SCHENECTADY, N.Y. - The Dutchwomen close out their longest homestand of the season as Union will host New Hampshire in their final non-conference match of the season. The puck will drop at 7:00 p.m. at Messa Rink Tuesday, January 14. Follow the Dutchwomen on Twitter at UnionWHockey for in-game updates about the Dutchwomen.
Last Time Out
Penn State Game 1 Recap
Penn State Game 1 Box Score
Penn State Game 2 Recap
Penn State Game 2 Box Score
Union's (7-11-3, 0-7-3) was able to tally two wins as the Dutchwomen swept visting Penn State over the weekend with wins of 1-0 and 2-1.
In the first game, Union registered a season-high 49 shots on net. The last time Union eclipsed the 40-shot mark was October 8, 2011 against Sacred Heart. Despite netminder Celine Whitlinger tallying 49 saves in the match, Stefanie Thomson was able to wrestle one through for the lone goal of the match. Goaltender Shenae Lundberg also earned her first collegiate shutout, making 14 saves in the 1-0 victory.
Saturday's game, Jessica Kaminsky and Bryanne Panchuk each assisted their own goals as the duo powered the Dutchwomen past the nittany Lions 2-1. Lundberg tallied 25 saves while only conceding a goal in the third period.
Scouting New Hampshire
New Hampshire (7-11-2, 4-4-1 Hockey East) is playing their first game since December 8 when the Wildcats played to a 2-2 tie against No. 4/5 Harvard. New Hampshire had the lead going into the third period but then ECAC Player of the Month Jillian Dempsey recorded the equalizer for the draw.
Alexis Crossley and Kristina Lavoie lead the Wildcats offensively with 13 points each. Crossley is the top scoring defensemen on the squad in which the freshman as six goals and seven assists. Kristina Lavoie paces the team in assists with nine while pitching in four goals as well. Jessica Hitchcock owns the team lead in goals with seven.
Defensively, all four goaltenders for New Hampshire has started at least two games this season. Vilma Vaattovaara has seen the majority of the time for the Wildcats, playing in 11 games while compiling a 3-8-0 record, 3.84 goals against average and an .874 save percentage. Jenn Gilligan has also seen significant time in which the sophomore owns a 4-1-1 record with a 2.27 goals against average and a .914 save percentage. Gilligan has earned the starting nod in the last three games. Marie-Eve Jean and Moe Bradley has each started two games this season and have records of 0-1-1 and 0-1-0 respectively.
New Hampshire boasts the 10th best power play in Division I as they are 15-for-73 on the man-advantage. On the penalty kill, the Wildcats rank 14th as they have gone 66-for-78.
Series Against New Hampshire
The series between these two schools dates back recently to October 16, 2010 when New Hampshire gave Union a 4-1 loss at Messa Rink. In two matches, the Dutchwomen trail the overall sereis 0-2-0. The last meeting between the two schools went into overtime as the Wildcats were victorious in a 3-2 win.
Rewriting Records
Christine Valente continues to excel for the Dutchwomen special teams unit as she netted her fourth power play goal in the loss against Quinnipiac. Her four power play goals tie a single-season record, which is held by Lauren Hoffman (2007-08) and Elizabeth Flanagan (2001-02). Her four power play goals ranks tied for 20th in Division I and tied for sixth in the ECAC.
Power Play
The Dutchwomen have tallied 12 goals this season on the man-advantage this season, which ranks as tied for fourth most goals on the power play in the season with the 2003-04 season. In the 2008-09 season, Union posted their most power play goals in a season with 15.
When Valente Registers a Point
Christine Valente has registered at least one point in every tie or win the Dutchwomen have earned this season except for one (Jan. 11 vs. Penn State). Union is 6-1-3 when Valente has tallied a point. In games that Valente has not registered a point, the Dutchwomen are 1-10-0.
Class of 2016
Rebecca Babiak, Jessica Kaminsky, Courtney Turner and Kathryn Tomaselli have all netted goals on the season. Kaminsky leads the team in assists along with sophomore Christine Valente with six. The freshman class also leads all classes in goal scoring with 12. The Class of 2016 has already surpassed the scoring of all freshman in the 2009-10 and 2010-11 years. Two points just separate last year's freshman class to the Class of 2016Flashing the Glove
Shenae Lundberg ranks fifth among all goaltenders in saves (452) in the ECAC. The sophomore netminder set a new personal season-high with her performance over the weekend against Harvard and Dartmouth. She also tallied her first collegiate shutout in a 1-0 win against Penn State.
Against the Hockey East
This season, the Dutchwomen are 2-3-0 against Hockey East opponents. Union's wins came against Maine in a weekend series with wins of 4-3 and 3-2 respectively.
Open Fire
When the Dutchwomen have scored the first goal and leading after one, Union holds a 4-2-1 record against opponents.
Record Book Watch
With the Dutchwomen's wins against Maine, Shenae Lundberg notched her fifth win of her career, putting her tied for second in all-time wins in program history with current Volunteer Assistant Coach Kate Gallagher. Additionally, Lundberg is now second in career wins (7), second in wins in a seasin (6) and ninth in career saves (834). Teammate Alana Marcinko has six wins, which ranks tied for third in team history and ranks fifth in career saves with 1239. In addition, one more shutout will give the netminder the all-time record in career shutouts. Forward Stefanie Thomson is now tenth all-time in career goals with 13 along with Kelly Lannan (2003-2007) and Melissa Johnson (1999-2000). Christine Valente trumped her season-high of three power play goals last year with her score against Quinnipiac (Dec. 1). Valente needs one more to break the program high in power play goals in one season. Only two Dutchwomen skaters have accomplished this feat, Lauren Hoffman (2008-09) and Elizabeth Flanagan (2001-02). Additionally, she ranks tied for second in career power play goals with Jackie Koetteritz '10 and Elizabeth Flanagan.
Personal Bests
Sophomores Christine Valente and Shenae Lundberg are on pace to set personal bests this year. Valente is one more point away from tying a new career-high. Lundberg has set career highs in every statistical category for goaltenders and earned her first shutout of her collegiate career in a 1-0 win against Penn State.
Penalties
The Dutchwomen third lowest penalized team in Division I averaging 7.00 (68-for-137) penalty minutes per game and second lowest in the ECAC. New Hampshire is the 23rd lowest in Division I, averaging 8.50 minutes per game (81-for-170) . Union has skated in two games in which the Dutchwomen have not committed a penalty in regulation (Dec. 8 vs. Brown and Jan. 4 vs. Harvard).
ECAC Accolades
Lundberg compiled a 2-2-1 overall record in the month of December with 144 saves, a .928 save percentage and a 2.18 goals-against average. The Peterborough, N.H. native was credited with two wins against Maine and also earned a tie against Yale. Additionally, she tied her career-high of 41 saves in a losing effort against Quinnipiac.
This was the first time a Union women's hockey player has been named for a monthly award by the ECAC. Lundberg has also been named ECAC Goaltender of the Week twice this season back on October 23 and November 13.
Two or Less
Union has compiled a 5-2-3 record when their opponent is held to two goals or less. In games that meet that criterion, Union has outscored opponents 21-16. Nine of the 11 games in which an opponent is limited to two goals or less has come down to one goal or a draw.
Nailbiters
In the seven games that Union has won this season, six of the games have come with a one-goal margin. In each of those wins, Union has scored in the third period for the game-winner.
Light the Lamp
When Union scores at least three goals in a game, the Dutchwomen are 5-0-0. However, when an opponent holds Union to under three goals, Union is 2-9-3.
Game-Tying Goals
Rhianna Kurio's last minute game-tying goal against Princeton (Nov. 10) and Alex Tancrell-Fontaine's power play goal against Yale (Dec. 7) puts the duo with only six other skaters in the ECAC with game-tying goals this season.
Non-Conference
Union has strung together four consecutive wins agains non-conference opponents and have won six of their last six decisions in out-of-conference play.
