GAME DAY: #4 WOMEN'S HOCKEY PLAYS HOST TO #7 NORTHEASTERN (JAN. 20)
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THE MATCHUP
The University of New Hampshire women’s
ice hockey team, ranked fourth in both national polls, concludes
the season series against seventh-ranked Northeastern University on
Wednesday, January 20 at the Whittemore Center. The game, which
will be broadcast live on both the Wildcat Sports Radio Network and
unhwildcats.tv (online video), begins at 7 p.m.
In the previous 110 meetings, UNH has a 75-28-7
record against Northeastern. The Wildcats have a 34-9-4 mark at
home vs. NU.
The teams made history within the past
fortnight as they faced off in the first women’s college
hockey outdoor game Jan. 8 at Fenway Park. UNH rallied to score
four consecutive third-period goals to rally for a 5-3 victory and
extend the winning streak vs. the Huskies to 26 games.
Earlier this season at NU’s Matthews
Arena, the Wildcats netted a pair of shorthanded goals –
including one that broke a 1-1 tie with 3:27 remaining in the game
– to prevail 2-1. In that game, the offense was led by Kelly
Paton (goal, assist) and the defense was backboned by Lindsey
Minton (21 saves).
Since the inception of Hockey East for the 2003
season –which also marked the first year as UNH head coach
for Brian McCloskey – the Wildcats have won all 26 meetings
between these programs.
During this streak, the ‘Cats have won 13
times by shutout, including by 2-0 and 3-0 scores last season at
the Whittemore Center.
Northeastern last defeated New Hampshire on
March 15, 2002, when the Huskies ousted the Wildcats from the ECAC
Eastern League semifinals with a 2-0 win (at UConn’s Freitas
Ice Forum). That game ended a stretch in which NU went 5-1-1 vs.
the ‘Cats.
THE STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
Wednesday’s game vs. Northeastern will be
the team’s fourth consecutive game against a
nationally-ranked team. UNH faced off twice last weekend vs.
Providence and played these NU Huskies at Fenway Park on Jan.
8.
After this game, only one of the
Wildcats’ last 10 regular-season games are against a
nationally-ranked opponent (despite the fact that three other
Hockey East teams are in this week’s national polls) –
Feb. 7 at UConn.
New Hampshire opened the 2010 calendar year
Jan. 8 at Fenway Park with a 5-3 victory against ninth-ranked
Northeastern University but followed that with a pair of 3-2 losses
in a home-and-home series vs. ninth-ranked Providence College last
weekend (Jan. 16-17). Those losses snapped a five-game unbeaten
streak (3-0-2) vs. nationally-ranked teams.
The Wildcats are trying to avoid a three-game
losing streak; in head coach Brian McCloskey’s eight-year
tenure, the ‘Cats have lost three straight games just once
– in the 2004 season (Harvard; Dartmouth twice).
UNH scored four third-period goals Jan. 8 vs.
Northeastern, which was the top-ranked defensive team in the nation
at the time; the Huskies were yielding 1.06 goals per game; they
had not allowed more than three goals in a game in the previous 18
games of the season and had surrendered a total of five goals in
the previous five games.
New Hampshire has an 11-0-1 record with 30+
shots in a game. The ‘Cats are 11-0-3 when scoring at least
three goals in a game.
In the eight-year history of Hockey East, UNH
has lost a total of 16 games to league opponents –13 in the
regular season and three in postseason play. Of those 16 losses, 11
have been to Providence (seven in the regular season; two in
postseason).
New Hampshire’s eight-year league record
is now 122-13-15 (.863 winning percentage). Additionally, the
‘Cats are 10-3 in the Hockey East tournament.
In head coach Brian McCloskey’s
eight-year tenure, UNH has a 41-8-8 record (.789 winning
percentage) in the month of January. That mark was 24-2-3 (.879)
spanning the 2006-09 seasons.
'CAT NIPS
Micaela Long has 23 points (5g, 18a) during her
current 14-game point-scoring streak. She has at least one assist
each of the last five games.
Kristina. Lavoie has scored a goal each of the
last five games. She leads UNH rookies in goals (10) and points
(19); those numbers rank second on the team in goals and third in
points.
Julie Allen has scored a goal in three of the
last five games, and her season total of six exceeds last
year’s total (four).
Kristine Horn has one point in five of the last
six games.
Raylen Dziengelewski has an assist in two
consecutive games. She accomplished that feat earlier this season
vs. Maine and Boston U. (Nov. 1 & 6).
THIS DATE IN HISTORY
UNH has played 12 games on this date in history
– January 20 – and the Wildcats have a 8-3-1 overall
record that includes 6-2-0 in home games.
This will mark the third meeting between UNH
and Northeastern on January 20th. The ‘Cats were 4-2 road
victors last season and the teams skated to a 2-2 tie in 1996.
"OPERATION HAT TRICK" CONTINUES
Last season, the University of New Hampshire
athletic department announced the creation of a special project
called “Operation Hat Trick,” an initiative that will
give baseball hats to injured military personnel. This year’s
Operation Hat Trick festivities will be held at the Feb. 13 game
vs. Vermont.
For every two hats sold (suggested retail price
of $19.95 each), a third will be donated to the VA Hospital’s
Recreation Therapy program. Six local retailers, including an
online provider, have committed to the project by selling the hats
through their outlets. The retailers are: UNH Bookstore, Hayden
Sports, Town & Campus, Sportdesigns.com, Friends of Men’s
Hockey, Friends of Women’s Hockey and UNH Athletics.
Operation Hat Trick was launched at the UNH
men’s hockey game vs. Providence on Nov. 22, 2008, and
women’s hockey had its special presentation Friday, Dec. 5,
2008 vs. Harvard.
Members of the hockey teams wore Operation Hat
Trick hats during introductions and then tossed each personally
autographed hat into the crowd. Three team-signed hats were raffled
off with proceeds going to the VA Hospital Recreation Therapy
program. In mid-December, members of each hockey team traveled to
the VA Hospital to meet and greet patients and to deliver the first
group of hats.
For more information about Operation Hat Trick
or to view the product, visit www.unhwildcats.com.
SUN LIFE FROZEN FENWAY: A FIRST IN WOMEN'S
HOCKEY
UNH and Northeastern made history Jan. 8, 2010,
at Fenway Park – home of the Boston Red Sox – when the
teams faced off in the first women’s hockey outdoor game as
part of a Hockey East doubleheader entitled Sun Life Frozen Fenway.
Tickets for the game went on sale Sept. 17 and sold out within a
week. The game was televised live on NESN and the NHL Network.
As for the game itself, NU took a 1-0 lead just
1:29 into the game and extended the advantage to two goals at 3:41.
UNH responded with a highlight-reel goal – it made the ESPN
SportsCenter Top 10 plays – by Shannon Sisk (from Sarah
Cuthbert) just 18 seconds later. The Huskies reestablished a
two-goal lead of 3-1 with a power-play goal in the second period,
but the Wildcats stormed back with four goals in the third period,
including an empty-netter with 15 seconds remaining to secure the
victory. Kayley Herman, who entered the game at the start of the
second stanza, stopped 12 of 13 shots in 40 minutes of action to
earn the win; Lindsey Minton started the game and made three saves.
NU goalie Florence Schelling turned aside 28 of 32 shots she
faced.
The Wildcats were part of another women’s
ice hockey first that occurred in Boston when they won the
inaugural national championship (American Women’s College
Hockey Alliance) in 1998 against Brown University at the
FleetCenter (now TD Garden).
WILDCATS IN THE NATION
Junior defenseman Courtney
Birchard ranks second in the nation in defenseman scoring (0.90
points per game) and is also 11th in power-play goals (five) as
well as 12th in game-winning goals (three).
Senior forward and captain Kelly Paton is
ranked in the top 15 in three statistics – points per game
(5th, 1.67), assists per game (4th, 1.05) and goals per game (15th,
0.62). She is also 12th in game-winning goals (three).
Micaela Long, another senior forward, is second
in the nation in assists (1.19 apg) and is #7 in points (1.62 per
game).
Kristine Horn and Kristina Lavoie are two of
the top rookie point producers – Lavoie is fifth (0.90) and
Horn in 12th (0.76).
Junior goaltender Kayley Herman is eighth in
goals-against-average (1.67) and 11th in save percentage (.926).
