Hockey East Online

	Pure Hockey Player of the Week Kristen Olychuck of Vermont

WAKEFIELD, Mass. -- With the end in sight, Women’s Hockey East teams are neck and neck at the top of the standings, and the race is as close as ever for the home ice advantage. Providence regained the number one position in the standings after a huge win knocking Northeastern into second. Vermont had a solid fourpoint weekend with big wins over UNH and Maine. UConn upended BC before falling to UNH Sunday.

Northeastern advanced to the Beanpot finals with a shootout win over BU while BC fell to Harvard 5-0 in the first round of the Beanpot last Tuesday night. The Huskies went on top jumping to an early four-goal lead until BU rallied to tie the game with four unanswered goals of their own including two from Holly Lorms (Wauwatosa, Wis.). Northeastern’s Leah Sulyma (Inuvik, N.W.T.) earned the victory stopping all shots in the shootout. Back in action on Saturday, BU blanked UNH 5-2 with two goals from Melissa Anderson (Langley, BC) and another two points from Lorms (1g,1a). The Wildcats managed to outshoot the Terriers 35-9 and Kelly Paton (Woodstock, Ont.) scored her 150th career point in the losing effort. Kristina Lavoie (Fonthill, Ont.) has scored a goal in a league-high 11 consecutive games this season for the Wildcats.

Providence fought hard to regain the top position in the Hockey East standings with a 2-1 road victory over Northeastern on Saturday. The Huskies carried an early one-goal lead all the way into the third but they could not hold on to it before Ashley Cottrell (Sterling Heights, Mich.) snuck her thirteenth of the season past Northeastern goaltender Leah Sulyma (Inuvik, N.W.T.). PC’s Nicole Anderson (Jordan, Minn.) notched the game-winner snapping Northeastern’s eight-game unbeaten streak boosting the Friars into first place.

Vermont captured four points this week skating to a 2-1 win over No. 4 UNH in a midweek meeting Wednesday night at Gutterson Fieldhouse. Freshman Erin Wente (Scottsdale, Ariz.) scored the game-winner lifting the Catamounts to their first win over UNH in 22 attempts. On Saturday, Vermont shutout Maine 1-0. Kristen Olychuck (Kelowna, B.C. ) stopped all 22 shots she faced.

No. 8 ranked UConn continued their nine-game winning streak with a 3-1 win over BC on Saturday at Mark Edward Freitas Ice Forum. The Huskies were able to hold BC’s league-leading scorer Allie Thunstrom (Maplewood, Minn.) to a scoreless game to secure the victory. On Sunday, UConn suffered their first loss in eleven games to UNH by a score of 4-1. Kelly Paton (Woodstock, Ont.) and Micaela Long (South Boston, Mass.) contributed with three points apiece. Prior to the loss, Alexandra Garcia (Pointe-Claire, Que.) had only allowed one goal or less in the last eight games for UConn.

Melissa Anderson, BU (Sr., F, Langley, B.C.) Tallied three goals and an assist in two games this week.

Jill Cardella, BU (Fr., F, Rochester, N.Y.) Registered three assists on the week, including the game-tying goal vs. NU in the Beanpot Tuesday and the game-winning goal in Saturday vs. UNH.

Jennifer Chaisson, UConn (Jr., F, Cumberland, Ont.) Led the Huskies with a pair of goals and an assist in a 1-1 weekend vs. Boston College and New Hampshire.

Alexandra Garcia, UConn (So., G, Pointe-Claire, Que.) Despite suffering her first loss in 11-games, Garcia finished the weekend with a 2.02 GAA and a .905 save%.

Melissa Haber, BU (Sr., G, Toronto, Ont.) Made 33 saves while allowing only two goals in Saturday’s win over No. 4 New Hampshire.

Annie Hogan, NU (Sr., F, Medford, Mass.) Hogan led the Huskies to their first Beanpot final since 2004 on Tuesday with a one-goal, one-assist line vs. BU in the semifinals.

Kristina Lavoie, UNH (Fr., F, Fonthill, Ont.) Extended her goal-scoring streak to 11 games by scoring a goal in all three games last week.

Rachel Llanes, NU (Fr., F, San Jose, Calif.) Recorded her first-career three-point game on Tuesday (one goal, two assists) in her first-ever Beanpot game.

Lindsey Minton, UNH (So., G, Richardson, Texas) Went 1-1-0 last week with a 1.50 GAA and .927 save percentage.

Kelly Paton, UNH (Sr., F, Woodstock, Ont.) Factored in five of UNH’s seven goals by recording one goal and three assists in the three games.

Erin Wente, UVM (F, Fr., Scottsdale, Ariz.) Scored the game-winning goal against No. 4 UNH with two and a half minutes remaining in the game.

Jennifer Chaisson (Cumberland, Ont.) had a two-goal and an asist wekend and is in the midst of scoring at least one point in nine of the last 10 games, including one goa l in six of the last nine games

Brittany Esposito , NU (Edmonton , Alb.) has points in seven of her last nine games, totaling five goals and four helpers in those contests

Annie Hogan, NU (Medford, Mass.) posted 11 points in the month in January, falling only two points short of equaling the 13 points she put up all last season

Kristina Lavoie, UNH (Fonthill, Ont.) Has scored a goal in 11 consecutive games

Freshman Rachel Llanes, NU (San Jose, Calif.) has scored a goal/shotout goa l in each of her last five games. Llanes scored the game-winner Jan. 15 at Maine, the shotout winner Jan. 20 at UNH, an even-strength goal at Niagara Jan. 23, an even-st rength goa l at Niaga ra Jan. 24, and a shotout goal vs . BU Jan. 26

Kelly Paton, UNH (Woodstock, Ont.) Recorded her 150th career point Feb. 6 with an assist vs . Boston U.

Elisabeth Stathopulos (Toronto, Ont.) has had at least one point in seven of the last 10 games, including three asists in the last two games

Boston College: The Eagles will take the ice this Tuesday in the consolation game of the 2010 Beanpot to be held at the Bright Hockey Center in Cambridge, Mass…BC will meet Boston University at 5:00 p.m. in the fourth meeting between these two teams this year…the Terriers currently hold a 2-1 edge in victories over the Eagles, having defeated BC 4-0 and 3-1 in the last two contests…senior Allie Thunstrom remains two points behind Deborah Spillane for fourth place on BC’s all-time scoring list…Thunstrom currently holds the fifth place spot with 132 points, having overtaken Laura Traynham earlier this season. She is also still in first place among goal scorers in Hockey East…following the matchup with BU, the Eagles will travel to Maine to take on the Black Bears for the first time since October 18.

Boston University: The Terriers lost a shootout to No. 7 Northeastern in the Beanpot semifinals and will now face Boston College in the third-place game on Tuesday...Since becoming a varsity program in 2005, BU has two second-place and two third-place finishes in the Beanpot...The Terriers are 1-1 against BC in the Beanpot as a varsity team, losing the 2007 championship game and winning in the first round in 2008...BU has not recorded the same result in consecutive games since November, a stretch of 16 games...With three goals last week, senior Melissa Anderson broke Gina Kearns’ program record of 50 career goals. Anderson now has 51 goals, 72 assists and 123 points in her career, all BU record.

University of Connecticut: Sophomore Monique Weber (Rogers, Minn.) ended the Huskies scoring drought against the Eagles, scoring the first UConn goal against Boston College since Dec. 4, 2008. The Eagles shutout the Huskies in each of the previous two regular season meetings. Junior Jennifer Chaisson (Cumberland, Ont.) accelerated UConn to the 3-1 victory on Saturday with a goal and an assist at Mark Edward Freitas. The Connecticut defense and sophomore Alexandra Garcia (Pointe-Claire, Que.) allowed the first goal by the opposition in 227:28 minutes played after posting consecutive shutouts a weekend ago. With the victory, head coach Heather Linstad needs just one more to reach the 300 career-coaching victory plateau. Despite a 24 save performance by Garcia, the Huskies were unable to help coach reach that milestone on Sunday. UConn suffered a 4-1 loss at the hands of No. 4 New Hampshire, dropping its first game in 2010.

University of Maine: Freshman goaltender Brittany Ott (St. Clair Shores, Mich.) kept the Black Bears in the game with her solid game in net where she made 25 saves, letting up just one power play goal that proved to be the deciding factor. Ott currently has a .936 save percentage which is good for fourth in WHEA…The Black Bears’ Penalty Kill Unit has been solid all year as Maine has killed off 88% of their opponents power play opportunities which is good for third in the conference and 13th in the nation … The Black Bears have the most wins they’ve had in a season since the 2006-2007 campaign … Senior captain Amy Stech (Duluth, Minn.) played in her 125th game as a Black Bear over the weekend…Saturday will be senior day for six Black Bear seniors, in which they will all be honored following the 2 p.m. game.

University of New Hampshire: UNH – the only team with 10+ league wins – has secured a berth in the WHEA tournament and can finish anywhere from 1st-6th in the standings…Kelly Paton became the 14th UNH Wildcat to reach the 150-point milestone; she currently has 58 goals and 95 assists for 153 points to rank seventh in assists and 13th in points…Micaela Long (So. Boston, Mass.) matched her career high of three assists Feb. 7 at UConn...Kristina Lavoie (Fonthill, Ont.) has scored seven of her 16 goals on the power play… In all three games last week, the team that recorded the shot advantage lost the game; that included a loss to BU despite limiting the Terriers to nine shots…UNH’s penalty kill was a perfect 3-for-3 in all three games last week; in the past six games, the PK is 27-for-28 (96.4%)…UNH has scored multiple power-play goals 10 times and has an 8-1-1 record in those games…UNH is 8-6-1 when falling behind 1-0 and 8-0-4 when scoring the game’s first goal.

Northeastern University: With Saturday’s loss to Providence, the Huskies fell to 23-22-4 all-time in games between the Beanpot...Saturday’s loss to Providence was the Huskies’ first defeat at Matthews Arena since Nov. 29 (vs. UNH), a span of 69 days...Prior to Saturday’s game vs. Providence, at least one freshman had scored in 11 straight games for the Huskies...Northeastern remains one win shy of 500 in program history (499-320-69 all-time). Tuesday’s game at Harvard will be Northeastern’s fourth straight attempt to reach the milestone, tying twice and losing once in the process...The Huskies are 3-2 all-time in the Beanpot final when coming off a loss in the previous game...The Huskies have recorded at least one power-play goal in four of their last five games.

Providence College: Providence defeated Northeastern, 2-1, on Saturday and now has seven victories over ranked opponents...The Friars earned their first come-from-behind victory on Saturday. PC had gone 1-5-1 when behind after one period this season...After the weekend victory over Northeastern, PC now owns the season series with BC, NU, UNH and Maine...Genevieve Lacasse (Scarborough, Ont.) has recorded at least 30 saves 10 times this season and at least 25 saves on 19 occassions. Lacasse leads the nation with 779 saves and stands as one of only three players in Friar history with over 1,500 career saves...Providence faces No. 8 UConn this weekend in a battle for first place in the Hockey East standings. The Friars defeated the Huskies, 3-2, in a shootout in the first matchup this season and own the series advantage over UConn with a 26-7-3 record in 36 games.

University of Vermont: The win over UNH marked the first time in 22 attempts Vermont defeated the Wildcats...Freshman Erin Wente scored her second game-winning goal of the season when she found the back of the net with two and a half minutes left in the game...No. 4 UNH was the highest ranked team Vermont has beaten in school history...Junior Teddy Fortin (Brunswick, Maine) has a two-game scoring streak, after recording an assist in both games last week...Senior Brittany Nelson (Shelburne, Vt.) scored her third game-winning goal of the season in Saturday’s 1-0 win over Maine...Senior Kristen Olychuck notched her second shutout of the season and fourth of her career...Vermont looks to continue its push to the Hockey East playoffs as it travels to New Hampshire for a two-game series.