
Women's Hockey Set to Play First Game vs Merrimack in 2020 Friendship Series
1/3/2020 12:10:00 PM | Women's Ice Hockey
Bobcats take on the Merrimack Warriors on Saturday, Jan. 4 in Belfast, Northern Ireland
BELFAST, Northern Ireland. - The Quinnipiac women's ice hockey team is set to compete in the second-ever Friendship Series, an international two-game series hosted by the Belfast Giants, a men's professional team that competes in the Elite Hockey League out of Northern Ireland. The Bobcats will take on the Merrimack Warriors (Hockey East) in a two-game series starting on Jan. 4 at 3 p.m. (10 a.m. ET).
Weekend Schedule
Quinnipiac (9-7-3, 3-6-2 ECAC) vs Merrimack (4-14-2, 1-12-2 HEA)
Jan. 4, 2020 | SSE Arena | Belfast, Northern Ireland | 3 PM (10 AM ET)
LIVE STATS | WATCH
Quinnipiac (9-7-3, 3-6-2 ECAC) vs Merrimack (4-14-2, 1-12-2 HEA)
Jan. 5, 2020 | SSE Arena | Belfast, Northern Ireland | 12 PM (7 AM ET)
LIVE STATS | WATCH
GAME NOTES
Friendship Series History
Quinnipiac and Merrimack will participate in the second-ever Friendship Series in Belfast on Jan. 4-5, 2020. The first NCAA women's ice hockey games played outside of North America were played in the inaugural Friendship Series Jan. 5-6, 2019. Northeastern and Clarkson competed in the 2019 Friendship Series.
Quinnipiac and Merrimack will compete in the second Friendship Series, which is hosted by the Belfast Giants, who compete professionally in the men's Elite Hockey League in Northern Ireland.
Bobcats' Last Time Out
Quinnipiac wrapped up 2019 with two ECAC games against Colgate and No. 4 Cornell on Dec. 6-7.
The Bobcats came out on top against the Raiders, 2-1. Junior Grace Markey opened the scoring in the second period with an incredible tip shot through her legs. Her first goal of the season was featured as the seventh play on SportsCenter's Top Ten. Colgate would tie the game in the second period, but sophomore Lexie Adzija scored the game-winning goal with four minutes to play in the third period. Senior Kati Tabin and first-years Kenzie Hauswirth and Kate Reilly recorded assists in the win.
On Saturday, Dec. 7, the Bobcats hosted No. 4 Cornell and lost, 4-1. The Big Red struck first and took a 2-0 lead early in the second period. Senior Sarah-Eve Coutu-Godbout scored at the end of the second period to put the Bobcats within one goal of Cornell's lead. Cornell, however, would score twice in the third period to close out the game 4-1.
Scouting Merrimack
The Warriors hold a 4-14-2 record overall and a 1-12-2 record in Hockey East. Merrimack is on a three-game losing streak after dropping games to Holy Cross and New Hampshire in December. The Warriors' last win came against Brown on Nov. 27. Mikyla Grant-Mentis leads the team with 25 points on 16 goals and nine assists. Lea-Kristine Demers has played in 15 games in the net for the Warriors with a record of 3-10-2. Demers holds a .891 save percentage and 3.27 goals against average.
Last Time Against the Warriors
The Bobcats hosted the Warriors back on Nov. 20, 2018, and the Warriors won, 2-0. The Bobcats' all-time record against the Warriors is 0-1-2.
Markey Making Moves
Grace Markey has tallied four points in three of the last four games for the Bobcats. She has eight points total on one goal and seven assists, which is a career-high in points and assists.
Invincible Ives
Senior netminder Abbie Ives has led the Bobcats to a 4-1-1 record over the last six games. She tallied her third shutout of the year against St. Lawrence, followed by a career-high 42 saves vs No. 10 Minnesota Duluth in the month of November. In the Nutmeg Classic, she stopped 76 of 79 shots faced and earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team. Her 1.79 goals against average and .927 save percentage are both ranked fifth in the ECAC.
Adzija on Fire
Sophomore Lexie Adzija finished 2019 with a bang. The sophomore tallied three points against Minnesota Duluth in the Bobcats' 4-2 win. She scored the game-winning goal in a 2-1 victory over Colgate on a breakaway play. Adzija leads the team with 17 points on seven goals and nine assists, which is tied for 10th-best in the conference. Of the 12 games that Quinnipiac played in November and December, she tallied at least one point in eight of those games and had a six-game point streak.
Coutu-Godbout Cruising
Senior Sarah-Eve Coutu-Godbout has recorded nine goals and three assists for 12 points this season, which is ranked second on the team. The senior forward has recorded a goal or an assist in seven of the last eight games for Quinnipiac.
Work, Work, Work
The Bobcats tallied a 4-1-1 record in the last month of play in 2019. Quinnipiac's 4-2 win over No. 10 Minnesota Duluth was the team's first victory against a ranked opponent since Nov. 2017. Since Nov. 15, the Bobcats are 5-2-1 and have outscored opponents 23-14.
Dominant Defensive Core
Quinnipiac's defensive core has allowed 33 goals this season, averaging 1.74 goals against per game, which is ranked eighth in the country. Senior Kenzie Prater leads the team with 32 blocks, followed by Reilly with 26.
Out of the Box
The Bobcats hold the nation's best PIM with just 98 penalty minutes on the season with a 5.2 PIM/game average.
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