UNH Games Notes Part 2
UNH Games Notes Part 2
DEVELOPING THE PLAYOFF PICTURE
UNH finished in a three-way tie for second place in the Hockey East regular season standings and earned the #2 seed via the tiebreaker system to get a bye into the semifinals. Providence captured the regular-season title to end UNH’s six-year reign (the teams shared the 2005 crown) and be host of the 8th Annual Women’s Hockey East Championship.
In last week’s quarterfinal action, third-seeded Boston University recorded a 3-1 home victory against sixth-seeded Boston College and fifth-seeded UConn, which finished one point behind the three teams tied for second, upended fourth-seeded Northeastern, 4-1.
UNH IN POSTSEASON PLAY
New Hampshire has a 41-21 lifetime record in postseason play that includes a 10-3 overall mark in the Hockey East tourney; with four consecutive tournament titles, the Wildcats have won eight straight games in the league tourney.
UNH has a 6-1 record in Hockey East semifinal games and a 4-2 ledger in title games. In addition to winning the 2006-09 titles, the ‘Cats finished as runner-up in both 2003 and 2004. In the only year UNH did not advance to the title game, UConn ousted the ‘Cats in the 2005 semifinals at BU’s Walter Brown Arena, 5-4 in overtime.
PLAYING THE FIELD
UNH compiled a 4-4-1 record in the regular season against the other three Hockey East semifinalists. In addition to a 1-1-1 mark against Boston University, the Wildcats went 3-0-0 vs. UConn and 0-3-0 against Providence.
REVISITING THE CRYSTAL BALL
Only three of the teams finished the Hockey East regular-season standings in the position that was predicted by the coaches in the preseason poll. Of the other five, two finished lower than anticipated (UNH and Boston College) and three placed higher (Boston U., Providence and Northeastern).
Here is the side-by-side comparison between poll and standings.
Preseason Poll Final Standings Pts
1. UNH (3) 50 1. Providence 30
2 Boston College (3) 47 2. UNH 28
3. Boston University 46 Boston U. 28
4. Providence (2) 43 Northeastern 28
5. Connecticut 31 5. Connecticut 27
6. Northeastern 27 6. Boston College 22
7. Vermont 22 7. Vermont 11
8. Maine 14 8. Maine 10
CAPTAIN PATON
Senior forward Kelly Paton is captain of the 2010 UNH Wildcats. She has received six league accolades this season with three Pure Hockey Player of the Week awards (Nov. 2; Nov. 23: Nov. 30) and three Player of the Month honors (October; November; February).
Paton reached double digits in both goals (10) and assists (16) in just the 14th game of the season. She currently has 19 goals and 32 assists to lead the team in goals and points (51); she also has a team-best plus/minus rating of +19 and is tied for the lead in game-winning goals (four). Furthermore, Paton ranks second in assists and shots (118), is tied for second in power-play goals (six) and is fourth in shooting percentage (.161).
In 21 Hockey East league games, she tallied 32 points on 12 goals and 20 assists.
Paton amassed 12 points with five goals and seven assists in the last five games of the regular season and she carries a nine-game point-scoring streak into postseason play with 6-10-16 in that span.
Paton opened the 2010 season with a 12-game point-scoring streak in which she tallied seven goals and 15 assists for 22 points. That streak also included a stretch of seven consecutive games with an assist at the start of the season.
Paton has a point in 27 of 31 games with 12 multiple-point efforts. She matched her career highs of three assists and four points Dec. 12 at Dartmouth to factor in all of the team’s goals in the 4-1 victory; that included a span of 5:37 in which she tallied three points. Paton also tallied a goal and three assists in UNH’s 4-1 win at Boston College in the regular-season finale.
Paton finished with three assists Oct. 18 vs. Niagara; in that game, she recorded assists 34 seconds apart late in the first period to transform a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 lead (en route to a 6-1 victory). Paton helped orchestrate UNH’s third-period comeback against Syracuse on Oct. 10. With the ‘Cats trailing 1-0, she set up a goal with 8:04 remaining in regulation, then scored with 7.2 seconds on the clock to lift UNH to a 2-1 victory.
Paton also willed the Wildcats to a 4-3 win vs. Rensselaer on Nov. 21. In that game, she recorded her second career hat trick (including the game-winning goal) and an assist to match her personal best of four points. In the next game at seventh-ranked Northeastern, Paton scored a shorthanded goal to give UNH a 1-0 lead and set up the shorthanded third-period goal that broke the 1-1 tie in a 2-1 victory.
In those consecutive games vs. RPI and NU, Paton factored in all six of the team’s goals with four goals and two assists. In fact, Paton has factored into all of UNH’s goals in seven games as well as 51 of 98 overall goals this season.
On Feb. 7 at nationally-ranked UConn, Paton recorded three points on one goal and two assists. She set up the game-winning goal – it gave UNH a 2-0 lead in the first period – and helped secure the 4-1 victory with a third-period assist early in the frame and by scoring an empty-net goal with 1:38 remaining. In the next game vs. Vermont, Paton tallied three points with two goals and an assist.
WILDCATS IN THE NATION
Senior forwards Kelly Paton and Micaela Long are ranked in the top six in a pair of statistics. In addition to being #6 in points per game (1.61), Long is #2 in assists (1.23 per game); Paton is #4 in assists (1.00) and #5 in points (1.65) as well as #17 in goals (0.61 gpg).
Freshman forward Kristina Lavoie is seventh in rookie scoring (0.94 ppg) and eighth in power-play goals (seven). Kristine Horn, another freshman forward/defenseman, is currently 19th in rookie scoring at 0.68 points per game.
Sophomore goaltender Lindsey Minton is 13th (1.85) in GAA and junior goalie Kayley Herman checks in at 14th in that statistic (1.87).
Junior defenseman Courtney Birchard is ranked among the top 10 in three statistics – defensemen scoring (6th, 0.81 points per game), game-winning goals (15th, four) and power-play goals (16th, six).
A LONG TIME COMING
Senior forward Micaela Long, the 2010 Humboldt Storage and Moving Scoring Champion of Hockey East, has been a consistent point producer in her four years as a Wildcat – she has recorded double digits in both goals and assists every season. This year, Long has taken that consistency to a new level – she has recorded a point in 27 of 31 games (with point-scoring streaks of six and a team-best 17 games) to factor in 50 of the team’s 98 goals.
Long tallied two goals and 10 assists for 12 points in last five games of the regular season, including a goal and three assists in the Feb. 21 regular-season finale at Boston College, and she finished with 3-13-16 in the last 10.
Long leads the team in assists (38) and ranks second in both points (50) and plus/minus (+18); she is also third in goals (12) and tied for second in power-play goals (six).
In 21 Hockey East league games, Long tallied 34 points on seven goals and 27 assists.
Long reached the personal milestone of 100 career points with her seventh goal of the season –42nd of her career – Dec. 5 vs. Providence.
Long tallied a goal and an assist Jan. 29 at Maine and then recorded an assist in the Jan. 30 game vs. the Black Bears to extend her point-scoring streak to 17 games; she tallied six goals and 21 assists in that span (1.59 ppg). She had an assist each of the last eight games of that streak.
Long had seven multiple-point efforts during the 17-game point-scoring streak as part of 12 multiple-point games (nine multiple-assist efforts) overall this season.
In consecutive games against UConn (Feb. 7) and Vermont (Feb. 13), Long recorded an assist on seven consecutive UNH goals – the last three at UConn and all four against UVM. The three-assist effort tied her personal best, but then she established a new career high with the four assists the following game against the Catamounts.
In UNH’s last game of the 2009 calendar year (Dec. 12 at Dartmouth College), she matched her career highs in both assists (three) and points (four). And then she opened the 2010 calendar year with a goal and an assist Jan. 8 vs. Northeastern at Fenway Park.
In the Nov. 6-7 weekend, Long tallied two assists in both games against eighth-ranked Boston University. She matched her career highs in both goals (two) and points (four) against Niagara on Oct. 18.
In the season opener, Long recorded a goal – the game-winning tally – and an assist Oct. 3 vs. UConn. Long had a five-point weekend vs. UConn (0-2-2) and Maine (1-2-3) on Oct. 31-Nov. 1.
Long enters the weekend with 125 career points on 47 goals and 78 assists. She ranks second among active ‘Cats in all three statistics and is the active leader in games played (141).
UNH Games Notes Part 2
DEVELOPING THE PLAYOFF PICTURE
UNH finished in a three-way tie for second place in the Hockey East regular season standings and earned the #2 seed via the tiebreaker system to get a bye into the semifinals. Providence captured the regular-season title to end UNH’s six-year reign (the teams shared the 2005 crown) and be host of the 8th Annual Women’s Hockey East Championship.
In last week’s quarterfinal action, third-seeded Boston University recorded a 3-1 home victory against sixth-seeded Boston College and fifth-seeded UConn, which finished one point behind the three teams tied for second, upended fourth-seeded Northeastern, 4-1.
UNH IN POSTSEASON PLAY
New Hampshire has a 41-21 lifetime record in postseason play that includes a 10-3 overall mark in the Hockey East tourney; with four consecutive tournament titles, the Wildcats have won eight straight games in the league tourney.
UNH has a 6-1 record in Hockey East semifinal games and a 4-2 ledger in title games. In addition to winning the 2006-09 titles, the ‘Cats finished as runner-up in both 2003 and 2004. In the only year UNH did not advance to the title game, UConn ousted the ‘Cats in the 2005 semifinals at BU’s Walter Brown Arena, 5-4 in overtime.
PLAYING THE FIELD
UNH compiled a 4-4-1 record in the regular season against the other three Hockey East semifinalists. In addition to a 1-1-1 mark against Boston University, the Wildcats went 3-0-0 vs. UConn and 0-3-0 against Providence.
REVISITING THE CRYSTAL BALL
Only three of the teams finished the Hockey East regular-season standings in the position that was predicted by the coaches in the preseason poll. Of the other five, two finished lower than anticipated (UNH and Boston College) and three placed higher (Boston U., Providence and Northeastern).
Here is the side-by-side comparison between poll and standings.
Preseason Poll Final Standings Pts
1. UNH (3) 50 1. Providence 30
2 Boston College (3) 47 2. UNH 28
3. Boston University 46 Boston U. 28
4. Providence (2) 43 Northeastern 28
5. Connecticut 31 5. Connecticut 27
6. Northeastern 27 6. Boston College 22
7. Vermont 22 7. Vermont 11
8. Maine 14 8. Maine 10
CAPTAIN PATON
Senior forward Kelly Paton is captain of the 2010 UNH Wildcats. She has received six league accolades this season with three Pure Hockey Player of the Week awards (Nov. 2; Nov. 23: Nov. 30) and three Player of the Month honors (October; November; February).
Paton reached double digits in both goals (10) and assists (16) in just the 14th game of the season. She currently has 19 goals and 32 assists to lead the team in goals and points (51); she also has a team-best plus/minus rating of +19 and is tied for the lead in game-winning goals (four). Furthermore, Paton ranks second in assists and shots (118), is tied for second in power-play goals (six) and is fourth in shooting percentage (.161).
In 21 Hockey East league games, she tallied 32 points on 12 goals and 20 assists.
Paton amassed 12 points with five goals and seven assists in the last five games of the regular season and she carries a nine-game point-scoring streak into postseason play with 6-10-16 in that span.
Paton opened the 2010 season with a 12-game point-scoring streak in which she tallied seven goals and 15 assists for 22 points. That streak also included a stretch of seven consecutive games with an assist at the start of the season.
Paton has a point in 27 of 31 games with 12 multiple-point efforts. She matched her career highs of three assists and four points Dec. 12 at Dartmouth to factor in all of the team’s goals in the 4-1 victory; that included a span of 5:37 in which she tallied three points. Paton also tallied a goal and three assists in UNH’s 4-1 win at Boston College in the regular-season finale.
Paton finished with three assists Oct. 18 vs. Niagara; in that game, she recorded assists 34 seconds apart late in the first period to transform a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 lead (en route to a 6-1 victory). Paton helped orchestrate UNH’s third-period comeback against Syracuse on Oct. 10. With the ‘Cats trailing 1-0, she set up a goal with 8:04 remaining in regulation, then scored with 7.2 seconds on the clock to lift UNH to a 2-1 victory.
Paton also willed the Wildcats to a 4-3 win vs. Rensselaer on Nov. 21. In that game, she recorded her second career hat trick (including the game-winning goal) and an assist to match her personal best of four points. In the next game at seventh-ranked Northeastern, Paton scored a shorthanded goal to give UNH a 1-0 lead and set up the shorthanded third-period goal that broke the 1-1 tie in a 2-1 victory.
In those consecutive games vs. RPI and NU, Paton factored in all six of the team’s goals with four goals and two assists. In fact, Paton has factored into all of UNH’s goals in seven games as well as 51 of 98 overall goals this season.
On Feb. 7 at nationally-ranked UConn, Paton recorded three points on one goal and two assists. She set up the game-winning goal – it gave UNH a 2-0 lead in the first period – and helped secure the 4-1 victory with a third-period assist early in the frame and by scoring an empty-net goal with 1:38 remaining. In the next game vs. Vermont, Paton tallied three points with two goals and an assist.
WILDCATS IN THE NATION
Senior forwards Kelly Paton and Micaela Long are ranked in the top six in a pair of statistics. In addition to being #6 in points per game (1.61), Long is #2 in assists (1.23 per game); Paton is #4 in assists (1.00) and #5 in points (1.65) as well as #17 in goals (0.61 gpg).
Freshman forward Kristina Lavoie is seventh in rookie scoring (0.94 ppg) and eighth in power-play goals (seven). Kristine Horn, another freshman forward/defenseman, is currently 19th in rookie scoring at 0.68 points per game.
Sophomore goaltender Lindsey Minton is 13th (1.85) in GAA and junior goalie Kayley Herman checks in at 14th in that statistic (1.87).
Junior defenseman Courtney Birchard is ranked among the top 10 in three statistics – defensemen scoring (6th, 0.81 points per game), game-winning goals (15th, four) and power-play goals (16th, six).
A LONG TIME COMING
Senior forward Micaela Long, the 2010 Humboldt Storage and Moving Scoring Champion of Hockey East, has been a consistent point producer in her four years as a Wildcat – she has recorded double digits in both goals and assists every season. This year, Long has taken that consistency to a new level – she has recorded a point in 27 of 31 games (with point-scoring streaks of six and a team-best 17 games) to factor in 50 of the team’s 98 goals.
Long tallied two goals and 10 assists for 12 points in last five games of the regular season, including a goal and three assists in the Feb. 21 regular-season finale at Boston College, and she finished with 3-13-16 in the last 10.
Long leads the team in assists (38) and ranks second in both points (50) and plus/minus (+18); she is also third in goals (12) and tied for second in power-play goals (six).
In 21 Hockey East league games, Long tallied 34 points on seven goals and 27 assists.
Long reached the personal milestone of 100 career points with her seventh goal of the season –42nd of her career – Dec. 5 vs. Providence.
Long tallied a goal and an assist Jan. 29 at Maine and then recorded an assist in the Jan. 30 game vs. the Black Bears to extend her point-scoring streak to 17 games; she tallied six goals and 21 assists in that span (1.59 ppg). She had an assist each of the last eight games of that streak.
Long had seven multiple-point efforts during the 17-game point-scoring streak as part of 12 multiple-point games (nine multiple-assist efforts) overall this season.
In consecutive games against UConn (Feb. 7) and Vermont (Feb. 13), Long recorded an assist on seven consecutive UNH goals – the last three at UConn and all four against UVM. The three-assist effort tied her personal best, but then she established a new career high with the four assists the following game against the Catamounts.
In UNH’s last game of the 2009 calendar year (Dec. 12 at Dartmouth College), she matched her career highs in both assists (three) and points (four). And then she opened the 2010 calendar year with a goal and an assist Jan. 8 vs. Northeastern at Fenway Park.
In the Nov. 6-7 weekend, Long tallied two assists in both games against eighth-ranked Boston University. She matched her career highs in both goals (two) and points (four) against Niagara on Oct. 18.
In the season opener, Long recorded a goal – the game-winning tally – and an assist Oct. 3 vs. UConn. Long had a five-point weekend vs. UConn (0-2-2) and Maine (1-2-3) on Oct. 31-Nov. 1.
Long enters the weekend with 125 career points on 47 goals and 78 assists. She ranks second among active ‘Cats in all three statistics and is the active leader in games played (141).