Team Notes: No.10 Quinnipiac Travels to Wayne State

Motor City Weekend
The Quinnipiac women's ice hockey team (15-7-1, 8-6-0 ECAC Hockey) travels to face non-conference opponent Wayne State (7-13-0, 1-7-0 College Hockey America) for a two-game set on Friday, Jan. 21 at 7 p.m. and Saturday, Jan. 22 at 2 p.m.

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

About Wayne State University
Quinnipiac faces Wayne State as the Warriors are in the midst of a season-long six game losing streak. Last weekend, on Friday, Jan. 14 and Saturday, Jan. 15, the Warriors were swept by CHA opponent Niagara. On Friday, Niagara held the Warriors scoreless for a 3-0 victory. On Saturday, Niagara defeated Wayne State 2-1. Junior forward Micheline Frappier scored Wayne State's lone goal in the first period of play. Sophomore forward Julie Ingratta leads the Warriors with 16 points overall (nine goals, seven assists) on the season. Junior forward Alyssa Baldin ranks first on the squad with 10 goals and is tied for second in points with 15. Junior goaltender Delayne Brian has seen action in all 20 games and put together a .922 save percentage and a 2.72 goals against average on the year.

All-Time Against The Warriors
Friday's game will be the 14^th time the two sides square off against each other, with Wayne State owning a 2-10-1 all-time series lead. Last season, Quinnipiac won its first two victories ever against the Warriors in a weekend sweep at the TD Banks Sports Center on Friday, Jan. 22 and Saturday, Jan. 23. On Friday night, Quinnipiac pulled out a 2-1 victory, with both goals coming just 11 second apart from one another. Sophomore defenderRegan Boulton (Brandon, Manitoba) netted the Bobcats' first goal followed by another quick strike from senior forward Janine Duffy (Toronto, Ontario). On Saturday, Quinnipiac skated to a 4-1 victory over the Warriors. Senior forward Kallie Flor (Farmington, Minn.) scored two goals for Quinnipiac, while freshman forward Kristen Eklund (Barrington, R.I.) and Duffy each netted one apiece. Sophomore defender Jordan Elkins(Wasilla, Alaska) fed the puck all evening, and earned a career high three assists in the contest. Freshman goaltender Victoria Vigilanti (Woodbridge, Ontario) turned away 26 shots on the weekend, to earn her 11^th and 12^th respective victories of the season.

New Hampshire Rescheduled 
Quinnipiac’s Tuesday, Jan. 18 contest against non-conference opponent New Hampshire was postponed due to inclement weather. The home contest has been rescheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 8 at 7 p.m. at the TD Bank Sports Center.

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 1-5-1 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 is also ranked No.10 in this week's USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Women's College Hockey Poll, earning 18 points in the most recent poll on January 18, 2011. The Bobcats hold down the 10th spot on the Women's Division I PairWise Rankings, and are 12^th in the KRACH Poll.

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 tied for 10^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 12-1-0 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 second and third 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 20.4 power play conversion percentage is good for third among ECAC Hockey teams and is tied for eighth 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 third 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, while she 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 is second in the ECAC Hockey in goals scored and is third in goals per game.

Bobcats Return Home
Quinnipiac returns to the TD Bank Sports Center on Friday, Jan. 28 and Saturday, Jan. 29 to face ECAC Hockey Opponents Clarkson and St. Lawrence. Friday's matchup against the Clarkson Golden Knights is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start and Saturday afternoon's game against the Saints of St. Lawrence will start at 4 p.m.