Senior goaltender Ava Boutilier made 30 saves for the Wildcats
Boutilier Backstops New Hampshire To 2-0 Win At Vermont
Senior goaltender Ava Boutilier made 30 saves for the Wildcats

BURLINGTON, Vt. - Ava Boutilier made 30 saves to earn her eighth career shutout and lead New Hampshire to a 2-0 win over Vermont Sunday evening at Gutterson Fieldhouse. With the win, the Wildcats improve to 2-6-0 while the Catamounts fall to 1-1-0.


COACH'S QUOTE

"First it was a gift to play hockey this weekend," said Head Coach Jim Plumer. "I think in a lot of ways we played better tonight than last night. Credit to UNH for battling hard and their goalie was outstanding. We will look to improve in a couple of areas but overall this was a promising opening weekend."


HOW IT HAPPENED

- Through the second period Boutilier and Vermont's Natalie Ferenc were perfect making a combined 35 saves.

- Emily Rickwood opened the scoring 2:24 into the third period with a shot from the point. Ferenc never saw the shot through traffic in front and it trickled in for Rickwood's first goal of the season. Rae Breton and Annie Berry received assists on the play.

- A minute later the Wildcats doubled their lead with another play originating from the point. Kyla Bent fired a shot into the slot that deflected off a Vermont defender and onto the stick of Lauren Martin. From a difficult angle Martin was able to fire the puck back into the crease and hit another UVM defender on its way to the back of the net.

- The Catamounts best chance for a comeback came with 3:02 left in regulation and a full two minute five-on-three opportunity. Vermont had several point-blank opportunities and rang the post but couldn't solve Boutilier.


INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

- First-Year forward Natalie Mlynkova led all Catamounts with three blocked shots.

- This weekend was the fourth time in Natalie Ferenc's career she has started in back-to-back games of a Hockey East series.

- Sunday was the 50th all-time meeting between the Catamounts and Wildcats. Vermont is now 15-29-6 against its border rivals.


WHO'S NEXT

The Catamounts are off next weekend and are scheduled to return to action Friday, January 1 at 6 p.m. as they host Holy Cross. The two-game set will conclude on Saturday with a 2 p.m. rematch. Free streaming of both contests will be available on CBS CollegeSportsLive with Rob Ryan on the call.

Game Summary

Sunday, December 20, 2020

2
0
Game statistics
28 Shots 30
0 / 4 Power Plays 0 / 4
4 / 8 PIM 4 / 8
2-6-0 Records 1-1-0
GOAL SCORERS
New Hampshire Vermont
Emily Rickwood (1)
3rd/2:24  GW
Lauren Martin (3)
3rd/3:24
GOALTENDERS
New Hampshire Vermont
Ava Boutilier
60:00, 30 Saves, 0 GA
(W, 2-4-0)
Natalie Ferenc
58:08, 26 Saves, 2 GA
(L, 1-1-0)

Empty Net
1:52, 0 GA