HOCKEY EAST HEADLINES

Vermont opened the 2021-22 Hockey East campaign with a pair of wins thanks in part to the goaltending of senior Blanka Škodová. The netminder picked up two wins, toppling Holy Cross and Merrimack in their first home stand of the conference schedule. She stopped 41 shots, including 20 of 21 attempts she faced from the Warriors on Sunday, to preserve a 2-1 victory.

UConn extended its unbeaten run to seven straight games to begin the year, picking up their fourth road win of the season on Friday in a 3-2 victory over Merrimack. The Huskies got goals from Summer-Rae Dobson, Natalie Snodgrass and Ainsley Svetek. Snodgrass is averaging a point per game, with three goals and four assists.

Boston College moved to 4-0-0 in league play and 6-0-0 overall with a 5-2 win over Maine on Saturday. The game began with a stunning goal off the stick of Abby Newhook after Player of the Week Hannah Bilka toe-dragged through an opponent and slid the puck backdoor for Newhook to tap in. Bilka finished the game with two goals and a helper.

New Hampshire toppled the rival Black Bears on Friday, thanks to the game-winning goal from rookie Kira Juodikis. Her team-leading fifth goal of the season gave the Wildcats a 2-0 lead at 6:09 of the first period, just 20 seconds after the ‘Cats broke the scoreless tie.

Providence and Boston University each split a road series in the New York capital region as the Friars and Terriers both earned wins at Union but fell to RPI. Courtney Correia scored a goal in both games, including a game-winning, shorthanded strike at Union. She currently leads Hockey East with six goals and 11 points, having notched a goal in four straight games and a point in all seven games this year.

HOCKEY EAST PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Hannah Bilka - Boston College

Hannah Bilka (Jr., F; Coppell, Texas) had two goals and one assist for three points in BC’s win over Maine on Saturday. She assisted on the first goal of the game, scored the second and then closed the scoring with an unassisted tally in the third period. The junior finished with a game-high seven shots on goal and had a plus-three rating. Her assist came on a highlight-reel play, an early contender for play of the year, after she toe-dragged a defender and slid the puck to Newhook for a back door tap in.

PRO AMBITIONS ROOKIE OF THE WEEK

Kira Juodikis - New Hampshire

Kira Juodikis, UNH (Fr., F; LaSalle, Ont.) Scored the game-winning goal in UNH’s 4-1 win against Maine on Friday, Oct. 22. Her team-leading fifth goal of the season gave the Wildcats a 2-0 lead at 6:09 of the first period, just 20 seconds after the ‘Cats broke the scoreless tie. She also had a plus-two rating and blocked two shots. Juodikis extended her point streak to four games (3g, 1a) by scoring a goal for the second consecutive game.

HOCKEY EAST DEFENDER OF THE WEEK

Nadia Mattivi - Boston University

Nadia Mattivi (Jr., D; Baselga Di Pine, Italy) assisted on the Terriers’ game-winning goal Saturday at Union, a 4-1 victory. She also led the Terriers with four blocked shots over the weekend.

HOCKEY EAST GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK

Blanka Škodová - Vermont

Blanka Škodová (Sr., G; Šternberk, Czech Republic) picked up two wins on the weekend as the Catamounts began Hockey East play, toppling Holy Cross and Merrimack in their first home stand of the conference schedule. The senior netminder stopped 21 of 23 shots in a 4-2 win on Friday before returning between the pipes to kick out 20 of 21 attempts she faced from the Warriors on Sunday, to preserve a 2-1 victory. She made 41 saves on 44 tries over the weekend.

HOCKEY EAST TOP PERFORMERS

Abby Newhook, BC (Fr., F; St. John’s, Newfoundland) Had one goal and one assist for two points in BC’s win over Maine on Saturday, pushing the Eagles to a perfect 6-0-0 start. Her tally came on a highlight-reel play, an early contender for play of the year, after Hannah Bilka toe-dragged a defender and slid the puck to Newhook for a back door tap in. She had two shots on goal and a plus-two rating.

Jillian Fey, BC (Sr., D; Nantucket, Mass.) Dished out two assists, including on the game-winning goal, in BC’s win over Maine on Saturday. The defender also had one blocked shot.

Abigail Levy, BC (Sr., G; Congers, N.Y.) Made 35 saves in BC’s 5-2 win over Maine on Saturday for her fifth game this season of 30-or-more saves. She also earned an assist on the game’s first goal for her third career helper.

Courtney Correia, BU (Sr., F; Whitby, Ont.) Scored a goal in both games last weekend, including a game-winning, shorthanded strike at Union. Correia finished the weekend as a plus-two and blocked three shots. She currently leads Hockey East with six goals and 11 points, having notched a goal in four straight games and a point in all seven games this year.

Kate Stuart, BU (Sr., G; Chilliwack, B.C.) Stuart made 25 saves in her lone start of the weekend, a 4-1 victory at Union.

Brianna Brooks, UNH (So., F; Whitby, Ont.) Recorded a goal and an assist for a total of two points to lead UNH to a 4-1 victory over Maine on Friday. Her other stats included four shots, a plus-three rating, three blocks and 13 faceoff wins in a total of 20 draws. Brooks recorded the primary assist on the goal that gave UNH a 2-0 lead at 6:09 of the first period and proved to be the game-winning goal; that tally came just 20 seconds after the Wildcats had broken the scoreless deadlock. It marked her second consecutive two-point game and extended her point streak to four games (3g, 3a).

Maddie Truax, UNH (Sr., D; Gardner, Mass.) Recorded an assist, blocked two shots and had a plus-one rating in UNH’s 4-1 win against Maine on Oct. 22. She also had two shots on goal.

Ava Boutilier, UNH (Sr., G; Charlottetown, P.E.I.) Stopped 30 of 31 shots (.968 save percentage) to backbone UNH to a 4-1 victory vs. Maine on Oct. 22. She made 11 saves in the second period, followed by 12 in the final frame.

Maureen Murphy, NU (Sr., F; Buffalo, N.Y.) Notched her second multi-goal game of the season, notching a pair of goals against Holy Cross in a 3-1 comeback victory. Murphy’s first goal came on the power play, her third PP goal of the season, to tie the game at 1-1. Her second goal came with an empty net on a long shot from her own defensive zone.

Natálie Mlýnková, UVM (So., F:, Zlin, Czech Republic) Had a goal and two assists as Vermont opened league play with wins over Holy Cross and Merrimack this weekend. She scored the game-winning goal on the power play Sunday afternoon against the Warriors.

Reagan Miller, UVM (Fr., F; Cary, N.C.) In her first career game yesterday Miller scored 2:30 into the second period for the Catamounts. She had three shots and blocked another in her debut.