February 23, 2011

ECAC Hockey Playoffs - First Round, Best-of-Three Series
Friday, February 25, 2011 - 7 p.m.
Saturday, February 26, 2011 - 4 p.m.
Sunday, February 27, 2011 - 4 p.m. (If Necessary)

No. 5 Quinnipiac University Bobcats (20-11-3) (12-9-1 ECAC Hockey) vs.
No. 4 Princeton University Tigers (16-12-1) (13-8-1 ECAC Hockey)

Hobey Baker Rink - Princeton, N.J.

ECAC Hockey Playoffs
The No. 5-seeded Quinnipiac women's ice hockey team (20-11-3, 12-9-1 ECAC Hockey) travels to face No. 4 seeded Princeton (16-12-1, 13-8-1 ECAC Hockey) this Friday, Feb. 25 at 7 p.m. for the first game in a best-of-three series in the opening round of the ECAC Hockey playoffs. Game two is scheduled for a 4 p.m. start time the following Saturday, Feb. 26., while Sunday's potential meeting would also begin at 4 p.m.

Follow The Bobcats
Live Stats for this weekend's games can be accessed by clicking on the appropriate links on the women's ice hockey schedule at www.quinnipiacbobcats.com.

About Princeton University
The Tigers finished the regular season strong with a 4-1 victory over Yale on Saturday, Feb. 19, capping off the season with its fourth consecutive victory. Dating back to Saturday, Dec. 4, Princeton is an impressive 13-2. Princeton's offensive leaders all made significant contributions in the final weekend of the regular season, as team-leader in points (21) Olivia Mucha netted two goals against Brown on Friday, Dec. 3, while Sally Butler (nine goals, 10 assists) added a goal and an assist. Freshman forward Denna Laing (eight goals, 10 assists) also contributed two goals on the weekend. Junior goaltender Rachel Weber has a 14-8-1 record on the season, while she holds a 1.79 goals against average and a .930 save percentage.

All-Time Against The Tigers
Friday's game will be the 14^th time the two sides will face each other, with Princeton owning a 1-10-2 all-time series lead. In their last meeting coming earlier this season on Monday, Jan. 3, Quinnipiac was defeated 3-0. Princeton's two second period goals, separated by just 37 seconds quickly gave the Tiger a 2-0 lead and eventual victory. Sophomore goaltender Victoria Vigilanti (Woodbridge, Ontario) made 16 saves on the afternoon.

In their first meeting of the season on Tuesday, Nov. 2, Quinnipiac earned its first-ever victory against the Tigers in a 5-2 win. After falling behind 2-0 early in the first period, the Bobcats scored five unanswered goals en route to its first ECAC Hockey victory of the season. Sophomore defender Regan Boulton (Brandon, Manitoba) scored two goals in the contest, while senior forward Kelley Davies (Chesapeake, Va.), freshman forward Kelly Babstock (Mississauga, Ontario), and sophomore forward Brittany Lyons (Canton, Mass.) each tallied one goal in the game. Vigilanti played well in goal, making 25 saves on the night.

All-Time Post Season
The weekend series marks the second consecutive season (and second overall) in which the Bobcats have reached the ECAC Hockey post-season. In 2010, Quinnipiac went 1-2 in its playoff stint, falling to Rensselaer in its opening round Quarterfinals matchup. The Bobcats took the first game of the best-of-three series on Friday, Feb. 26, as sophomore forward Chelsea Illchuk's (Lockport, Manitoba) double overtime goal propelled Quinnipiac to its first-ever playoff victory. After falling to Rensselaer, 1-0, the following Saturday, Feb. 27, Quinnipiac and Rensselaer proceeded to play in the second-longest game in the history of NCAA Division I Ice Hockey on Sunday, Feb. 28. The game, which ended on a goal by Rensselaer forward Alisa Harrison in the fifth overtime, was the longest women's ice hockey game since it became an NCAA sport in 2001. Sophomore defender Bethany Dymarczyk's (Hamden, Conn.) game-tying goal with just 5:22 remaining in the third period would be Quinnipiac's only goal on the evening. Vigilanti played one of the best games of her career, earning a career-high 57 saves on the night.

Last Time Out
Quinnipiac finished the 2010-11 regular season with a 3-3 tie against ECAC Hockey opponent Brown on Saturday, Feb. 19. After falling behind 2-0, Quinnipiac junior defender Bethany Dymarczyk slapped home her fourth goal of the season at the 4:55 mark into the second period. Following a Brown goal at the 9:24 mark into the second period, freshman forward Elena Orlando (Chico, Calif.) knocked in her second goal of the season at the 13:37 mark to bring the score to 3-2. The Bobcats then evened the score, 3-3, on a powerful slap shot by sophomore defender Regan Boulton (Brandon, Manitoba) with just under four minutes to play in the third period. Sophomore goaltender Victoria Vigilanti turned away 25 shots in the game.

ECAC Hockey/MLX Skates Top Three
Head coach Rick Seeley has been named one of the three finalists for the 2011 ECAC Hockey/MLX Skates Coach of the Year. Seeley has led the 2010-11 Bobcats to program records in both overall wins (20) and conference wins (12). Last season, Seeley was awarded with ECAC Hockey/MLX Skates Coach of the Year after leading his team to a then program-record 19 overall wins and 11 ECAC Hockey victories. Quinnipiac's 16 win improvement from its 3-win season in 2008-9 was the greatest turnaround in college hockey history. Seeley is accompanied by fellow head coaches Doug Derraugh (Cornell) and Mark Hudak (Dartmouth) as the three finalists for this year's award.

Patty Kaz Nomination
Freshman forward Kelly Babstock (Mississauga, Ontario) has been named one of the 26 nominees for this year's 2011 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, presented by Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine. Babstock is one of just two freshman nominated and is one of six skaters chosen from ECAC Hockey. On the season, Babstock leads all NCAA freshmen, as well as all of ECAC Hockey, in goals (29), assists (26) and points (55). She ranks tied for first in the country with nine game-winning goals.

California Dreaming
Freshman forward Elena Orlando (Chico, Calif.) collected a goal and an assist on Saturday, Feb. 19 against Brown. This marked the only the second multipoint game of her career, with the last one coming on Friday, Dec. 3, ironically against Brown. She now has two goals and six assists on the season.

Local Flavor
Junior defender Bethany Dymarczyk (Hamden, Conn.) netted a goal and an assist on Saturday against Brown. The goal was her fourth of the year, while the assist was her 18^th. Dymarczyk now ranks second on the team in assists and fourth overall in points (21).

Blast Off
Sophomore defender Regan Boulton (Brandon, Manitoba) cranked her ninth goal of the season on Saturday against Brown (the game-tying tally) with just under four minutes remaining in the contest on a wicked slap shot from the point. The goal for Boulton was her first score since Saturday, Jan. 21^st against Wayne State. She now ranks tied for fourth on the team in goals scored and sixth on the squad in overall points (16).

Streak To 10
Saturday's game marked the 10^th straight game in which Quinnipiac's penalty-kill unit prevented the opposition from scoring on its extra skater advantage. During that time span which dates back to Saturday, Jan. 22, teams have gone 0 for 28 against the Bobcats. On the season overall, Quinnipiac has an 90.1 percent penalty-kill success rate and has allowed only 11 power play goals against.