Bobcats Set to Begin 2021-22 Campaign vs Maine

Friday, September 24

Hamden, Conn.

6:00 PM

Quinnipiac University

Maine

Women's ice hockey players skate through bench line

Photo by: Rob Rasmussen / P8Photos.com

9/23/2021 10:53:00 AM | Women's Ice Hockey

By: QU Athletic Communications

HAMDEN, Conn. - The Quinnipiac women's ice hockey team is set to begin the 2021-22 season on Friday, Sept. 24 at home with two non-conference games against Maine. The Bobcats and the Black Bears will play a two-game series in Hamden, and the second game is set for Saturday, Sept. 25. Puck drop will be at 6 p.m. on Friday night and 3 p.m. on Saturday afternoon. For the first time since, Feb. 22, 2020, fans will be allowed back into the People's United Center to watch the Quinnipiac women's ice hockey team play.

Quinnipiac vs Maine - Game Notes
Game 1 | Friday, Sept. 24 at 6 PM
Watch (U.S) | Watch (INTL) | Live Stats

Game 2 | Saturday Sept. 25 at 3 PM
Watch (U.S) | Watch (INTL) | Live Stats

Starting off with an Exhibition
The Quinnipiac Bobcats and the UConn Huskies played in an exhibition game on Sept. 18 to help prepare for the upcoming season. The Bobcats defeated the Huskies, 3-1, with goals coming from sophomore Kendall Cooper, graduate student Olivia Konigson and first-year Maya Labad.

Scouting Maine
The Maine Black Bears will play its first games of the 2021-22 season in Hamden against Quinnipiac. The Black Bears went 8-9-1 in 2020-21, only playing games against Hockey East opponents. Maine will return Ida Kuoppala, who led the Black Bears with 10 goals and five assists for 15 points last season. In the net, the Black Bears also return Hockey East Goaltender of the Year finalist, Loryn Porter. Porter tallied a .954 save percentage, a 1.49 goals against average and one shutout last season.

Last Time Against the Raiders
The Bobcats are 14-14-2 all-time against the Black Bears. The team's last win came on Oct. 11, 2019 at Maine in a 3-2 overtime victory. The last matchup was the same weekend on Oct. 12, 2019 and the teams tied, 0-0. Quinnipiac tallied an 11-game win streak against Maine from 2012-2017.

A Look at the Conference
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, only four ECAC Hockey teams competed during the 2020-21 season – Clarkson, St. Lawrence, Colgate and Quinnipiac. As the 2021-22 season approaches, all 12 teams will be competing this season and are set to begin non-conference play this weekend. In the ECAC Hockey Preseason Coaches' Poll, the Colgate Raiders were voted to finish first, followed by Clarkson, Cornell, Harvard and Princeton. The Bobcats were voted to finish sixth, and St. Lawrence, Yale, Dartmouth, Union, Brown and RPI made up the bottom half.

Preseason All-League
Sophomore defender Kendall Cooper was selected to the ECAC Hockey Preseason All-League team, as announced by the conference on Sept. 21. Cooper is the first Bobcat to be named to a preseason all-league team since Kelly Babstock '14. Clarkson, Colgate and Harvard also had student-athletes named to the preseason all-league team.

Returners Ready
Quinnipiac will return 19 letter-winners from last season. Olivia Konigson, Renee Saltness and Taylor House all returned for a fifth-year season at Quinnipiac and are set to lead the group as true veterans. In the senior class, Lexie Adzija, Courtney Vorster, Logan Angers and Zoe Boyd are also set to lead the team as their fourth years as Bobcats begin.

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.

Bobcats in the Net
Quinnipiac returns sophomore netminder Catie Boudiette and redshirt-junior Logan Angers to the team this year, in addition to adding Schroeder. Boudiette played in six games during her first-year campaign. She tallied a 1.000 save percentage, allowing no goals in her six games played. Angers played in 12 games, recording a .908 save percentage with a 2.44 goals against average.

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.

National Polls
Quinnipiac is receiving votes in the USA Hockey/USA Today Magazine College Hockey Poll.

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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