ORONO, Maine—The UMaine women's ice hockey team looks to gain two key points in conference play as they travel to North Andover, Mass. to take on the Merrimack Warriors for two games at Lawler Rink.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Game No. 24: Maine Black Bears vs. Merrimack Warriors
Date: Friday, Jan. 18, 2019
Time: 3 p.m.
Site: Lawler Rink | North Andover, Mass
2018-19 Record: Maine 13-8-2, 6-8-2 WHEA, Merrimack 12-8-3, 8-7-1 WHEA
 
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Game No. 25: Maine Black Bears vs. Holy Cross Crusaders
Date: Saturday, Jan. 19, 2019
Time: 2 p.m.
Site: Lawler Rink | North Andover, Mass
 
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About the Black Bears
• Maine split its road weekend at Holy Cross, tying Saturday's game 2-2 before winning the second game 3-0.
• In the first game the Black Bears tied after a pair of goals by Celine Tedenby. Maine took a lead in the first period on Celine Tedenby's first goal of the game at 6:07.
• Tedenby's second tied the game with one tenth of a second left on the clock with an extra attacker on. Her eighth tally of the year gave the Black Bears the 2-2 final.
• Maine bounced back in Sunday's game, taking a 3-0 win. After 40 scoreless minutes, Brittany Kucera posted the first for the Black Bears at 8:52. Michelle Weis would score minutes later before Cailey Hutchison scored a breakaway goal at 17:51 to seal it.
• The shutout was Carly Jackson's second of the season and the second of this month, with the first on Jan. 5 in a 1-0 victory over BU.
• The shutout over the Crusaders was the sixth of Jackson's career. The Black Bears goaltending has combined to keep opponents of the scoreboard in five games this season.
• Sunday's victory was the 300^th with for the Black Bears program; the team first started in 1997-98 and had their first win on Nov. 15, 1997.
• Maine is 13-8-2 overall this season, with a 5-8-1 record in conference.
 
About the Warriors
•  Merrimack is 2-2-1 in their last five, splitting last weekend's series at Vermont with a 4-1 win on Jan. 11 before falling 5-4 on Jan. 12.
• Katelyn Rae, the team's leading goal scorer and point scorer, tallied a hat trick in the loss against Vermont. Rae is second in WHEA goal scoring with 18 tallies this season.
• Mikayla Grant-Mentis was named WHEA Player of the Week and the NCAA's Second Star after scoring six points over the weekend series, with both of her goals coming shorthanded.
• Samantha Ridgewell has had 21 appearances in net for Merrimack this year, holding an 11-6-3 record. Her 1.72 GAA and .939 save percentage is good for No. 12 in the national goaltending charts.
• Power play has been key for Merrimack, converting at 24.7 percent, ranking No. 1 in WHEA and No. 4 power play in the nation.
• Merrimack has scored 12 goals in their last four games and has a 2.78 goals per game average this year.
• The Warriors have scored 14 goals at home in WHEA play, compared to 34 goals on the road against conference opponents.
• The Terriers are 5th in Women's Hockey East with 14 points with five wins and four ties.
 
The Series with Merrimack
• Friday's game between Merrimack and Maine is the 11th all-time meeting between the two Hockey East squads with Maine holding the 6-4-0 all time lead.
• The teams faced off earlier this season, with Merrimack taking a 5-1 victory in Falmouth, Maine. The five scored by the Warriors is the highest goal differential and goal total for any Black Bears opponent this season.
• Last season's series was taken by Maine, 2-1-0 overall. Maine took the victory at Merrimack on Jan. 13 by a 5-1 final before taking the Jan. 19 win, 4-1. The final game against Merrimack was a 4-1 loss at home on Jan. 20.
• These two teams first met on Oct. 15, 2015 in North Andover with Maine taking a 2-1 win.

Comparing the Conference
• First place Northeastern is pulling ahead with 26 points, holding a 12-1-2 record.
• Boston College broke the tie for second place previously shared with Providence.
• Three WHEA teams are in the top ten in the weekly polls. Northeastern is at No. 3/3, Providence is No. 9/9 and Boston College at No. 10/10.
• Maine sits in seventh with a 6-8-2 conference record, with 14 points in the standings.
• The Black Bears are three points behind Merrimack and UConn for sixth place (17 points), and is two points ahead of eighth place Vermont (12 points).

-UMaine-