No. 5/5 Women's Ice Hockey Set to Compete at 17th Annual Nutmeg Classic

Friday, November 26

Storrs, Conn.

6:15 PM

Quinnipiac University

Nutmeg Classic vs #6/7 Yale

Photo by: Rob Rasmussen / P8Photos.com

No. 5/5 Women's Ice Hockey Set to Compete at 17th Annual Nutmeg Classic

11/24/2021 9:07:00 PM | Women's Ice Hockey

UConn will host Quinnipiac, Yale and Sacred Heart Nov. 27-26

By: QU Athletic Communications

HAMDEN, Conn. - The No. 5/5 Quinnipiac Bobcats are set to compete in the 17th Annual 2021 Nutmeg Classic, hosted by UConn Nov. 26-27. The Bobcats will face the No. 6/7 Yale Bulldogs on Friday, followed by a second game on Saturday, Nov. 27. The Bobcats' second opponent will either by UConn or Sacred Heart. Quinnipiac is looking to win back-to-back Nutmeg Classic Championships and the program's ninth Nutmeg Classic trophy overall.

Last Time Out
The Bobcats had a historic road trip last weekend in upstate New York. Quinnipiac record the program's first ever road shutout sweep over Cornell and previously ranked No. 5/5 Colgate. In addition, Quinnipiac defeated Cornell for the first time since 2017, and tallied the team's first sweep over Cornell and Colgate since 2014-15.

On Friday, Nov. 19, the Bobcats blanked the Big Red, 4-0, for the team's first win over Cornell since Jan. 6, 2017 and the team's first win at Lynah Rink since Feb. 5, 2016. Four different Bobcats scored goals in the shutout victory. First-year Veronica Bac netted the game-winner, and graduate student Taylor House, first-year Maya Labad and junior Jess Schryver also added goals in the win. Redshirt junior Logan Angers tallied 19 saves and notched her second shutout win of the season.

The following day, Quinnipiac continued its strong road play at No. 5/5 Colgate with a 4-0 win. Despite getting outshot 38-13, the Bobcats capitalized on their opportunities and score four unanswered goals against the Raiders. Sophomore Sophie Urban netted the Bobcats' first goal and Schryver, sophomore Nina Steigauf and Labad followed with goals of their own. Graduate student Corinne Schroeder had a tremendous game in the net, stopping all 38 saves and recording her third shutout of the season. The Bobcats recorded its second highest ranked victory of the program's history.

Scouting Yale
The Bulldogs stand at 8-2-1 overall with a 5-2-1 ECAC Hockey record and hold the No. 6/7 spots in the national polls. Yale is coming off a 2-1 overtime win at LIU and a 1-0-1 weekend in conference play at St. Lawrence and Clarkson. The Bulldogs are standings in third in the ECAC Hockey standings with 16.5 points. They lead the conference in goals against with 16.

Claire Dalton leads the team with 20 points on seven goals and 13 assists. Six different Bobcats have tallied double-digit points through 11 games played. The Bulldogs have split time between two goalies this season; Gianna Meloni has played in eight games, making seven starts. She has allowed seven goals against for a .950 save percentage and 1.17 goals against average. Pia Dukaric has played in six games, making four starts with nine goals against. She has notched a 1.79 goals against average and a .903 save percentage.

All-Time vs the Bulldogs
The Bobcats hold a 21-19-8 record against the Bulldogs. Quinnipiac and Yale have already played this season, and the Bobcats came away with a 3-1 win.

Scouting UConn & Sacred Heart
The Huskies hold an 11-3-2 overall record this season. Most recently, the Huskies went 0-1-1 against Providence and No. 4/4 Northeastern. Taylor Waback leads the Huskies with 12 points on one goal and 11 assists. Samantha Carpentier-Yelle has started in 12 games in the net for the Huskies, recording a .912 save percentage and a 1.83 goals against average.

The Pioneers will travel to Storrs with an 8-5-1 overall record and a 6-2-1 NEWHA record. Sacred Heart is on a four-game winning streak after defeating Saint Anselm, Saint Michael's and Post. Anna Klein leads the Pioneers with 19 points on eight goals and 11 assists. In the net, Frankie Sanchez has played in 11 games, recording 21 goals against for a 2.05 goals against average and a .925 save percentage.

Nutmeg Classic History
The 17th Annual is set to begin on Nov. 26 at UConn. Quinnipiac, Yale, Sacred Heart and UConn will compete for the Nutmeg Classic Trophy. The Nutmeg Classic took one year off because of the COVID-19 pandemic last year. The Bobcats won the tournament back on. Nov. 30, 2019 in a 3-1 win over Yale. Quinnipiac leads the Connecticut teams with eight Nutmeg Classic Championship victories.

Schroeder the Star
Graduate student Corinne Schroeder had a stellar game against No. 5/5 Colgate, making all 38 saves against the Raiders. She is ranked first in the country in goals against average (.663) and save percentage (0.971). Schroeder was also named the ECAC Hockey MAC Goaltending Goalie of the Week for her performance.

First Half Coming to an End
The Bobcats are 13-1-2 this season, which is the best first-half start for the program ever. Quinnipiac will look to add two more wins to finish the 2021 year before the December break. In 2015-16, which was the year the Bobcats won the ECAC Regular Season title and Tournament Championship, the team went 11-1-4 in the first half of the season. In 2015-16, the team eventually finished with a 30-3-5 record while also winning the ECAC Tournament Championships and appearing in the team's first ever NCAA Tournament game.

Labad All Good
First-year Maya Labad recorded her first multi-point game of her career with one goal and one assist at Cornell in the Bobcats' 4-0 win. Labad added another goal against the Raiders, and later was named the ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Week.

On the Board
Junior Sadie Peart leads the Bobcats with 17 points on six goals and 11 assists. She tallied one assist in the 4-0 win over Cornell last week. Senior Lexie Adzija is second on the team with four goals and 11 assists for 15 points. Adzija notched one assist in the win at Colgate.

Faceoff Queen
Senior Lexie Adzija has consistently been one of the best in the country in faceoff wins. She is ranked first in the nation with 228 wins. She leads the country with a 67% faceoff winning percentage. In addition, Quinnipiac is third in nation as a team for faceoff winning percentage (59%).

Scoring All Around
The Bobcats are ranked fifth in country with 91 assists this season as a team and are tied for fifth in the nation in goals with 55. Seven different Bobcats have tallied double-digit points this season. In addition, redshirt junior Courtney Vorster and Adzija lead the team with a +18 on-ice rating.

National Polls
Quinnipiac moved up one spot in the USCHO Poll, coming in at No. 5/5. This is the highest ranking for the program since the 2016-17 season when the Bobcats were ranked as high as No. 2 in the country. The Bobcats and the Bulldogs will meet up for a top-ten matchup in the first game of the Nutmeg Classic.

Out in Front
Quinnipiac is now the highest-ranked ECAC Hockey team in the country. Coming in at No. 5/5 this week, Quinnipiac surpassed the Colgate Raiders to take the top spot in the national polls to represent ECAC Hockey. This is the first time the Bobcats have been ranked as the highest team in the conference in the national polls since Oct. 31, 2016.

First-Year Bobcats
The Bobcats will welcome six first years to the team and are excited to see their immediate impacts on the ice. Maya Labad (Montreal, Quebec) and Ann-Frédérik Naud (Montreal, Quebec) join the team with Hockey Canada experience and a dynamic duo mentality. The two Canadians have played hockey together since they were little and will look to bring their familiarity and cohesiveness to the ice on offense. Veronica Bac comes to Hamden from Huntley, Ill., and was a member of the Chicago mission team. Kate Helgeson is a forward hailing from Roseau High School in Roseau, Minn. Mallory Mauracher and Mia Lopata complete the first-year group, and come from Dublin, Ohio and Clinton, N.Y., respectively.

Two Transfers Join the Squad
Fifth-year graduate student Corinne Schroeder and junior Jessica Schryver transferred to Quinnipiac during the offseason. Schroeder joins the Bobcats after a decorated career at Boston University. With the Terries, Schroeder tallied a 1.98 goals against average and a .929 save percentage, which were both BU program records. She recorded eight shutouts through 91 career games played. She was named Hockey East Second Team All-Star (2019-20), Third Team All-Star (2018-19), All-Rookie Team, All-Academic Team, Goaltender of the Month (Oct. 2019, Dec. 2018) and Defensive Player of the Week (seven times) while playing for BU. Schryver comes to Hamden from Northeaster, who played in the National Championship game this past season. While playing for the Huskies, Schryver played in 35 games, recording six goals and 19 assists. She led all Northeastern first years with 19 assists in 2019-20.

Leadership Group
Olivia Konigson is set to lead the Bobcats as the captain for the second year in a row. Joining Konigson, Renee Saltness, Lexie Adzija and Zoe Boyd will all wear the As, as assistant captains.

Non-Conference Breakdown
The Bobcats will face five different non-conference teams this season – two from Hockey East, one from the WCHA and two from NEWHA. Maine will come to Hamden this weekend to kick-off non-conference place. Next weekend, Quinnipiac will host the LIU Sharks for two games. To continue play against the NEWHA conference, the Bobcats will host Saint Anselm, Oct. 8-9. Before beginning conference play, the Bobcats will play a home-and-home series with Providence, Oct 15-16. To begin the New Year, Quinnipiac will travel to Madison, Wisc., to play the Wisconsin Badgers. In addition, the Bobcats will also compete in the Nutmeg Classic, hosted by UConn.

Hockey Canada Summer
Quinnipiac had a great showing at Hockey Canada's 2021 BFL National Women's Development Team Summer Camp, July 29-Aug. 9. Lexie Adzija, Kendall Cooper, Ann- Frédérik Naud, Corinne Schroeder, Zoe Boyd and Zoe Uens (Class of 2022 signee) were all invited to attend the camp this past summer. In addition, head coach Cass Turner attended camp as the assistant coach for the Under-18 NextGen camp participants. Adzija and Cooper were then asked to stay at the camp longer to compete in two scrimmages against Canada's National Women's team on Aug. 7-9 ahead of the World Championships.

Alessi in Las Vegas
Assistant coach Amanda Alessi participated in a coaching clinic in August that was conducted by the Las Vegas Golden Knights of the NHL. Coaches from Northeaster, Princeton, Brown, BU, St. Thomas, Dartmouth and Quinnipiac all came together to put local players through a clinic. The theme of growing the game and the love of hockey around the country sparked the clinic, and Alessi was proud to represent Quinnipiac out in the desert.

Brent Hill Joins the Coaching Staff
Quinnipiac hired Brent Hill as a new assistant coach in May 2021. Hill comes to Quinnipiac with an extensive resume in coaching and was most recently the program director and head coach of Selects Academy (U16 & U19) in Rochester, N.Y. As a head coach, Hill posted an overall record of 173-51 and was responsible for scheduling, practice planning, game management, scheduling, and travel logistics. He also coached at Merrimack in 2013-2017 and RPI from 2009-2013.

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