Merrimack, New Hampshire Skate to 1-1 Tie

Junior forward Katelyn Rae scored a goal for the Warriors
Prd Time  Team Score Type Scored By Assists
1st 9:31  UNH1-0 PP Taylor Wenczkowski (1)Marie-Jo Pelletier/1, Grace Middleton/1
2nd 10:21  MER1-1 SH GT Katelyn Rae (3)Madison Morey/1
Scoring 1st 2nd 3rd OT Final
Merrimack  01001
New Hampshire  10001
Shots on Goal 1st 2nd 3rd OT SOG
Merrimack  1058225
New Hampshire  1297331
Team Stats and Records  PP PIM SHGF
Merrimack (2-1-1)  0/3 5/10 1
New Hampshire (0-0-1)  1/5 3/6 0
Merrimack Goaltending MIN GA 1 2 3 OT Saves
Léa-Kristine Demers (T, 1-0-1)65:001 1197330
New Hampshire Goaltending MIN GA 1 2 3 OT Saves
Ava Boutilier (T, 0-0-1)65:001 1048224

DURHAM, N.H. - University of New Hampshire sophomore Taylor Wenczkowski (Rochester, N.H.) scored the first goal of the season for the Wildcats as they began the season tying conference foe Merrimack, 1-1 on Friday evening at the Whittemore Center.

Wenczkowski's goal came on the power play in the first period, assisted by junior captain Marie-Jo Pelletier (Dalhousie, New Brunswick) and freshman Grace Middleton (Midland, Mich.) for her first career point.

Freshman goaltender Ava Boutilier (Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island) got the start in net and stopped 30 of the 31 shots she faced in her first collegiate decision, putting her overall and career record at 0-0-1.

GAME INFORMATION

Date: Oct. 6, 2017 (7:00 p.m.)
Location: Whittemore Center (Durham, N.H.)
Attendance: 173
Score: University of New Hampshire 1, Merrimack 1

Goals:

UNH (1) - Taylor Wenczkowski
Merrimack (1) - Katelyn Rae

Assists:

UNH (2) - Marie-Jo Pelletier, Grace Middleton
Merimack (1) - Madison Morey

Goaltenders:

UNH- Ava Boutilier 11-9-7-3 - 30 (1 GA) {65:00} (Tie)
Merrimack - Lea-Kristine Demers 10-4-8-2 - 24 (1 GA) {65:00} (Tie)

GAME RECAP

- Merrimack opened with an early shot on goal, testing the freshman goaltender Boutilier, who made the save.

- An early penalty on Merrimack for body-checking put the 'Cats on the power play 7:53 into the period.

- Wenczkowski's goal came on the power play 9:31 into the first period, as she was fed the puck out by the blue line and her long shot just found the edge of the goalmouth, sneaking past Demers, to give UNH a 1-0 lead.

- Another costly penalty on Merrimack for tripping came 15 minutes into the period, but UNH could not capitalize.

- UNH would then be called on three penalties of their own to end the first period and to begin the second. The Wildcats were able to kill all three.

- With UNH on the power play 10 minutes into the second period, Rae stole the puck for Merrimack, passed it up ice to Morey, who then passed it back to Rae who was crashing the net for the short-handed goal, tying the game at 1-all.

- The third period saw an even count on the shot chart, with Merrimack just barely out-shooting UNH 8-7.

- A huge scoring chance for New Hampshire came in the 15th minute of the third, when Nicole Dunbar (Coto de Caza, Calif.) had a shot blocked that rebounded back to Wenczkowski, who would then attempt a shot on net on an off-center goaltender, but Demers adjusted just in time to keep the game-winning goal off the board.

- New Hampshire would end regulation on a power play, but only managed to get one shot on net during the power play.

- UNH outshot Merrimack 3-2 in the overtime period, but neither team could get a good scoring chance in the extra five minutes.

PENALTIES

UNH: 3-6. Merrimack: 5-10.

POWER PLAYS

UNH: 1-5. Merrimack: 0-3.

NEW HAMPSHIRE LEADERS

Points (1): Taylor Wenczkowski, Marie-Jo Pelletier, Grace Middleton
Goals (1): Taylor Wenczkowski
Assists (1): Marie-Jo Pelletier, Grace Middleton
Shots (4): Julia Fedeski, Taylor Wenczkowski
Blocked Shots (3): Jenna Rheault
Faceoffs (10): Taylor Wenczkowski

MERRIMACK LEADERS

Points (1): Katelyn Rae, Madison Morey
Goals (1): Katelyn Rae
Assists (1): Madison Morey
Shots (6): Katelyn Rae, Mikyla Grant-Mentis
Blocked Shots (2): Four players tied
Faceoffs (11): Megan Fergusson