Weekly Release: Women's Hockey East Prepares for Second Half
League Schedule Picks Up In Final Months of 2017-18
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Women's Hockey East Player of the Week Mackenzie MacNeil of Vermont

AROUND HOCKEY EAST: The first half of the season wrapped last weekend as three teams were in action ... Vermont traveled to Canada for a three-game set of exhibition games against Ryerson, Guelph, and Concordia. The Catamounts swept the trio of contests thanks in part to Sammy Kolowrat (Prague, Czech Republic) who assisted on game-tying goals against Guelph and Concordia and scored the game-winning tally at Concordia with seven minutes remaining in the game. In an 8-2 victory over Ryerson, Mackenzie MacNeil (Richmond Hill, Ont.) racked up five points on a hat trick and two assists to power the Catamounts offense ... Boston University wrapped the 2017 calendar year with a pair of road games at Princeton, taking a 0-1-1 record into the new year. Senior netminder Erin O'Neil (Minnetonka, Minn.) stopped a season- high 41 shots to preserve a 1-1 stalemate with the Tigers on Sunday. Junior defenseman Reagan Rust (Southaven, Miss.) played as a forward in each of the two games at Princeton and picked up a point in each outing. She scored the game-tying goal Sunday in a 1-1 draw with the Tigers and assisted on the lone tally in Saturday's game ... Led by Theresa Knutson's (Onalaska, Wis.) first multi-goal game of the season, UConn skated to a 5-2 win at Dartmouth on Sunday. She potted two goals for the Huskies and fired six shots on net and rookie teammate Natalie Snodgrass (Eagan, Minn.) netted her team-high 11th goal of the year and picked up an assist ... USA Hockey announced the 23-player roster for the 2018 U.S. Women's Olympic team on Sunday that features eight skaters with a Hockey East pedigree, including current Boston College defensemen Cayla Barnes (Eastvale, Calif.), Megan Keller (Farmington Hills, Mich.), and Kali Flanagan (Burlington, Mass.). Other Hockey East alumnae that will don the red, white, and blue in South Korea include defenseman Emily Pfalzer (Buffalo, N.Y./Boston College), and forwards Kacey Bellamy (Westfield, Mass./New Hampshire), Kendall Coyne (Palos Heights, Ill./Northeastern), and Amanda Pelkey (Montpelier, Vt./Vermont) and Haley Skarupa (Rockville, Md./Boston College) ... Previously, Hockey Canada announced its women's Olympic roster on December 22 that features a trio of former Hockey East standouts in goaltender Geneviève Lacasse (Kingston, Ont./ Providence) and forwards Marie-Philip Poulin (Beauceville, Que./Boston University), and Jenn Wakefield (Pickering, Ont./New Hampshire/Boston University). All three named to Team Canada helped their home country capture the 2014 Olympic gold medal in Sochi, while Poulin was also a member of the 2010 Olympic champion squad that won in Vancouver.




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MACKENZIE MacNEIL - VERMONT

Mackenzie MacNeil (Richmond Hill, Ont.) led her Vermont Catamounts in a sweep of a three-game tournament in Montreal, Quebec last weekend, helping the squad against a trio of Canadian universities. MacNeil racked up five points (3g, 2a) against Ryerson University in the first game, kicking off the tournament with an 8-2 win on Dec. 29.


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NATALIE SNODGRASS - UCONN

Natalie Snodgrass (Eagan, Minn.) netted her team-high 11th goal of the year and picked up an assist Sunday, helping the Huskies to a 5-2 win at Dartmouth. Snodgrass now leads her squad with 20 points in 19 games.


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ERIN O'NEIL - BOSTON UNIVERSITY

Erin O'Neil (Minnetonka, Minn.) stopped a season-high 41 shots to preserve a 1-1 stalemate Sunday at Princeton University. The senior netminder backstopped the Terriers in their final game of 2017, earning a point after stopping 14 shots in each of the first and third periods.

HOCKEY EAST WEEKLY TOP PERFORMERS

Reagan Rust, BU (Jr., D; Southaven, Miss.) Playing as a forward in two games at Princeton, picked up a point in each game and scored the game-tying goal Sunday in a 1-1 draw with the Tigers. She assisted on a tally in Saturday's game.

Rachel Allen, BU (Fr., F; Cary, N.C.) Earned her first collegiate point on an assist on the lone goal in Saturday's setback.

Theresa Knutson, UConn (Sr., F; Onalaska, Wis.) Had her first multi-goal game of the season in a 5-2 win at Dartmouth on Sunday. She potted two goals for the Huskies and fired six shots on net.

Jaime Fox, UConn (Jr., D; Unionville, Ont.) Chipped in with a pair of helpers at Dartmouth and was part of a defense corps that held The Big Green to 24 shots.

Kristina Shanahan, UVM (Fr., F; Ste. Anne-de-Bellevue, Que) Picked up a goal and an assist on Dec. 29 and added a game-tying goal in the third period against Concordia, an eventual 2-1 victory.

Sammy Kolowrat, UVM (Jr., D; Prague, Czech Republic) Assisted on game-tying goals against Guelph and Concordia and scored the game-winning tally at Concordia with seven minutes remaining in the game.