tying goal at 7:49 of the final frame and scored the game-winning goal on an unassisted effort off a faceoff at 9:37.

Minton, a sophomore goaltender, stopped 45 of 49 shots for a .918 save percentage, 1.92 GAA and 1-0-1 record in two games vs. ECAC opponents. She opened the week with a season-high 27 saves in the 1-1 tie at Harvard in which she held the Crimson scoreless in the final 59:39 of the game. In the game vs. RPI, Minton did not surrender a goal in the final 33:07 of action to backbone UNH’s comeback effort.

In 14 games this season, Paton has 10 goals and 16 assists for 26 points. She leads the team in goals, game-winning goals (three), points and shooting percentage (.192), and is second in assists, plus/minus (+8), power-play goals (three) and shots (52). With those numbers, Paton is second in the nation in points per game, third in assists per game and eighth in goals per game.

Minton has started eight games this season and is 5-1-2 with a 2.00 GAA, .898 save percentage and one shutout. She is ranked 12th in the nation in goals-against-average.

New Hampshire (9-1-4 overall, 4-0-1-0 Hockey East) returns to action Nov. 29 at Northeastern University and the Wildcats’ next home game is Dec. 5 against Providence College. Both games are at 2 p.m.