WOMEN'S HOCKEY NOTEBOOK
The Vermont Catamounts close out the regular season series with the 10th-ranked Boston College Eagles this weekend at Gutterson Fieldhouse. The two-game series begins Friday (Jan. 18) at 7 p.m. and ends Saturday (Jan. 19) at 4 p.m.
 
RELATED LINKS
Friday (Jan. 18): WATCH | LIVE STATS | Game Notes (.pdf)
Saturday (Jan. 19):  WATCH | LIVE STATS

SCOUTING THE EAGLES
Boston College enters the weekend with a 14-9-0 (11-7-0 WHEA) mark for second in the league, earning them 10th in the USCHO rankings. Senior defenseman Megan Keller leads the Eagles' offense with 27 points (11 goals, 16 assists) in 22 games this season. The BC captain and Kali Flanagan both returned for their final season of eligibility after taking a year off to win gold at the 2018 Winter Olympics with teammate Cayla Barnes and former Catamount Amanda Pelkey '15. Sophomore Daryl Watts paces the goal scoring for the Eagles with 14 goals this season after posting 82 points (42 goals, 42 assists) to win Hockey East's Cammi Granato Award. Boston College's expected goaltender is freshman Maddy McArthur who has been in net 90.7% of the time this season. The rookie has a 13-8-0 record so far with a .909 SV% and 2.05 GAA. The Eagles are 4-6-0 in their last 10 games and recently snapped a three-game losing streak against No. 3 Northeastern (Jan. 12).
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
This weekend's games mark the 52nd and 53rd all-time meetings between the Catamounts and Boston College. Vermont's last win against the Eagles came Nov. 7, 2009 when Emily Walsh '13 netted two goals en route to a 5-1 victory on the road. In the last 10 games, the Catamounts have taken BC to overtime three times, including a double-overtime thriller in the 2017 Hockey East Semifinals. Down 3-1 late in the game, Alyssa Gorecki scored her 13th of the season on the power play to force overtime. Madison Litchfield '17 made 49 saves including 19 in the extra frames for the Cats. The two programs met earlier this year (Oct. 20) in Chestnut Hill where Vermont fell 3-0 to the Eagles who were ranked sixth in the country at the time

LAST WEEKEND
Vermont split the two-game series with Merrimack last weekend at Gutterson Fieldhouse. The Warriors took the first game (Jan. 11) with a 4-1 victory despite the Catamounts owning a 36-23 advantage in shots. Alyssa Holmes had the lone goal with 1:23 left in regulation, but Merrimack had already sealed the game with a pair of goals in both the first and second periods. The Catamounts jumped out to a 2-0 lead the following day in the first 3:06 en route to a 5-4 win. Kristina Shanahan tallied two goals in the first two periods and Saana Valkama registered a goal and two assists, but the game was tied through 40 minutes. Olivia Kilberg regained the lead at 1:11 in the third period on a breakaway, but the Warriors knotted the game with 5:43 left. While on the power play, Alyssa Gorecki fired a shot from the top of the circle for the game-winner with 1:38 left in regulation for Vermont's win in the last seven games.
 
RALLY AROUND MENTAL HEALTH (Jan. 18)
The Catamounts will be using green tape and wearing green ribbons on their helmets Friday (Jan. 18) to support "Rally Around Mental Health", an initiative created by student-athletes, for student-athletes in order to raise awareness and reduce the stigma around mental health.
 
PACK THE GUT (presented by The Windjammer and Upper Deck Pub)
On Friday, Feb. 1, the Vermont Catamounts host the annual Pack the Gut challenge as they look to break the Hockey East attendance record (2,136 fans) that was set in the 2017 Pack the Gut. All tickets are on sale for $2. Presented by The Windjammer and Upper Deck Pub, this year's push to break the record will see the Catamounts host the Boston University Terriers and benefit Kayla's Directory. Kayla has been a member of the Vermont women's hockey team since 2015 through Team Impact.
 
CATS IN THE PROS
Amanda Pelkey '15 leads the Vermont alumnae in scoring at the professional ranks after a two-point game against the Minnesota Whitecaps (Jan. 12). Pelkey's Boston Pride lead the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL) with a 8-3-0 record through 11 games. Rachael Ade '17 and the Connecticut Whale sit in a tie for fourth with the Metropolitan Riveters. In the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL), Taylor Willard '18 and the Montreal Canadiennes are two points back from first place in league standings. Willard leads all rookie defenseman in the CWHL with seven points on the season. Gina Repaci '16 and the Markham Thunder are fourth in the league while Mackenzie MacNeil '18 and Brittany Zuback '15 are in fifth with the Toronto Furies.
 

	Vermont Women's Hockey Alumnae Stats (as of 1/17)
Name	Team	Position	GP	G	A	P
Amanda Pelkey '15	Boston Pride (NWHL)	F	11	4	4	8
Rachael Ade '17	Connecticut Whale (NWHL)	D	9	0	0	0
Gina Repaci '16	Markham Thunder (CWHL)	D	19	0	0	0
Taylor Willard '18	Montreal Canadiennes (CWHL)	D	17	2	5	7
Mackenzie MacNeil '18	Toronto Furies (CWHL)	F	16	1	1	2
Brittany Zuback '15	Toronto Furies (CWHL)	F	11	0	0	0
Name	Team	Position	GP	GAA	SV%	SO
Madison Litchfield '17	Boston Pride (NWHL)	G	0	0.00	.000	0

 
The Windjammer and Upper Deck Pub is the presenting sponsor of the 2018-19 women's hockey season