WOMEN'S HOCKEY NOTEBOOK
The Vermont Catamounts head on their first road trip of the 2018-19 campaign with games at New Hampshire and Boston College this weekend.
 
The Cats open with a game Friday night against UNH at 7 p.m. in Whittemore Center and proceed to Boston College the following day for a 3 p.m. game in Conte Forum. Saturday's game can be streamed on ESPN3 or by using the link below.
 
RELATED LINKS
(Friday) vs. UNH: WATCH | STATS | Game Notes (.pdf)
(Saturday) vs. BC: WATCH | STATS 

SCOUTING UNH
New Hampshire enters its fifth game of the season with a 1-2-1 (1-1-0 WHEA) record. The Wildcats last played at Boston University where they fell 3-2 to the Terriers. UNH's lone win came against UConn in a 5-3 home victory led by Nicole Dunbar's two-goal performance. Dunbar leads the Wildcats with three goals on the season as well as a team-high four points while junior Tori Howran is tied for the team lead in assists with three others, registering two helpers in the first four games. Ava Boutilier has played every minute in goal for New Hampshire posting a 1.93 GAA, .942 SV% and a league-high 131 saves. UNH finished last season with a 14-15-7 (9-10-5 WHEA) for fifth in Hockey East, but were ousted by fourth-seeded Northeastern in two games of the league quarterfinals.
 
ALL-TIME AGAINST UNH
Friday night marks the 43rd all-time meeting between the Catamounts and UNH. Vermont has an 11-27-4 record against the Wildcats dating back to the 2002-03 season. The Cats are 1-2-2 in the five previous meetings with New Hampshire, which includes a hard-fought overtime loss at Gutterson Fieldhouse. The last five meetings all came in the 2017 calendar year, with the win coming at home in February. Rachel Ade'16 netted the game-winning goal and Ève-Audrey Picard had two assists. Kristina Shanahan (1 goal, 3 assists) and Alyssa Gorecki (4 assists) were the Catamounts top performers against UNH last season.  
 
SCOUTING BOSTON COLLEGE
The Eagles are set to play their seventh game of the season Saturday at Conte Forum. They enter the week with a 3-2-0 record and face Merrimack Friday night for their first conference game of the season. Lindsay Agnew (2 goals, 3 assists) and Makenna Newkirk (1 goal, 4 assists) lead BC with five points in their first five games. Daryl Watts paced the Eagles with 42 goals, 40 assist, and 82 points a season ago to win Cammi Granato Player of the Year and Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Year, Hockey Easts' top honors. Megan Keller returns to the BC defense following a leave of absence to compete in the 2018 Olympic Games where she won gold for team USA with former Catamount Amanda Pelkey '15. Freshman Maddy McArthur has started all five games in goal, posting a 1.80 GAA and .922 SV%. BC went 30-5-3 (19-2-3 WHEA) for first in Hockey East but were ousted by Maine in the league semifinals, followed by a 2-0 loss to Ohio State in the NCAA Quarterfinals.  

SERIES HISTORY WITH BC
Saturday's contest is the 51st meeting between the Catamounts and Boston College dating back to 1999 when Vermont was a Division III program. The Eagles have a 44-3-3 series lead over UVM within that time, but the Cats' three wins in the series all came on the road at Conte Forum. The two schools met in the Hockey East Quarterfinals last season when BC advanced in two games. Prior to that, Catamounts have played close games with Boston College, forcing the perennial powerhouse to overtime three times since January 2017 including a double-overtime bout in the 2016-17 Hockey East Semifinals. Alyssa Gorecki scored a power-play goal at 6:40 in the third period to force extra time against the eventual Hockey East champions.
 
LAST WEEKEND
Vermont returns to action following a pair of ties against Quinnipiac last weekend at Gutterson Fieldhouse. Melissa Black started in goal Friday night (Oct. 12) and tallied 25 saves while Ève-Audrey Picard netted her first goal of the season in a 1-1 draw. Maude Poulin-Labelle assisted on the goal for her first career point and Sammy Kolowrat registered her first point of the season with the secondary assist. Blanka Škodová made her collegiate debut in goal the following night (Oct. 13) and stopped 34 shots. Olivia Kilberg and Alyssa Gorecki registered a goal and two assists each and Ali O'Leary potted her first goal of the season in a 3-3 tie.   
  
CATS IN THE PROS
It was a big last weekend for Catamounts alumni as several made their professional hockey debuts. Mackenzie MacNeil '18 was the lone former-Cat to register a point with an assist in her first career game as a member of the Toronto Furies. Fellow alumna Brittany Zuback '15 joined MacNeil and the Furies to begin her second season. Gina Repaci' 16 also made her debut, playing for the Markham Thunder in their season opener against the Worcester Blades. Taylor Willard '18 rounded out the first-time pros, beginning her career with the Montreal Canadiennes. In the NWHL, Amanda Pelkey '15 and Madison Litchfield '17 began their seasons as members of the Boston Pride with a 5-1 win over the Metropolitan Riveters. Former captain Rachael Ade '17 kicked off her second season in the league as a member of the Connecticut Whale.

NEXT UP
The Catamounts follow the weekend contests with another road trip as they face Merrimack Friday (Oct. 26) at 3 p.m in North Andover, Massachusetts.
 
The Windjammer and Upper Deck Pub is the presenting sponsor of the 2018-19 women's hockey season