WORCESTER, Mass. - The Holy Cross women's hockey team will play a home-and-home series against New Hampshire this weekend. The Crusaders will travel to Durham on Saturday, Jan. 26 and will host the Wildcats on Sunday, Jan. 27.

The game at the Hart Center will be Holy Cross' first game as part of Hockey East's Skating Strides against Breast Cancer initiative.

Skating Strides was founded in 2006 and serves as Hockey East's effort to bring awareness to and raise money for breast cancer organizations throughout New England. This year, all proceeds will go to the Ellie Fund, an organization founded in memory of Eleanor “Ellie” Popkin who passed away in 1987 at the age of 49 after a 15+ year battle with the disease.

Fundraising efforts by the Crusaders include the sale of pink paper “I Fight For,” pucks that will be hung in the Hart Center, a chuck-a-puck contest where the winner will receive a stick signed by the team, as well as other Holy Cross paraphernalia, and a raffle for a pink throwback Holy Cross women's hockey jersey. Each fundraiser will be available at Sunday's game.

There will also be a ceremonial puck drop before the game featuring Meredith Bryan, the executive director of the Ellie Fund, and Hockey East associate commissioner, Kathy Winters.

Recapping Last Weekend
• The Crusaders played Boston University for the first time this season in a pair of games that they dropped, 4-1 and 7-1.

• Victoria Young scored in the first game with assists from Hannah Gillis and Katie MacCuaig.

• In the second matchup, Rachel Moore lit the lamp for her team-leading 11th point of the season. Young and Antonia Matzka picked up the assists.

 Recent Gameplay
• Holy Cross recorded its first tie in Hockey East action against Maine, 2-2, on Jan. 12 at the Hart Center.

• Maeve Reilly scored her sixth goal of the season to tie things up at 1-1 in the third period. Julie Matthias followed shortly after with one of her own to give the Crusaders the lead.

• Maine scored with less than one second on the clock to tie the game at 2-2, where it would stay through overtime.

• Holy Cross' two games on Jan. 4 and 5, 4-3 and 6-3 losses to UConn, marked the highest two-game goal total for the Crusaders on the season.

• Moore led the way with five points from three goals and two assists, including a career-high three points in Friday's matchup. She earned ckSmithSuperior Crusader of the Week honors that week for her efforts. Moore has since added one more goal and now has 11 points (6g, 5a) on the season to lead the team.

• Out of the 15 total points Holy Cross accumulated over the two games, its top line of Moore, Matthias (2g, 2a), and Carlie Magier (3a) were responsible for 12 of them.

• Emma Lange is second in all of Hockey East with 60 blocked shots.

• In conference games only, Reilly is tied for sixth with three power play goals.

Scouting the Wlidcats
• UNH is led by Taylor Wenczkowski and her 16 points from 12 goals and four assists. Nicole Dunbar is next with a 6-7-13 stat line.

• Kyra Smith has spent the majority of the time in net for the Wildcats, posting a 1.88 goals against average and a .937 save percentage.

• They have converted on 18.2% of their man advantage chances and killed 90.1% of their penalties.

Earlier This Season
• The Crusaders and Wildcats faces off earlier this year at the Hart Center.

• Holy Cross took an early lead when Matzka scored in the ninth minute of the first period with some help from Moore and Lange.

• UNH would end the game with four striaght goals to take the 4-1 victory.

• Jada Brenon set a career-high of 54 saves on the day.  

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