September 30, 2010

Friday, October 1, 2010 - 7 p.m.
Saturday, October 2, 2010 - 12 p.m.
Quinnipiac University Bobcats (0-0-0) vs.
Niagara University Purple Eagles (0-0-0)
Dwyer Arena - Niagara, N.Y.

Weekend Series Season Opener
The Quinnipiac University women's ice hockey team will open the season on the road with a pair of non-conference games against Niagara University at Dwyer Arena in Niagara, N.Y. on Friday, Oct. 1 and Saturday, Oct. 2. Friday night's game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start and Saturday afternoon's game is to be played at 12 p.m.

Follow The Bobcats
Live Stats for both games against Niagara University will be available. To access live stats, please click on the appropriate links on women's ice hockey schedule at www.quinnipiacbobcats.com.

Exhibition Success
Quinnipiac defeated the Ontario Hockey Academy in an exhibition contest, 3-1, on Friday Sept. 24 at the TD Bank Sports Center in Hamden, Conn. Freshman forward Kelly Babstock (Mississauga, Ontario), led the way for Quinnipiac as she scored the first two goals in the game. After she registered her second goal at 16:59 in the second period, freshman forward Lindsay Burman (Stanchfield, Minn.) struck again just twelve seconds later to put Quinnipiac up 3-0. Sophomore goaltender Victoria Vigilanti (Woodbridge, Ontario) posted nine saves and did not allow a goal in two full periods. Junior goaltender Amanda Nagel (Greenwood, Minn.) started the third period and made three saves of her own.

About Niagara University
Niagara finished the 2009-10 season with an overall record of 12-14-5 and a College Hockey America conference record of 7-6-3. After finishing in second place in conference play, the Purple Eagles were defeated by Syracuse, 2-1, in the semifinals of the CHA tournament. Niagara returns top scorer Jenna Hendrikx, a sophomore forward who was named to the 2009-10 CHA All-Rookie team. In her impressive freshman campaign, Hendrikx led the team with 14 goals and 24 points, and finished the regular season second among CHA freshmen in goals. Senior goaltender Jenni Bauer, a 2009-10 Kazmaier Memorial Award nominee, returns in net for the Purple Eagles. A transfer from Bemidji State in 2008, Bauer compiled a .915 save percentage and 2.25 goals-against average during the 2009-10 season.

Last Time Out Against The Purple Eagles
Quinnipiac played a home weekend series against Niagara on Friday, Oct. 23 and Saturday, Oct. 24. during the 2009-10 season. In the first head-to-head matchup, Quinnipiac lost, 3-2, in overtime. Niagara scored a late goal with two minutes remaining in regulation to send the game into the extra period. Niagara eventually scored the game-winning goal with 11 seconds remaining in extra time. Niagara completed the weekend sweep the following night, defeating Quinnipiac, 2-1.

2010-11 ECAC Hockey Preseason Coaches' Poll
The Quinnipiac University women's ice hockey team was selected to finish fourth in the 2010-11 ECAC Hockey Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Bobcats finished last season 11-4-7 in ECAC Hockey, clinching the program's first home playoff series and earning its first playoff victory.

Seeley Celebrated
In his second full season with Quinnipiac, Head Coach Rick Seeley was honored as the 2009-10 ECAC Women's Ice Hockey Coach of the Year. Seeley also finished runner-up for the American Hockey Coaches' Association Women's Division I Coach of the Year award.

Historic Turnaround
Seeley and the Bobcats experienced one of the most impressive seasons in college hockey history in 2009-10. Seeley is the first coach in U.S. college hockey history, dating back to 1895, to lead his team, in consecutive seasons, to at least a 16 game improvement in both wins and losses. Quinnipiac improved from 3-26-5 in 2009-10 to 19-10-8 in 2009-10.

Top Ten Finish
Quinnipiac finished the 2009-10 season ranked 10th in the USCHO.com Division I Women's College Hockey Poll, the highest ranking received in program history. Leading up to the final polls of the season, Quinnipiac had received votes in six consecutive weeks.

Rookie Record-Breaker
Quinnipiac goaltender Victoria Vigilanti emerged as one of the most dominant goalies in Division I women's ice hockey during the 2009-10 season. Vigilanti was named ECAC Hockey Goalie and Rookie of the Year, as she compiled the best goals-against average (1.24) and save percentage (.950) in both the league and country. She was a four-time ECAC Hockey Goalie of the Week and a three-time ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Week.

Defensive Dominance
The Bobcats hope to remain as defensively dominant as they did in 2009-10 when they led the nation in scoring defense, allowing just 1.38 goals per game. Juniors Bethany Dymarczyk (Hamden, Conn.) and Jordan Elkins (Wasilla, Alaska) are the elder members on defense, and are assisted by sophomores Regan Boulton (Brandon, Manitoba) and Felicia Vieweg (Port Orange, Fla.). The trio will mentor freshmen Kara Gust (Orland Park, Ill.), Kelly Lavallee (Salem, N.H.) and Shelby Wignall (Hamilton, Ontario).

Youth Movement
The Bobcats welcome 11 freshman skaters to the squad this season. In addition to the aforementioned defenders, forwards Kelly Babstock (Mississauga, Ontario), Erica Uden Johansson (Sundsvall, Sweden), Amanda Colin (Burnsville, Minn.), Lindsay Burman (Stanchfield, Minn.), Elena Orlando (Chico, Calif.), Megan Hagg (Ajax, Ontario), Emily MacKinnon (Kirkland, Quebec) and Olivia Brackett (Coopersville, Mich.) look to contribute to the Bobcats offense this season.

Home Openers
The Bobcats return to the TD Bank Sports Center in Hamden, Conn. on Saturday, Oct. 9 at 3 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 10 at 5 p.m. to play their first two regular-season home contests of the year. Saturday's non-conference matchup is against the Huskies of Northeastern University, while Sunday's contest is against the Pioneers of Sacred Heart University.