Team Notes: No.10 Quinnipiac Hosts New Hampshire

Home Non-Conference Action
The Quinnipiac women's ice hockey team (15-7-1, 8-6-0 ECAC Hockey) hosts non-conference opponent New Hampshire (10-12-0, 3-9-0 Hockey East) on Tuesday, Jan. 18 at 7 p.m. at the TD Bank Sports Center.

Follow The Bobcats
Live Stats for Tuesday's game can be accessed by clicking on the appropriate links on the women's ice hockey schedule at www.quinnipiacbobcats.com.

About The University of New Hampshire
New Hampshire comes into Hamden after a weekend split against Providence on Friday, Jan. 14 and Saturday, Jan. 15. The Wildcats were defeated 2-0 on Friday evening, but took Saturday's contest 2-1. Freshman forward Sarah Campbell and senior forward Molly Morrison each netted a goal in the victory, while junior goaltender Lindsey Minton made 31 saves in the contest. Freshman forward Arielle O'Neill leads the team with 12 total points (eight goals, four assists), while sophomore forward Kristine Horn leads the team with seven assists. Having played in 17 of the team's 22 games, Minton carries a 1.77 goals against average and a .929 save percentage thus far on the year.

All-Time Against The Wildcats
Tuesday's game will be the eighth time the two sides will face each other. New Hampshire owns a 7-0-0 all-time record against the Bobcats. In their last meeting on October 4, 2009, the Wildcats defeated the Bobcats 4-0. Freshman goaltender Victoria Vigilanti (Woodbridge, Ontario) turned away a career high 33 saves in the contest.

Last Time Out
Quinnipiac swept its weekend series with a pair of 3-2 victories over ECAC Hockey opponents St. Lawrence and Clarkson on Friday, Jan. 7 and Saturday, Jan. 8. On Friday against St. Lawrence, sophomore forward Brittany Lyons (Canton, Mass.) netted a goal and an assist in the win, as the Bobcats scored all three goals in the first period of play. On Saturday against Clarkson, freshman forward Kelly Babstock (Mississauga, Ontario) registered her third career hat trick, scoring all three goals for the Bobcats in a 3-2 overtime victory. Sophomore goaltender Victoria Vigilanti (Woodbridge, Ontario) turned away 30 shots in the win, and 48 shots overall in the two weekend games.

Hat Trick Hero
Kelly Babstock continued her ferocious attack on opposing defenses, as she tallied her third hat trick of the season on Saturday against Clarkson in a 3-2 overtime victory. Babstock tied the game, 2-2, with just 5:55 remaining in the game and then notched the game-winner with just 1:35 remaining in overtime to seal the victory. This was also the 12^th time this season in which Babstock has registered a multiple point effort.

Comeback Kids
Saturday's overtime victory over Clarkson marked the first time this season Quinnipiac has won a game in which it found itself behind after the first period of play. The Bobcats are now 1-4-1 in such games, as opposed to a perfect 10-0-0 in games which it led after the first 20 minutes.

Cracking The Top 10
No. 10 Quinnipiac is ranked for the first time this season and the second time in the program's history in the January 17, 2011 USCHO.com Division I Women's Poll. The Bobcats were previously ranked No. 10 in the USCHO.com Division I Women's Poll on March 1, 2010. Quinnipiac has also received votes this week in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Women's College Hockey Poll, earning 10 points in the most recent poll on January 11, 2011.

Sports Illustrated Takes Note
Babstock was featured in the January 17, 2011 edition of Sports Illustrated in its "Faces in the Crowd" section. The selection was only the second time in Quinnipiac's history that a student-athlete was honored with such an accolade.

20/20 Club
Babstock has an even 20 goals and 20 assists on the season, as she continues to lead all ECAC Hockey scorers in goals, assists and points. She also ranks first among all NCAA Division I Women's Ice Hockey freshman in goals, assists and points and is tied for first in the country with seven game-winning goals.

One Of The Best
These numbers also have her ranked in the top seven nationally in all three statistical categories as well. She ranks tied for fifth and seventh in goals and assists, respectively, while she retains sole possession of fifth place in total points. Her 1.74 points per game rank her second among all freshman skaters and 11^th in NCAA Division I Women's Ice Hockey overall.

Recipe For Success
When Babstock scores, the possibility of a Bobcats victory improves dramatically. Quinnipiac is 13-1-0 in games that she lights the lamp.

Two Up, Two Down
With the two wins over the weekend, Quinnipiac improved to a season-high two games over .500 in ECAC Hockey action (8-6).

Hitting Their Stride
Quinnipiac has won six of its last seven games and 10 of its last 14. Of the final eight ECAC Hockey games remaining, four of those will be played on its home ice.

Personal Best
With a goal and an assist of Friday, Jan. 7 against St. Lawrence, sophomore forward Brittany Lyons (Canton, Mass.) has now scored six goals and four assists on the season, surpassing her previous career-high nine point total.

Remember When...
The weekend sweep of St. Lawrence and Clarkson was the first road weekend sweep since the opening two games of the season on October 1 and 2 against Niagara.

Torching The Net
Quinnipiac's first line, consisting of freshman Erica Uden Johansson (Sundsvall, Sweden), junior Kate Wheeler (Oakville, Ontario) and Babstock, have collectively accounted for 81 points on the season thus far. Wheeler and Babstock rank first and second among ECAC Hockey Skaters with a plus-24 and plus-23 mark, respectively.

Boost From The Back
While Quinnipiac's first-line forwards represent the team leaders in points, the Bobcats' defenders do their fair share of scoring as well. Three of the top six and five of the top eight point getters on the team are defenders. Junior Bethany Dymarczyk (Hamden, Conn.) leads all Quinnipiac defenders in points with 14 (three goals, 11 assists). Sophomore Regan Boulton (Brandon, Manitoba) leads all Quinnipiac defenders with seven goals scored and is ranked fifth on the team in total points with 13. Junior captain Jordan Elkins (Wasilla, Alaska) ranks seventh in total points with nine, while sophomore Felica Vieweg (Port Orange, Fla.) is eighth on the squad with eight points.

Power Play Success
Quinnipiac's 22.1 power play conversion percentage is good for second among ECAC Hockey teams and is tied for fifth overall in NCAA Division I Women's Ice Hockey. The Bobcats have scored 21 goals on its power play opportunities, already one more than it scored in its chances during all last season.

Tenacious D
Quinnipiac has given up 41 goals for an impressive 1.78 goals against average, which is second overall in ECAC Hockey and good for seventh-best in NCAA Division I Women's Ice Hockey.

Awarding Excellence
Aside from the Sports Illustrated feature, Babstock has been recognized on seven separate occasions for her remarkable play during the season. Most recently, she was named Quinnipiac's Female Athlete Of The Month for the month of December, leading the team to two victories in the only two games played during the month. This was the second consecutive time Babstock has been named Female Athlete Of The Month. She received the same accolade for the month of November after she accumulated 10 goals and five assists in nine games played. She is a four-time ECAC Hockey/MLX Skates Rookie of the Week award winner, as well as a one-time Player of the Week recipient.

Protecting The Net
Vigilanti is fourth among ECAC Hockey netminders with a 1.81 goals against average and ranks first in the league with 14 wins on the year.

Goals Galore
The Bobcats have scored 69 goals thus far on the season for a 3.00 goals per game average. Quinnipiac leads ECAC Hockey in goals scored and is second in goals per game, trailing only Cornell, which holds a 4.39 goals per game average.

Off To Detroit
Quinnipiac heads off to play Wayne State in Detroit, Michigan for a two-game weekend series on Friday, Jan, 21 at 7 p.m. and Saturday, Jan. 22 at 2 p.m.