STORRS, Conn. – The No.9 Black Bears will be trekking down to the University of Connecticut for a two-game series on Friday and Saturday, January 26-27, after going 2-for-3 against Merrimack College over the past two weekends.

In their last meeting, the Huskies ventured up to Maine on November 12 with Maine snatching the overtime, 4-3, victory thanks to freshman Michelle Weis potting the tie-breaker just 35 seconds into overtime. Four different Black Bears recorded goals while both senior Catherine Tufts and sophomore Tereza Vanisova helped out immensely tallying a goal and assist. The Huskies saw a pair of goals scored by current leading scorer for her team (25 points), freshman Natalie Snodgrass, while sophomore Briana Colangelo dished out a pair of helpers.

UCONN BY THE NUMBERS
2.27 : Goals per game
29.3 : Shots per game
2.27 : Goals against average
19.23% : Power play percentage
3.00 : Power plays per game
82.93% : Penalty kill percentage
3.4 : Penalties per game
 
UConn opened up five consecutive games on their home ice this past weekend, battling Boston University to a 2-2 tie on Saturday. Two days prior, the Huskies dropped a match to Northeastern, 5-3, on the road. They currently have a 7-11-8 overall record while 1-10-5 in the WHEA.
 
Five different players helped out putting points on the board between the two games. Colangelo and Snodgrass both contributed a goal and assist in the fall to Northeastern on Friday. The Huskies led the matchup against Boston University, 2-0, just short of the first two periods until the Terriers came back to tie it up. Goals were scored by junior Rebecca Lindblad for her third and senior Leah Lum.
 
Sophomore Morgan Fisher kicked off the week in between the posts, stopping double digits in shots each period for a total of 32. Senior Annie Belanger held off Northeastern long enough to end in her fifth tie this season while stopping 29 shots. The Huskies have taken ten games into overtime so far this season.


No. 10 MAINE BY THE NUMBERS
2.81 : Goals per game
29.8 : Shots per game
2.04 : Goals against average
11.90% : Power play percentage
3.23 : Power plays per game
87.38% : Penalty kill percentage
4.3 : Penalties per game
 
The Black Bears (16-7-3, 10-4-2 WHEA),  continue to hold their third place rank in the WHEA, only one win away from tying Providence College for second as well as tying the Maine women's ice hockey program's all-time winningest record.

Sophomore Carly Jackson stopped 50 scoring opportunities in net for the Black Bears throughout the weekend, helping Maine split the weekend after defeating Merrimack 4-1 Friday afternoon in their annual 'Skating Strides Game', followed by a tough 4-2 fall to the Warriors the next day. She currently leads all Hockey East goaltenders with a 1.76 goals against average while holding onto second with her .929 save percentage and .733 win percentage.

Sophomore Lydia Murray scored the Black Bears' first goals in both games against Merrimack this past weekend for her 6^th and 7^th of the season. Her first was a power play goal to help Maine capture the victory. The next day, she tied up the score, 1-1, less than 60 seconds after Merrimack had opened up scoring just two minutes into the first period.
                                                                             
Weis added on two points for comfort in the third period as the Black Bears cruised to victory in the first matchup against Merrimack. Her first goal was a one-on-one with the goalie and the second was unassisted in the final seconds of the match. With the addition of the two goals, the rookie has accumulated 18 points already this season, sitting with the third most points on her team and the highest for a freshman.  


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-UMaine-