WOMEN'S HOCKEY NOTEBOOK
The Vermont women's hockey team travels to Boston for a two-game Hockey East series against the third-ranked Northeastern Huskies Friday (Jan. 25) and Saturday (Jan. 26) at Matthews Arena.
 
Friday's game will be televised locally on NESNplus and streamed online using NESNgo or TSN Direct in Canada.
 
RELATED LINKS
Friday (Jan. 25): NESN Channel Listings | NESNgo | TSN Direct | LIVE STATS | Game Notes (.pdf)
Saturday (Jan. 26): WATCH | LIVE STATS

SCOUTING THE #3 HUSKIES
Northeastern begins the weekend series with a 17-3-3 (15-2-2 WHEA) record that puts them at the top of Hockey East and third in the USCHO national poll. Rookie forward Alina Muleller paces the Huskies with 35 points (14 goals, 21 assist) through her first 23 games. The Switzerland native sits second in Hockey East in points, but leads the nation's rookies in the key offensive category. Overall, she has the fifth-most points in the country. Senior captain Kasidy Anderson has netted the most goals for Northeastern with 16 on the season. The Huskies are in the nation's top 10 for both goals for (3.65) and goals against (1.87). On special teams, they have a 18.2% success rate on the power play and 90.5% penalty kill unit, which is tied for the second in Division I with Vermont. Aerin Frankel is the expected goaltender with a 12-1-1 record in 15 games played as a sophomore, carrying a .946 SV% and 1.49 GAA.
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
This weekend's games mark the 44th and 45th all-time meetings between the Catamounts and Northeastern. Vermont has an 8-31-4 overall record against the Huskies dating back to Oct. 20, 2001, but they've experienced better fortunes recently. Four of the last six meetings between the two schools have seen the Catamounts victorious. UVM swept the last two-game series at Matthews Arena in December 2016 with both games going to overtime. Alyssa Gorecki and Ève-Audrey Picard scored the game-winners for the Catamounts and Melissa Black stopped 49 of 53 shots faced that weekend. Vermont hosted Northeastern in October, but fell 4-1 to the eighth-ranked team at the time.

THE PK CATS
Vermont has successfully killed off 76 of 84 penalties taken this season for a rate of 90.5% that gives them the second-best unit in the country. Coincidentally, they are tied with this week's opponent to lead Hockey East. Through 25 games this season, UVM only trails St. Lawrence by 0.2% for the best penalty kill in Division I. Vermont has killed off 16 of 17 penalties taken since the start of 2019 for a rate of 94.1% that is fourth in the nation during that time span. The Catamounts' penalty kill has been a strength throughout the season, most notably in November when they killed 28 of 30 penalties taken. That month sparked a successful streak of 428:00 without yielding a power-play goal, which began Nov. 11 and ended Dec. 9.
 
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.
 
COACH PLUMER ON 101.3 THE GAME TO PROMOTE PACK THE GUT
Head coach Jim Plumer joined Brady Farkas on the Cats Den Tuesday night at 101.3 the Game to promote the upcoming Pack the Gut challenge. The conversation ranged from previewing the annual game, the state of the program and more. Click here to listen to the show.
 
CATS IN THE PROS
After a week off for the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL), UVM alumnae Taylor Willard '18 and Gina Repaci '16 square off for a two-game series in Markham, Ontario. Mackenzie MacNeil '18 and Brittany Zuback '15 of the Toronto Furies travel to China to face off against Shenzhen. Rachael Ade '17 in the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL) was the only pro that saw action last weekend with a game against the Minnesota Whitecaps, but will have this week off. Amanda Pelkey '15, Madison Litchfield '17 and the Boston Pride visit the Buffalo Beauts Saturday (Jan. 26).
 

	Vermont Women's Hockey Alumnae Stats (as of 1/24)
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	11	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