WOMEN'S HOCKEY NOTEBOOK
The Vermont Catamounts (10-18-5, 8-15-3 WHEA) and Maine Black Bears (14-15-4, 7-15-4 WHEA) square off in the regular season finale Saturday afternoon as they battle for the final Hockey East playoff spot.
Puck drop for the pivotal contest is slated for 2 p.m. at Alfond Arena in Orono, Maine.
RELATED LINKS
Saturday (Feb. 23): Watch | Live Stats | Game Notes (.pdf)
PLAYOFF PICTURE
Both teams are vying for the final playoff spot as the Catamounts hold a one-point lead over Maine for eighth in league standings. With a win or a tie Saturday, UVM can clinch the eight seed and travel to Northeastern the following weekend. A Maine victory would end the 2018-19 campaign for the Catamounts.
SCOUTING THE BLACK BEARS
The Maine Black Bears enter the deciding game ninth in league standings. Rookie Celine Tedenby leads the Maine offense with 26 points on 12 goals and a team-high 14 assists in her first 30 games. Last year's leading scorer Teresa Vanisova paces Maine's goal scoring with 17 tallies on the season. The defensive points-leader is senior captain Alyson Matteau who has 16 points and is tied with Tedenby for the most assists. In between the pipes is the expected starter, Carly Jackson. The junior goaltender has posted a 9-13-4 record with a .921 SV% and 2.08 GAA in 27 starts this season. The Black Bears enter Saturday's game with 1-7-2 mark in their previous 10 contests.
INSIDE THE SERIES
Saturday's game is the 53rd all-time meeting between the Catamounts and Maine, dating back to Nov. 18, 1995. Vermont is 17-27-8 in the all-time series, but owns a 5-3-2 mark in the last 10 head-to-head meetings. In their last five trips to Orono, the Cats are 2-1-2, which includes a 2-2 tie in their most recent game at Alfond Arena (Dec. 3, 2017). The conference foes met earlier this season at Gutterson Fieldhouse and earned a weekend split. Maine took the first game (Nov. 30) 2-1 as Teresa Vanisova and Ebba Strandberg cancelled out
Taylor Flaherty's goal. The following night, Vermont fought back with a 3-2 victory in their final home game of 2018.
Olivia Kilberg and Saana Vakama's goals were followed up by Maine tallies, but
Maude Poulin-Labelle netted her first career game-winning goal in the second period.
LAST WEEKEND
The Catamounts registered their first home sweep of the season with a pair of victories over Holy Cross last weekend at Gutterson Fieldhouse. Vermont turned a three-point deficit to Maine in league standings into a one-point lead for eighth in Hockey East. Friday (Feb. 15) was a 3-0 victory as Blanka Škodová registered her second shutout of the season on a 16-save performance. Senior captain
Alyssa Gorecki netted two goals and
Theresa Schafzahl added another for the Cats in the win. UVM honored Gorecki,
Sammy Kolowrat,
Taylor Flaherty,
Saana Valkama, and
Melissa Black on Senior Day (Feb. 16) and closed out the regular season home schedule with a 4-1 win. Schafzahl opened the scoring 1:32 into the game and added two assists minutes later on goals by
Kristina Shanahan.
SCHAFZAHL NAMED HOCKEY EAST ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Vermont forward
Theresa Schafzahl was named Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Week (Feb. 18) by Hockey East after a four-point weekend against Holy Cross. Her four points came in a pair of victories on Senior Weekend and was the most by a rookie in the conference over that time span. The Weiz, Austria native had the highest points-per-game rate among the nation's rookies. Schafzahl becomes the fourth Catamount to win a Hockey East weekly honor this season –
Maude Poulin-Labelle,
Sini Karjalainen, and Blanka Škodová were awarded earlier in the 2018-19 campaign.
CATS IN THE PROS
Amanda Pelkey '15 returned from competing in the inaugural Rivalry Series with the United States to record an assist in the Boston Pride's game against the Metropolitan Riveters. In the Canadian Women's Hockey League, Gina Repaci '16 recorded her first professional point against
Mackenzie MacNeil '18 and the Toronto Furies while MacNeil answered with an assist of her own in the weekend series. A pair of Catamounts clash this weekend as Repaci's Thunder face
Taylor Willard' 18 and the Montreal Canadiennes.
|
Vermont Women's Hockey Alumnae Stats (as of 2/22) |
| Name |
Team |
Position |
GP |
G |
A |
P |
| Amanda Pelkey '15 |
Boston Pride (NWHL) |
F |
14 |
4 |
5 |
9 |
| Rachael Ade '17 |
Connecticut Whale (NWHL) |
D |
12 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
| Gina Repaci '16 |
Markham Thunder (CWHL) |
D |
24 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
| Taylor Willard '18 |
Montreal Canadiennes (CWHL) |
D |
24 |
2 |
5 |
7 |
| Mackenzie MacNeil '18 |
Toronto Furies (CWHL) |
F |
22 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
| 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
