UVM WOMEN'S HOCKEY NOTEBOOK
Vermont women's hockey resumes Hockey East play on Friday (Oct. 28) with a road game at New Hampshire scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Whittemore Center in Durham. The Catamounts will then head up Interstate 95, getting set for Sunday afternoon's (Oct. 30) meeting with Maine. Puck drop is slated for 2 p.m. at Alfond Arena.
 
Friday night's tilt will be streamed live for free on YouTube and Sunday's matchup can be seen on Maine All-Access. Live stats will also be available through StatBroadcast (Friday) and SIDEARM Stats (Sunday).
 
RELATED LINKS
Live Stats: Friday | Sunday
Live Video: Friday | Sunday
Tickets: Friday
 
CATAMOUNTS RECAP
The Catamounts were dealt a pair of setbacks last weekend in a home-and-home series with No. 7/6 St. Lawrence. UVM returned to Gutterson Fieldhouse for Saturday afternoon's matchup and jumped out to an early lead on Kourtney Menches' second goal of the season. The Saints responded, however, tying the score at one-apiece on a shorthanded goal in the second period. SLU netted the game-winner at 19:28 of the third period when Hannah Miller went top-shelf. UVM did have one final chance in the waning seconds of regulation, but Bridget Baker's right circle shot was knocked away in traffic.
 
SCOUTING NEW HAMPSHIRE
Like UVM, New Hampshire (1-7-0, 1-2-0 WHEA) also resumes league play on Friday night after a pair of matinees last weekend against No. 8 Clarkson. The Wildcats grabbed a 1-0 lead just 42 seconds into Saturday's game courtesy of Amy Schlagel before Clarkson answered with three straight tallies to pick up a 3-1 victory. That score was replicated on Sunday, when the Golden Knights used a two-goal first period to power past UNH. Despite the result, goalie Hilary Cashin made a career-high 41 saves in Sunday's contest.
 
Senior Jonna Curtis has paced the Wildcats offense, boasting a team-high eight points on five goals and three assists; freshman Carlee Turner follows close behind with a 1-4-5 mark. Time between the pipes has been split between Cashin and sophomore Kyra Smith, who have combined for a 3.38 goals against average. UNH's penalty kill (92.7 percent) also ranks sixth in the country and third in Hockey East, compiling a 38-for-41 mark in that category.
 
Hilary Witt is in her third season behind the UNH bench after serving as an assistant on the 2014 U.S. Olympic Women's Hockey Team. She is a 2001 graduate of Northeastern, where she led the Huskies in goals scored each of her four years and is tied for the program lead with nine career hat tricks.
 
SCOUTING MAINE
The Black Bears (2-6-0, 1-3-0 WHEA) were most recently on the ice on Saturday, Oct. 15, upsetting then-No. 5 Boston College by a 3-2 score. BC battled back from a 2-1 third period deficit before Maine's Vendula Pribylová netted the game-winner at 19:23.
 
Pribylová, a freshman, and classmate Tereza Vanišová have teamed up to put together 12 points and individually stand atop the top in that category. That is indicative of the squad's youth, as the roster includes a total of 11 freshmen and four sophomores. Rookie Carly Jackson has seen the majority of time in goal so far this season, maintaining a 2.77 GAA.
 
Hamilton College graduate Richard Reichenbach is in his seventh season with the Black Bears, which includes stints as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator before being promoted to head coach. He was previously at Cortland State, where he worked with the team's defense.
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
While Vermont trails in the all-time series against New Hampshire, UVM has secured 10 wins against its Granite State foe since the 2009-10 campaign, including two of three meetings last year. The Catamounts swept UNH in the teams' Feb. 5-6 weekend series, picking up 2-1 and 3-2 victories, respectively, highlighted by Taylor Willard's game-winners to cap off comeback efforts in both games.
 
UVM's history with Maine dates back to the Catamounts first game in program history–a Nov. 18, 1995 duel at Gutterson Fieldhouse. The teams have met each season since 2001-02 after taking a break from 1998 to 2001. Vermont boasts an 8-2-1 record in its last 11 meetings with the Black Bears–including a 2-0-1 mark last season, which culminated with a 4-1 victory in last year's series finale at Alfond Arena. Dayna Colang scored twice and Saana Valkama added a shorthanded goal en route to the win.
 
RETURNING TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD
Friday night's game will mark UVM's first Hockey East tilt since knocking off No. 9/10 Boston University on Oct. 9 at Gutterson Fieldhouse. The Catamounts came away with a 3-2 upset that day after Alyssa Gorecki broke a 2-2 tie with under five minutes to play in regulation. Melissa Black also made 38 saves as UVM moved to 5-0 in league openers under the tutelage of Jim Plumer.
 
PLAYING YOUR CARDS RIGHT
Freshman Ève-Audrey Picard has made a splash in her brief time with UVM, posting a team-best six points on four goals and two helpers. The Longueuil, Quebec product has inked the scoresheet in four of Vermont's six games on the season and sits tied for second nationally with three power play goals.
 
As a result of her performances, Picard was honored as Hockey East Warrior Co-Player of the Week (Oct. 10) as well as UVM's TD Bank Student-Athlete of the Week (Oct. 10).
 
PLUMER ANNOUNCES TEAM CAPTAINS
Seniors Rachael Ade and Sarah Kelly as well as junior Taylor Willard will captain the Catamounts for the 2016-17 season.
 
CATAMOUNTS ADD FIVE TO ROSTER
Vermont has welcomed five newcomers to the squad this season. Forwards Allie Granato (Plainfield, Illinois), Ali O'Leary (Reading, Massachusetts) and Ève-Audrey Picard (Longueuil, Quebec), goaltender Sydney Scobee (Minnetrista, Minnesota) as well as sophomore transfer goalie Melissa Black (Newmarket, Ontario) have joined the team for 2016-17.
 
NEXT UP
UVM will rest next weekend and begin preparations for a pair of 2 p.m. meetings at Providence on Saturday, Nov. 12 and Sunday, Nov. 13.
 
The Windjammer and Upper Deck Pub is the presenting sponsor of the 2016-17 women's hockey season