Women's Ice Hockey Hosts Annual Nutmeg Classic This Weekend
12/27/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Ice Hockey
Nutmeg Classic
Saturday Dec. 29,
2007 - TD Banknorth Sportscenter
Quinnipiac vs Connecticut 7 p.m.
Yale vs. Niagara 3 p.m.
Sunday Dec. 30, 2007 - TD
Banknorth Sportscenter
Consolation Game 3 p.m.
Championship Game 7 p.m.
This
Weekend
Quinnipiac comes into the weekend 1-11-3 and 0-8-3 in ECAC
play. The Bobcats host the annual Nutmeg Classic and seek its first
tournament win since 2005. In their last game Quinnipiac skated to
a 0-0 draw with Union. That scoreless tie was the first in school
history for either the men's or women's team and was only the
second time that a Quinnipiac game had ever gone into OT tied at
zero.
Scouting
Connecticut
UConn enters the Nutmeg Classic with an 11-4-1 overall record and
4-2-1 in Hockey East. Last season, the Huskies were eighth in the
nation when they played Quinnipiac the first day of the tournament
and lost to the Bobcats, 2-1. It was the highest nationally ranked
opponent beat by any Quinnipiac Athletics team in school history at
that point. UConn has not recorded a win in their last three games,
going 0-2-1. Sophomore Dominique Thibault's 12 goals and 24 points
are both tops on the team, while she is also tied for the team lead
with 12 assists.
Scouting
Yale
Yale enters this year's Nutmeg Classic sixth in the ECAC. They
currently hold a 3-5-2 ECAC record and 4-5-3 overall. They last
played Dec. 9 when they hosted Brown and skated to a 2-2 tie. Their
last win came at Providence College Dec. 6, 2-1. The Bulldogs are
led by junior forward Crysti Howser and her 11 points including
nine assists. Yale has not been a good home team this year (0-4-2),
but has been very solid away from Ingalls Rink posting a 4-1-1.
Freshman forward Bray Ketchum is second on the team in scoring with
ten points and has been named ECAC Rookie of the Week twice this
season, including the most recent award for the week ending Dec. 9.
They look to defend the Nutmeg Classic Championship after defeating
Quinnipiac in the final game last season, 7-3.
Scouting
Niagara
Niagara enters the weekend 6-8-2 overall and 0-2-0 in CHA play.
They currently are on a six game losing streak, including losing
their last two games against Colgate early in December. Away from
home, the Purple Eagles have a respectable 4-5-1 record as they
travel to the Nutmeg Classic. Niagara has been outscored this
season 59-37 and have scored 12 fewer goals in the third period
than their opponents, 23-11. They are led in scoring by Junior
forward Ashley Riggs and her 16 points, including 12 goals.
Career
First
Jamie Miller (Richmond Hill, Ont.) recorded her first
collegiate shutout against Union in the Bobcats' last game Dec. 8.
The shutout did not come with the customary victory as the Bobcats
were also held scoreless in a tie, 0-0. Miller made 18 saves in
earning the shutout, while the Bobcats were stopped on all 44 shots
they put on net.
Adding to the
High
Vicky Graham (Glen Riddle, Pa.), already the all-time
leading scorer in school history, continues to build on that lead
as she recorded an assist on Janie Duffy's (Toronto, Ont.) goal
against RPI Dec. 7. That assist gave her 70 points for her career.
It was also the first assist of the season for Graham who had
scored three goals without getting a helper. With her next goal,
Graham will tie Gillian Gallagher's school record of 36 career
goals; making her the record holder in both points and goals
Avoiding the
Bug
While many teams are fighting injuries and the flu this time of
year, the Bobcats have stayed relatively healthy. Nine members of
the team have played in all 15 games this season. Nineteen skaters
have played in at least ten games this season, including Nicolette
Leone (Trenton, Ont.) and Antoinette Maldonado (Glendora, Calif.)
who both missed games due to injury.
Scoring
Drought?
Although not known for her scoring prowess, team captain Trudy
Reyns (Port Hope, Ont.) got off to a hot start to the season. She
is currently tied for the team lead in scoring with seven points.
However, Reyns has been held without a point since Nov. 17 when she
had an assist against Cornell. She also scored a goal the day
before in a game against Colgate in a 5-2 loss.
Looking for
Revenge
Quinnipiac played against all three teams last season. The Bobcats
beat the Huskies in their opening game of the Nutmeg Classic, 2-1.
The Bulldogs swept the season series last year with the Bobcats,
including the Championship game of the Nutmeg, 7-3. In the one
meeting between the Bobcats and the Purple Eagles, Niagara shut out
Quinnipiac at the Northford Ice Pavilion, 5-0. Theda Bobcats beat
the Huskies on the opening day of last year's Nummeg Classic,
2-1.
A New Season Is
Underway
The women's ice hockey team have begun its third season as a member
of ECAC Hockey in 2007–08. The Bobcats were in the hunt for a
league tournament spot until the final weekend of the regular
season last year, and will look to claim their first such berth
this season.
Offense on the
Horizon
Nine of Quinnipiac's top 11 scorers from a year ago are back to
provide offensive punch in 2007–08. Leading the way is junior
forward Elyse Cole. Cole netted 14 goals for the Bobcats.
Home Is Where
the Heart Is
The Bobcats will play 18 games at the TD Banknorth Sports
Center this winter. Four of their first five games were on home
ice.
Taking on the
Best
Quinnipiac will compete against five teams that reached the NCAA
Tournament a season ago—Boston College (Hockey East),
Dartmouth (ECAC Hockey), Harvard (ECAC Hockey), Mercyhurst (College
Hockey America) and St. Lawrence (ECAC Hockey). The Bobcats have 11
games scheduled against teams that finished last season either
nationally ranked or having received votes.
The
Captains
Junior defenseman Trudy Reyns is serving as Quinnipiac's captain in
2007–08. Junior defenseman/forward Kristin Emerick and junior
forward Antoinette Maldonado are the team's assistant captains.
Some Things
Stay the Same
The Bobcats have embarked on a schedule against an almost identical
group of opponents as their previous year. The lone exception is
University of Wisconsin, which was on the slate last year but
deleted this year. Quinnipiac opened the 2006–07 season with a
two-game series against the defending national champions in
Madison, Wis.
Faring Well
Against Hockey East
Quinnipiac has defeated at least one Hockey East member in each of
the past three seasons and will have opportunities to extend that
streak this year. The Bobcats face four Hockey East opponents in
2007–08: Boston College, Boston University, Connecticut and
Northeastern. UConn is the last Hockey East opponent on the Bobcats
schedule this season with the only win this season against Hockey
East coming in the season opener against Northeastern on Oct.
12.
A Mystery
Between the Pipes
The Bobcats will rely on three freshman goaltenders to stand in net
this season—Jamie Miller, Tia Wishart and Catherine LaGrasso.
Miller has started a moajority of the games and recorded her first
collegiate shutout in a 0-0 tie with Colgate on Dec. 8. Last
season, Quinnipiac had three senior netminders on the roster.
A New
Face
Matt Kelly has joined the staff as an assistant coach. A former
goaltending standout with the Wayne State University men's program,
Kelly previously served as a volunteer assistant coach with both
the men's and women's teams at his alma mater.
A Proven Leader
Behind the Bench
Michael Barrett is now in his sixth season as the head women's ice
hockey coach. A respected member of the ice hockey community, he is
currently serving a two-year term as president of the American
Women's Ice Hockey Coaches Association.
