 "Photo: Gregory Greene")
WILDCATS RANKED #3 IN NATIONAL POLL
The University of New Hampshire women's ice hockey team garnered 131 points to rank third in the inaugural USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Women's College Hockey Poll of the 2007-08 season, which was released Tuesday.
UNH, which advanced to the NCAA Women's Ice Hockey Championships for the second consecutive year in 2007, placed behind University of Wisconsin, which received all 19 first-place votes and 190 points, and Mercyhurst College (165 points).
The Wildcats, selected atop the Women's Hockey East Preseason Coaches Poll, are joined in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll by league rival Boston College; the Eagles received 75 points to place eighth.
New Hampshire opens the season with a two-game road series against fourth-ranked St. Lawrence University on Oct. 5-6. The Wildcats' home opener is Oct. 14 at 1 p.m. against Colgate University. Tickets for all home games are available online (www.unhwildcats.com) or by calling 1-866-WILDCAT; home games will also be video-streamed online at UNHwildcats.tv.
WILDCATS TOP PICK IN HOCKEY EAST POLL
The University of New Hampshire women's ice hockey team, which has won four consecutive Hockey East regular-season titles as well as tournament championships each of the last two years, has been selected as the preseason favorite in 2008 according to the Preseason Coaches Poll that was released at the league's Media Day on Tuesday. This marks the fourth straight year that UNH tops the Hockey East preseason poll.
UNH (28-4-5 overall, 18-1-2 Hockey East) garnered six first-place votes and a total of 55 points to edge out Boston College (51 points; two first-place votes), last year's regular-season runner-up.
The University of Connecticut, which finished fifth in the 2007 standings, placed third in the '08 poll with 41 points. UConn was followed by Boston University (38 points), Providence College (35), Northeastern University (24), University of Vermont (20) and University of Maine (16).
UNH returns 16 letter-winners, including 2007 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award Top 10 Finalist Martine Garland (Toronto, Ontario). The senior defenseman and 2008 captain also garnered 2006 All-America honors, as did senior forwards Jennifer Hitchcock (LaSalle, Ontario) and Sadie Wright-Ward (Durham, N.H.).
UNH HAS GLOBAL IMPACT
Over the past five months, the University of New Hampshire women's ice hockey program has been highly visible around the globe on the international hockey scene, as a total of eight student-athletes on the 2008 UNH team have been chosen to participate in select national programs.
This weekend, juniors Kacey Bellamy (Westfield, Mass.) and Sam Faber (Mt. Sinai, N.Y.) will skate against incoming freshman Jenn Wakefield (Pickering, Ontario) in a three-game exhibition series between the U.S. Under-22 Select Team and Canada's National Women's Under-22 Team at Lake Placid, N.Y.
Bellamy, also a member of the 2006-07 U.S. Under-22 Select Team, and Faber were selected to the U.S. team from the national festival that was held Aug. 14-21 in Lake Placid. Additionally, Raylen Dziengelewski (Southwick, Mass.), another incoming freshman, participated in the USA Select 17 Festival - also held in Lake Placid - this past June.
On the Canadian side of the ledger, Wakefield earned a roster spot on the U-22 team through her competition at Team Canada's National Under-19 Camp that was held in Calgary at the end of July. She was joined at that U-19 camp by fellow incoming freshmen Courtney Birchard (Mississauga, Ontario) and Kayley Herman (Weyburn, Saskatchewan). All three athletes competed in a round robin series that included Japan's Senior National Team.
International experience for UNH's incoming class - six of the seven freshmen can boast this achievement - extends to Europe, where sisters Julia and Stefanie Marty (Nussbaumen, Switzerland) competed at the World Championships this past spring for Team Switzerland.
WILDCATS WELCOME NEW RECRUITS
Brian McCloskey, sixth-year head coach of the University of New Hampshire women's ice hockey team, has announced the completion of the program's incoming class for the 2007-08 season with the addition of Carole LeBlanc (Grande-Digue, New Brunswick) as well as sisters Julia and Stefanie Marty (Nussbaumen, Switzerland).
"We're thrilled by the addition of these three outstanding student-athletes to our program for the upcoming '07-'08 season," McCloskey said. "Stephanie and Julia Marty bring world class experience to UNH having successfully competed for Team Switzerland at last year's World Championships. This is clearly a deep and talented class that will be joining us this fall, and we're excited about the year ahead."
LeBlanc, who skated for Team New Brunswick at the 2002 Canada Winter Games, has played as both a forward and defenseman on the girls' ice hockey team at Brewster Academy. She was named the Team MVP following both the 2005 and 2006 seasons. With 22 goals, 32 assists and 54 points as a junior, she ranked second on the team in all three statistics. She has also been awarded the Brewster Crew Coaches' Award (2004).
Julia and Stefanie Marty skated for their national team at the 2006 Winter Olympic Games (seventh place) as well as the 2007 World Championships (fifth place).
Julia, a defenseman who has skated for the national team since 2003, recorded three assists in six games for the national team last season. Overall, Julia has skated in 50 games for the Swiss National Team with seven goals and seven assists; she was the fifth-leading defenseman scorer at the 2006 Olympic Games. Her other international experience includes competition at the World Championships in 2004 and 2005. Julia tallied 10 goals and nine assists in eight games last season for EV Zug of the CLA, which is the top Swiss league, and led that team to third place at the 2004 European Champions Cup and fourth place in that event in 2005.
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