WOMEN'S HOCKEY NOTEBOOK
The Vermont Catamounts play their final two games before winter break Friday (Dec. 7) and Saturday (Dec. 8) at Yale. UVM takes on the Bulldogs at 2 p.m. both days at Ingalls Rink in New Haven, Connecticut.
 
Both games will be streamed live on ESPN+. Fans can access ESPN+ with a seven-day free trial, followed by a subscription fee of $4.99 a month or $49.99 a year, with the ability to cancel at any time. 
 
RELATED LINKS
Friday (Dec. 7): WATCH($) | LIVE STATS | Game Notes (.pdf)
Saturday (Dec. 8): WATCH($) | LIVE STATS

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
Yale carries a 2-10-0 (2-6-0 ECAC) record into the weekend series, which puts them in a tie for 11th place in the ECAC. Senior Emma Vlasic paces the Bulldogs' offense with team-highs in goals (5) and points (8). Rebecca Vanstone is the top rookie on Yale with four goals and three assists in the first 12 games of her career. Last year's leading scorer Greta Skarzynski has a team-high five assists after posting 26 points (14 goals, 12 assists) a season ago. In goal is junior Tera Hofmann with a 2-7-0 record, a 934 SV% and 2.38 GAA while Gianna Meloni has a .906 SV% and 2.38 GAA in three starts. The Bulldogs recently dropped two games to Windjammer Classic champions Minnesota at home. Last season, Yale skated to a record of 10-17-4 (8-12-2 ECAC) and lost to the national champion Clarkson early in the ECAC quarterfinals.
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
This weekend's contests mark the 15th and 16th all-time meetings between the former ECAC foes. Vermont has a 2-10-2 mark in the previous 14 meetings with Yale dating back to the first game Jan. 2, 2001 at Ingalls Rinks. Despite the all-time record, the Cats are 2-1-2 in the last five contests against the Bulldogs with four of the games taking place at Gutterson Fieldhouse. Yale has won all six games in New Haven, but they haven't hosted UVM since Jan. 2, 2010. The last time the Cats faced Yale was in a two-game series in Burlington to close out the 2016 calendar year. A 2-2 tie was the result of the first game, but the Catamounts followed up with a 2-1 win the next day. Alyssa Gorecki had a goal and two assists in the series against the Bulldogs and Ève-Audrey Picard netted the game-winning goal with 12:13 left in regulation.

LAST WEEKEND
Vermont split the final home series of 2018 with the Maine Black Bears last weekend at Gutterson Fieldhouse. Maine took the first game as they edged out the Catamounts 2-1. The Hockey East opponents exchanged goals in the opening period, but the Black Bears registered the game-winning goal in the second. Taylor Flaherty was Vermont's goal scorer, netting her second goal of the season with a heavy shot from the blue line. Melissa Black made 25 saves in net for the Catamounts in the first game. UVM closed out the series with a 3-2 victory the following day, backed by three assists from Kristina Shanahan. The Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Québec native was the first Catamount to accomplish a three-assist game since Taylor Willard '18 added three helpers against Boston University last February. Rookie defender Maude Poulin-Labelle potted the game-winning goal at 12:19 in the second period for her second marker of the season. Black stopped 24 shots in net to ensure the win.
 
PK PROWESS
The Catamounts are tied with Franklin Pierce for the second-best penalty kill in the country after killing off 55 of 60 penalties taken for a 91.7% success rate. UVM has gone the last six games without yielding a power play goal. Christina Putigna of Providence was the last to net a goal against the Vermont special-teams unit on Nov. 11. In the month of November, the Catamounts have allowed only two power-play goals on 30 attempts. Vermont has only one shorthanded goal this year, which happened to be Lilly Holmes' first collegiate goal.
 
CATS IN THE PROS
Taylor Willard '18 continues to lead the Vermont alumnae in scoring with six points (2 goals, 4 assists) after adding a helper over the weekend. The former UVM captain is tied for the most points by a rookie defender in the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL). Amanda Pelkey' 15 tallied a goal and an assist last weekend against the Minnesota Whitecaps in the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL). Her four points in seven games this season earned her a spot in the 2019 NWHL All-Star Game. Read more about Pelkey being selected here.
 

	Vermont Women's Hockey Alumnae Stats (as of 12/6)
Name	Team	Position	GP	G	A	P
Amanda Pelkey '15	Boston Pride (NWHL)	F	7	2	2	4
Rachael Ade '17	Connecticut Whale (NWHL)	D	5	0	0	0
Gina Repaci '16	Markham Thunder (CWHL)	D	13	0	0	0
Taylor Willard '18	Montreal Canadiennes (CWHL)	D	12	2	4	6
Mackenzie MacNeil '18	Toronto Furies (NWHL)	F	8	1	1	2
Brittany Zuback '15	Toronto Furies (NWHL)	F	9	0	0	0
Name	Team	Position	GP	GAA	SV%	SO
Madison Litchfield '17	Boston Pride (NWHL)	G	0	0.00	.000	0

NEXT UP
After the series at Yale, Vermont travels to Rhode Island January 5 for a two-game road trip against the Providence Friars at Schneider Arena.
 
The Windjammer and Upper Deck Pub is the presenting sponsor of the 2018-19 women's hockey season