VERMONT WOMEN'S HOCKEY NOTEBOOK
The University of Vermont women's hockey team (6-21-2, 4-13-2 HEA) returns to action this weekend at New Hampshire (10-17-1, 7-11-0 HEA) for a two-game Hockey East series at the Whittemore Center. The Catamounts will faceoff with the Wildcats at 7 p.m. on Friday night and then again at 4 p.m. on Saturday.

RELATED LINKS
Friday vs. UNH - Live Video ($) | Live Stats
Saturday vs. UNH - Live Video ($) | Live Stats

COLANG LEADING THE WAY
Senior forward Dayna Colang is leading the Catamounts in scoring for the second straight season. This year she has 11 goals and 13 assists for 24 points in 29 games. In her career at Vermont she now has 93 total points which ranks third all-time behind Brittany Zuback (97) and Amanda Pelkey (105). In all six of the Catamounts wins this season she has registered at least a point.

Colang is also tied for third in Hockey East with 10 power play points. She has three goals and seven assists with the extra-skater this season. Nine of Colang's 10 power play points have come in league play.

WILLARD STEPPING UP AS A SOPHOMORE
With seven points in the final eight games of the regular season as a freshman it was safe to assume sophomore defenseman Taylor Willard could be counted on to score from the blue line this year. She has not disappointed Willard is second on the team in scoring with seven goals and seven assists for 14 points. 12 of Willard's 14 points have come in Hockey East play.

Willard is currently tied for sixth in the NCAA with five power play goals this season. She is also tied for second in Hockey East with her five power play tallies. Only Boston College's Alex Carpenter has more than five.

SPECIAL TEAMS SUCCESS IN LEAGUE PLAY
Vermont's power play and penalty kill efforts have been impactful in Hockey East contests. The Catamounts power play is 14-for-66 in league play good for 21.2%, which is third in Hockey East behind No. 1 Boston College and No. 5 Northeastern. 14 of Vermont's 15 power play goals have come in league play. Vermont's penalty kill efforts in league play have been successful 86.4% of the time, which is also third in the league behind BC and Northeastern.

THIRD PERIODS ARE THE CATAMOUNTS BEST IN LEAGUE
In Hockey East play this season Vermont has scored 50% of its goals in the third period. The Catamounts 19 third period tallies are the fourth most of any team in league play behind No. 5 Northeastern (33), No. 1 Boston College (29) and Boston University (24). When tied or ahead this season after the second period Vermont is 5-2-1.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
New Hampshire: The Wildcats enter the weekend in fifth place in Hockey East, three points behind Connecticut for the final home-ice slot in the quarterfinals. The Wildcats are four points ahead of Vermont who currently sits in seventh place.

Over the last two months New Hampshire is 6-4-0 with its only losses coming to No. 4 Quinnipiac and No. 5 Northeastern. Last Friday the Wildcats fell 5-2 at Matthews Arena against the Huskies. UNH was tied 2-2 midway through that contest before Northeastern pulled away.

Junior forward Jonna Curtis leads the team in scoring with 14 goals and 15 assists for 29 points in 28 games. In four career games against the Catamounts Curtis has recorded four goals and four assists.

Freshman goaltender Kyra Smith has taken over as the Wildcats starting goaltender since the teams met in October. Smith has started the last 18 games for New Hampshire. She has a 9-9-1 record with a 2.74 goals-against average.

Vermont has evened what was once a once-sided affair between the Wildcats and Catamounts. UNH won the first 21 meetings between the teams but Vermont is 8-9-2 in the 19 meetings since 2010. The Catamounts are 4-4-2 against UNH under Coach Plumer.

COLANG SET TO ESTABLISH NEW UVM RECORD FOR GAMES PLAYED
Dayna Colang has skated in 132 of the 134 games for Vermont over the last four years. The program record of 137 career games is held by Brittany Zuback (2011-15). The Catamounts have five more regular season games. If Colang dresses in all five she would tie Zuback. If Vermont makes the Hockey East tournament, the Catamounts would be guaranteed at least two more games.

KAYLA KRUK JOINS WOMEN'S HOCKEY THROUGH TEAM IMPACT
The women's hockey team officially drafted seven-year-old Shelburne, Vt. native Kayla Kruk through Team IMPACT. Kayla celebrated her draft day with the Catamounts last Saturday in a ceremony facilitated by the 501(c)(3) non-profit, Team IMPACT, whose mission is to improve the quality of life for children facing life-threatening and chronic illnesses through the power of team.Click here to read more about Kayla and Team IMPACT.

TEAM LEADERS
Senior Gina Repaci and junior Sarah Kelly will serve as co-captains for the University of Vermont women's hockey team this season.

ALL ACROSS THE MAP
The Catamounts have players from 10 different states (Alaska, California, Florida, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Vermont), two Canadian provinces (Alberta and Ontario) and two other countries (Czech Republic and Finland). Vermont has four players from Ontario more than any other state or province.

CATAMOUNTS PACK THE GUT ONCE AGAIN
On Friday January 29 the Catamounts hosted Connecticut in front of 1,662 fans as a part of the third annual Pack The Gut Challenge Presented by the Windjammer. The 1,662 fans were the second-most in UVM program history and the made-up the third largest regular season crowd in Hockey East history.

The 2015-16 Vermont women's hockey campaign is brought to you by the Windjammer Restaurant and Inn.