What’s better than a hockey doubleheader on Friday? Hockey doubleheaders on Friday AND Saturday.
Before the men take the ice against Bentley, the women will look to keep their good form going when they host the Yale Bulldogs at Gutterson. The Cats have only lost one of their last 8 games dating back to mid-November, and enter a team that is very much headed in the other direction.
Yale enters this game with a record of 4-7-2 and with a standing of 7th in the ECAC, 6 points behind sixth-placed Providence. They actually started the season fairly well, sitting at 4-1-1 in early November. But then, the roof fell in and the team has lost six of seven, with the exception being a 1-1 draw with UConn. They’ve played 5 teams that have also played UVM, defeating Union, drawing against UConn, and taking L’s to St. Lawrence, Clarkson, and New Hampshire.
In goal the Cats will likely be up against freshman Tera Hofmann, who sports a .912 save percentage on the season after stealing the starting gig from senior Hanna Mandl, who sports a .892 and has hovered around there her whole career.
Defensively, Yale has been a little suspect, especially during their recent slump. In their seven game winless drought, the Bulldogs have given up four or more goals in all but one game (the draw against UConn). They’re contributing offensively, though, as Taylor Marchin has produced a point per game, and Mallory Souliotis has chipped in 8 points as well. But they’re leaking goals, which could be useful for a UVM team that has, at times, struggled to score this year.
Then comes the attack, led by the trio of Krista Yip-Chuck, Phoebe Staenz, and Eden Murray. All have 15 points or more…then only one other player has more than 5. Yale’s offense hasn’t been the issue during this slump – they’ve scored as many goals per game as Northeastern this year – but when you’ve got one dominant line and not a lot of contribution from everyone else, you become a bit predictable.
Games are Friday at noon and Saturday at 2pm at Gutterson, and can also be viewed on CatamounTV. Go out and support some great players and take in back-to-back doubleheaders.
Go Cats.
The Vermont Hockey Blog 